The Woodland Christian girls varstiy basketball team is starting to win games before they even step out on the court. At least that’s what it feels like as they reached 15 straight wins Wednesday night on the road against Sierra Delta League foes Lindhurst.

With the win 62-18 win, the Cardinals (17-5, 9-0 SDL) are now just two games shy of matching last year’s longest winning run at 17 games in a row.

Lindhurst (15-6, 6-3) came into the game as the second-placed team in the league and fresh off a 52-30 thrashing of Rio Vista, leading to the Cardinals thinking they’d have a game on their hands.

They were ready and started the game strong, with Keziah Maldonado-Lemus, Ellie Sumner, Teagan Hayes and Siena Sorbello all scoring four or more points in the first quarter.

“We ended the quarter up 21-5 but kept the defensive pressure up for the second quarter as well,” Cardinals head coach Shiloh Sorbello said. “By halftime, sophomore Elena Ganyo joined them all with seven-plus points scored.”

Sophomore Bailee Broward led the way on the glass, per usual, with double-digit rebounds. Hayes finished with 9 points in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 23 points. Sorbello finished with 14 points, Ganyo with 11, Maldonado-Lemus with 8, and Sumner with 6.

“Defensively, we held the Blazers to 22% shooting while our effective field goal percentage was 43%,” Sorbello said. “Because we limited our turnovers and scooped up 27 steals, we got up twice as many shot attempts at Lindhurst. A highlight that showcased the girls’ dedication on defense was when Ellie and Keziah each put their bodies on the line and took a charge.”

Next for the Cardinals will be a road trip to Highlands set for Friday.

“Highlands hasn’t won a game this season, so we will have to challenge ourselves by playing games within the game,” Sorbello said. “it is important this time of year to get better every day because the playoffs are looming.”

According to Sorbello, the Cardinals currently site at No. 2 in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D5 rankings, one spot behind old foes Bret Harte.