Sierra Delta League title? Check. Undefeated league season? Check. Home court advantage clinched throughout the playoffs? Check. 21st win in a row? Check. Senior night victory to wrap it all up?

Check.

On Thursday night, in front of the home fans inside of Jack Hamlin Gym, the Woodland Christian girls’ basketball team finished crossing off every item on their regular season to-do list as they celebrated senior night in fitting fashion, defeating league foes Mesa Verde 58-20.

Before the game, however, in front of a mass gathering of family and friends, the school relished the opportunity to honor the team’s three seniors, Teagan Hayes, Keziah Maldonado-Lemus and Payton Brookshire.

Hayes will attend the University of Tennesee at Marin in the fall, where she has signed on to play for the Division I softball program.

“I’ve seen her grow up from her freshman year when she was our sixth man off the bench, still making a first-team all-league selection, to the leader she has become this year,” Cardinals head coach Shiloh Sorbello said. “She is a quiet worker who has ideas of plays to run and suggestions for drills to do in practice. She is all in and has always had the respect of her teammates athletically. She is also the tip of the spear for our defense and sets the tone for us on the court.”

According to Sorbello, Maldonado-Lemus is in talks with about a dozen or so colleges and is currently weighing her options for continuing to play at the college level.

“She is a gift that landed in our laps for her senior year after being a thorn in our side playing for Pioneer,” Sorbello said. “It was a total surprise when I heard she was coming, and I was really excited. She is really talented, and it’s been great getting to know her this year as she’s become a dear friend of our family.”

Brookshire plans to attend college in the midwest, where she will compete on a livestock judging team.

“Payton was also a surprise addition to the squad,” Sorbello said. “She came out to watch our foundation game because her younger sister was playing. After she saw how much fun her sister was having, she finally came out. She is just a sweet girl who accepts her role on a team. At first, learning the game was like drinking water out of a firehose because everything was just so new to her. But it’s been fun seeing how she’s progressed. She gets along with everyone and is a joy to have on the team.”

As for the basketball portion of the evening, the game went about as well as it could have as the Cardinals jumped out to their usual large first-quarter lead, up 17-0.

They then cruised from there to a solid 58-20 win over the Mavs, wrapping up their 14-0 in the league season and extending the streak to 21.

The Sophomore frontcourt duo of Bailee Broward and Siena Sorbello backed their senior teammates with a team-high 14 points apiece. Sorbello also had double-digit rebounds and a couple of blocked shots. Broward joined sophomore sharp-shooter Elena Ganyo with precision shooting from downtown, as they each knocked down two 3-pointers.

The seniors also had big games while sharing the ball and getting their teammates good looks.

Hayes scored 11 points and had 6 assists, 4 steals, and 3 high-flying blocked shots, while Maldonado-Lemus almost had her second triple-double of the season, finishing with 9 points, 8 assists, and an eye-popping 11 steals.

One of the highlights of the night was a dime dropped by Maldonado-Leamus to fellow senior Payton Brookshire, who finished the lay-up. Brookshire is a first-year basketball player who has had limited playing time, so it was a special moment for her and for the team.

Up next for the Cardinals will be a weekend of rest and waiting as the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoff brackets will be announced sometime on Saturday afternoon.

“We are looking forward to learning who our next opponent will be,” Sorbello said. “We are currently ranked No. 2 in the section for Division V, so we should have home games until the section title game, which is happening at the Golden 1 Center. If we make the section semifinal game, we will qualify for the state tournament. To my knowledge, no basketball team from Woodland has ever played for a section title, so that’s the goal!”