The Woodland Christian girls basketball team and coaching staff had one thing on their minds Tuesday night: winning the CIF D5 State Regional Championship.

Following a close 54-45 victory over Encinal inside an increasingly frenzied Jack Hamlin Gym, that dream became a reality as the Cardinals became the first basketball program in Woodland history to win a CIF Regional Championship.

“I’m feeling so great; this is a crazy experience,” Cardinals senior Keziah Maldonado-Lemus said after the game. “I love this team, and we have come such a long way.”

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we have worked so hard all season to get to this point,” Cardinals sophomore Siena Sorbello said.

However, despite a seemingly storybook ending, the season is not over just yet as the Cardinals advanced to the last game they can possibly play in the CIF D5 State Championship, set for this Friday at the Golden 1 Center, where they will take on Southern California regional champs Rosamond.

“I’m really proud of the girls,” said Cardinals head coach Shiloh Sorbello. “That was a tough game. We knew they (Encinal) had an explosive offense. They got into us a little bit with the threes, but the girls buckled down and got important buckets down the stretch. Keziah did a great job throughout the game of maintaining possession and control while staying at a good tempo, and that really set the tone for the rest of the girls.

“We had three goals: to limit turnovers, win the rebounding battle, and win the shooting percentage battle. We knew if we got two out of those three, we would win the game.”

Following a heartbreaking loss to Bret Harte in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D5 championship nearly two weeks ago, the Cardinals had the strange luxury of continuing their season despite a finals loss. They weren’t wasteful and turned that good fortune into a No. 2 seed in the D5 state bracket, earning four more home playoff games against Fort Bragg, Trinity, Head-Royce and Encinal.

Encinal was in the same situation as the Cardinals, having lost the CIF D4 North Coast Section title to Head-Royce back on March 1. So, with both teams making it as far as they possibly could, and neither able to secure a championship thus far, this game had all the makings of a fantastic event.

The Cardinals enjoyed another good start in the regional final, finding themselves up 11-4 at the end of the first quarter.

Encinal led off the second with an early bucket and followed that up with a 3-pointer to close the lead to 11-8. Maldonado-Lemus then kept up the Cardinals’ scorching scoring from deep and nailed her own 3-pointer to make it 14-8. After a Hayes free throw, Maldonado-Lemus jacked up another 3-pointer and, of course, hit it to grow the lead to 18-8.

Encinal made the regional final for a reason and battled back, scoring four straight points courtesy of their star senior, Jazzy Alcantar.

Bailee Broward then got in on the three-point barrage, continuing her own hot from, nailing a 3-pointer to make it 21-16. She’d finish the game with 8 points and 9 boards

Encinal would hit a free throw and make it 21-17, but Sorbello then made her mark on the game with a second consecutive clutch bucket right before the half to give the Cardinals a 23-17 lead.

Out of the break, Encinal got off to another fast start, hitting a 3-pointer to close the lead to just 23-20, but Maldonado-Lemus instantly erased that with another 3-pointer of her own to grow the lead back to 26-20.

“It’s all about confidence even when you are tired,” Maldonado-Lemus said. “You have to play the hardest you can and also have confidence in your teammates that they are going to make that 3-point shot. It’s crazy to be in the zone out there; it doesn’t even feel real.”

A Sorbello basket, followed by two Hayes free throws, came directly before the first of three second-half 3-pointers from Elena Ganyo that grew their lead to 35-25.

The second Ganyo deep spalsh grew the lead to 40-28 at the end of the third quarter.

Encinal once again led off a quarter with a big play, draining a three and making it a game at 40-31. Hayes, however, was having none of that and made another three to grow the lead back up to 43-31. Hayes finished the game with 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.

Encinal then mounted a quick 6-0 run to make it 43-37 with just over four minutes left in the game.

Maldonado-Lemus ended the run with two free throws before Ganyo blew the roof off Jack Hamlin Gym with her final 3-point spash to make it 48-37.

“Elena has been grinding this year,” Sorbello said. “There is a saying that shooters have to shoot. We have total confidence in her to knock those shots down. It was nice to see her get loose out there.”

Maldonado-Lemus finished the game with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and a steal. Ganyo had 11 points and 5 rebounds.

An Alcantar 3-pointer cut the lead to 48-45, and with about a minute and 30 seconds left, the lead was just 48-45.

Maldonado-Lemus brought the ball up the court on the Cardinals’ next possession and found Sorbello for another clutch baseline jumper late in the game to give the home side some breathing room at 50-45. Siena finished with 8 points and an insane 18 rebounds.

“It feels really cool (to come up clutch) because I put in the work,” Siena said. “It takes a lot for them to trust me, but it’s so cool to have that responsibility.”

With time reaching the single digits and a slight scuffle in the crowd quietly quelled, Hayes went to the line for some late-game, stress-free free throws.

After hitting four across the two final possessions, the Cardinals gleefully raced over to midcourt following the final buzz to celebrate a 54-45 win, the Northern California regional championship, and future ticket to Golden 1 Center for the state final.

The CIF D5 State Final will be held Friday at 10 a.m. inside of Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center and will feature the Cardinals going up against the SoCal regional champions No. 4 seed Rosamond.

“This is a whole new adventure against a team we have never scouted or heard about,” Sorbello said. “Rosamond has also won four games in a row to get to this point, so they will be tough, but we will be tough as well. Our defense will be key. This team (Encinal) scores a ton of points. We knew that our defense would have to be our calling card tonight, just as it has all season, and the girls delivered.

“To have two opportunities in one season to play at Golden 1 is more than we ever could have thought, and I’m just really grateful.”