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Aliso Niguel’s girls basketball players brought out the sparkling apple cider again Saturday night, venturing outside their gym to spray two bottles in celebration.
The squad that lost its coach and all-league point guard before the season posted a second upset of the week to dramatically improve its chances of reaching the CIF-SS playoffs.
“It’s crazy. I never would have thought (this),” senior forward Shanna Brown said after the Wolverines (8-17, 3-4) defeated then-No. 14 Tesoro 54-48 to tie the Titans for third place in the South Coast League.
“We’ve just always had a joke, sparkling cider, lets pop it. It’s just a fun tradition we started.”
Aliso Niguel’s victory Saturday came four days after it upset then-No. 7 San Clemente 67-62.
The Wolverines were in desperate need of both victories if they wanted to reach the postseason. They started last week with a 6-16 overall record, well below the .500 mark needed to apply for an at-large berth. Their only route to CIF appeared to be earning an automatic playoff spot, or placing at least third in one of the toughest leagues in Orange County.
But with their two league victories last week, the postseason appears possible. The Wolverines close the South Coast against visiting Trabuco Hills (9-16, 0-6) on Thursday. Tesoro (17-10, 3-4) plays at San Clemente (20-6, 5-1) on Tuesday.
Aliso Niguel and Tesoro are both part of CIF Division 2A. The schools could meet in a one-game playoff if they tie for third but few probably expected the Wolverines would be this close to the playoffs.
The team’s coach, Brad Johnson, set to enter his fourth season, left Aliso Niguel to become the video coordinator for Loyola Marymount’s women’s team. Aliso Niguel also lost junior point guard Aryanna Hudson, who transferred to league rival San Juan Hills.
Senior Shayla Gillmer had left Aliso Niguel for Ontario Christian before the 2021-22 season, which saw the Wolverines finish 10-18 and miss the playoffs.
“(We’re) very resilient,” said Brown, who recently committed to Chapman. “We never give up. We’re always there for each other. We play for each other.”
The Wolverines also have retooled and improved under first-year coach Hope Goddard, who played at Tesoro.
They moved senior Hannah Carbajal to point guard and found a stronger passer and defender. They developed 3-point shooters in junior Sage Khatemi and 6-foot freshman Ally Fausett. And they have seen improvement from 5-foot-10 post Katie Dunakin, who grabbed 13 rebounds against Tesoro.
“Having gone through the first round of league and playing those teams, we saw what we needed to work on,” said Goddard, who had been an assistant under Johnson. “I like being the underdog, and I think (they players) do too, a little bit. It makes them work harder. They’re a good team. When we play good, we play really good.”
NOTES
Tesoro senior Celine Castaneda became the school’s all-time leading scorer with her 21 points against Aliso Niguel. The 5-foot-5 guard also is the school’s all-time leader in rebounds and assists. …
Sage Hill’s Emily Eadie recorded her 1,000th career rebound last week. Fellow junior forward Kat Righeimer is 41 points shy of reaching her 1,000th career point. …
Mater Dei senior point guard Caia Elisaldez has moved into third place in school history in assists. She had 11 assists last week against Orange Lutheran to push her total to 462. …
Fairmont Prep (16-11, 5-1) clinched a share of the San Joaquin League title with a 48-38 victory at No. 10 Orangewood Academy on Monday.
