Lynbrook High was more than eager for Saturday's regional Division II title game against St. Francis at Sacramento's Sleep Train Arena.
Two busloads full of Lynbrook students made the two-hour trip from San Jose to support the team and excited Lynbrook school officials, a full 15 minutes before the lot opened, stood by their vehicles waiting for the parking lot to open.
Everything was in place for a big Viking win, but then the game started.
St. Francis raced to an early 12-point lead, evaded a few speed bumps and then cruised to a 44-19 victory to capture the school's first girls regional title.
"I'm so proud of this team and of these young ladies," Lancers coach Brian Harrigan said. "I don't think they understand how proud I am of them and how proud we are to be NorCal champions."
When the final seconds ticked off the clock, Lancer stars Jennifer Lucian and Shelbi Aimonetti embraced and the rest of the Lancers exulted as well. But it was really anti-climactic for a contest that was decided early in the third quarter when St. Francis (24-8) outscored the Vikings 10-4 to stretch a 17-10 halftime lead to 13 points.
A 9-2 run by the Lancers to start the fourth quarter then dusted off the Vikings (24-6), who never really stopped trying, but just couldn't keep pace.
St. Francis dominated Lynbrook on the boards, out-rebounding the Vikings 36-24 and shot 43 percent from the field (20 of 47) compared to 20 percent for Lynbrook (seven of 35).
Kate Hoey, who had "REBOUND" scrolled on the inside of both of her wrists, led the Lancers' board effort with 11 rebounds and Shelbi Aimonetti paced St. Francis with 15 points, making making 6-of-14 attempts including three 3-pointers.
Jennifer Lucian added 12 points and six rebounds for the Lancers, Daisha Abdelkader scored seven points and Hoey and Carolyn McGuire had six and four points, respectively.
The St. Francis girls were all smiles and giggles in the post-game press conference as Harrigan and Aimonetti discussed a stern, second-half message Harrigan gave to the latter over a momentary absence of poise.
"I love all these girls," said Harrigan, the former Sacred Heart Cathedral coach who Saturday appeared in his seventh NorCal title game. "I was trying to get (Aimonetti) to believe in herself. I told her 'I believe in you and you gotta believe in me and together we'll get it done.'"
Said Aimonetti: "I was trying to control myself and keep my composure. I had to snap out of it and get back in the game and realize these are the NorCal finals and I need to hit my shots and focus because I know (Harrigan's) not going away."
The Harrigan comment prompted more guffaws from the Lancers -- and why not smile after holding Lynbrook to the lowest point total in NorCal history with a tough man defense that had the Vikings misfiring all game long?
Junior Sara Dyslin led Lynbrook with seven points and nine rebounds and showed tremendous hustle, diving on the floor for several loose basketballs. Jackie Hudepohl scored four points and Paige Song and Dolly Yuan had three apiece for the Vikings.
Said first-year Lynbrook coach Cynthia Ting: "With this team I never really feel like we're out of a game. But I think this big arena and the depth perception problem you face that we didn't hit shots we usually make and that will happen sometimes.
But I hope they realize what a huge achievement this was and don't let how they feel now overshadow that. I'm proud of the team. They left their heart and soul out on the court."
Added Song, her voice quivering with emotion: "We came really far. We had a lot of ups and down, but we pulled together and stayed strong through good times and bad and became a family."
Lynbrook will return key players in Dyslin, Song, Renee Huang, Annie Cheng and Yuan next season. As for St. Francis, it's onto the state title game, rarefied air for a program on the rise.
