Following an exhausting gauntlet of playoff games over the past three weeks, the Woodland Christian girls basketball team cemented its legacy as one of the greatest teams in city history after a nervy 47-41 win over Rosamond in the CIF Division V State Championship game Friday morning inside of Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center.

“It’s been a dream run in a lot of respects,” Cardinals head coach Shiloh Sorbello said. “The sadness of losing a section title game was made up for by winning a state title, which is the biggest reward we could have hoped for. If you make the playoffs, you don’t get to end your season with a win unless you make it to and win the state title, so to do it with this team is so special.

“I’m really proud of the girls. We stayed united through a tough preseason so we could enjoy a really successful league season that showed the ups and downs of a year. We started with 10 girls and ended with 10. It was all a great experience for the girls, and I’m really grateful for it all.”

One trophy this season was never going to be enough for Sorbello and the Cardinals, as winning the Sierra Delta League was essentially a preseason formality. The Cardinals ran the table during the regular season with a perfect 14-0 record, earning them the No. 2 overall seed in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, which they turned into a finals appearance.

In the CIF SJS final, the Cardinals suffered their only blemish this season, losing to Bret Harte 45-42.

That loss provided the squad’s tired legs with the fuel and motivation needed to make it to the CIF D5 State Regional final following wins over Fort Bragg, Trinity and Head-Royce.

In the final, in front of a berserk Jack Hamlin Gym, the No. 2 seeded Cardinals defeated Encianl 54-45, capturing their second trophy of the season and the school’s first ever basketball regional championship.

For most teams, avenging a section final loss with a regional final win would have been enough, but the Cardinals, who played in every single game possible this season, were wired differently and had to get one last trophy.

“It took real intentionality on the coaching staff’s part to make sure the girls never ran out of gas,” Sorbello said. “The girls have to want it to get this far. The games get more physical, and their bodies get tired. The emotions can wear you out. The staff did a great job of keeping it light when we could and taking the physicality out of practice towards the end of the year. I think that helped the girls maintain energy and keep the task at hand every game.

“Most of the teams in these playoffs had a rough loss in the section championships. It’s hard to keep pressing, and the teams that lose and stay together get better as a result. I think you saw that form us. We kept playing better and better teams, and I think we were still improving heading into our last game. It’s a real testament to the team.”

In their way, however, was a southern California powerhouse in Rosamond.

The Rosamond Roadrunners rode into the battle of the birds following an incredible season culminating with a hat trick of championships, including a first-place finish in the High Desert League, a 34-29 win over Bishop Union in the CIF Division IV Central Section Championship held on March 1, and a 68-41 win over the higher-seeded Hillcrest in the CIF D5 State Regional final this past Tuesday.

“They were really athletic and had won a lot of games in a row,” Sorbello recalled. “They had won a lot of their previous games by 20 plus points too, so we knew we had our work cut out for us. We watched some film to get an idea of how to really slow down their offense.

“We also made some fourth-quarter adjustments to stop their best player, forcing them to shoot long 3s, which are low-percentage shots.”

Keziah Maldonaod-Lemus gets off to a fast start for the Cardinals, scoring 7 of the Cardinals’ first 11 points, leading them to an 11-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

After Rosamond tied it up at 11 to start the second, Teagan Hayes got back in on the action with a massive, NBA-range 3-pointer to make it 14-11. She added another bucket a few possessions later to make it 16-13 before Maldonado-Lemus continued her insane shooting from deep and splashed in a 3-pointer to grow the lead to 19-13.

“It really helps shooting and making 3s,” Sorbello said. “It doesn’t always translate when you play on an NBA court. We shot a good enough percentage to keep us in it.”

Back-to-back baskets from Rosamond made it 19-17 before Hayes hit another bucket to go up 21-17.

Sophomore Bailee Broward then arrived on the scene with back-to-back buckets right before halftime, including one right at the buzzer, to give the Cardinals a 25-19 lead going into the break.

“When you hit a buzzer beater, it gives you an emotional boost and jolt of excitement,” Sorbello said. “Those baskets were huge. Up until that point, it was a dog fight. We went into a full-court press in the last minute of the half to generate some momentum. We were in a soft press but went full court in the last minute, and it really gave us a huge lift.”

The Cardinals raced out to a 4-0 run to tip off the second half courtesy of buckets from sophomore Siena Sorbello and Hayes, opening up the first double-digit lead of the game at 29-19.

Rosamond’s Nadiyah Baladez instantly answered back with a bucket and free throw she’d hit to cut it back to 29-22.

Following a few free throws from Hayes and a pair of baskets from the feisty Rosamond, sophomore sharp shooter Elena Ganyo took her turn in front of the spotlight and crushed it via back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Cardinals a bit more breathing room and another 10-point lead at 37-27.

“Elena Ganyo hit a few huge threes there at the end that extended our lead,” Sorbello said. “A huge credit to her for coming off the bench this year and taking the role that she needed to take to help us win.”

That breathing room was quickly incroached upon as Rosamond mounted a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 37-32. Siena instantly calmed the sidelines with a bucket, but Rosamond rapidly riled them back up with another 3-pointer to make it 39-35.

“I told the girls this isn’t supposed to be easy and that we were going to have to earn it in the fourth,” Sorbello recalled. “The team rose to the occasion just as they have this whole state tournament.”

Hayes led the fourth quarter off with none other than another deep 3-pointer to grow the lead back up to 42-35. Maldonado-Lemus followed that up with a layup to go up by nine, making it 44-35.

Rosamond responded with a nervy 6-0 run courtesy of Ariel Cain and Kiley Perez buckets followed by two free throws from Cain to cut the lead to just 44-41.

“Man, a team like that is so dangerous from outside,” Sorbello said. “We had to make an adjustment there because a couple of the 3s they hit were NBA range. We were contesting, but we had to extend our contesting range even further. Our guards were able to extend and at least make those shots tough. Thats all you can do. They were shooting such deep 3s. We’ll live with that. If they hit those long-range shots, they’d deserve to win.”

The Cardinals, however, calmly responded with three combined free throws from Ganyo and Hayes to go up and eventually win the CIF State Championship by the score of 47-41.

Perhaps the key factor Friday morning was rebounding. Led by Siena and Broward, the Cardinals were able to out-rebound the Roadrunners 50-28, with the pair of sophomore studs hauling in an insane 16 and 15 rebounds, respectively, while also scoring 6 and 4 points a piece.

Hayes led the way for the Cardinals with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and a game-high 5 steals. Maldonado-Lemus had 12 points to go with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Ganyo had 7 points and 5 rebounds. Ellie Sumner chipped in with 1 rebound, 1 assist and a steal.