Windward Girls Win First State Title

The Wildcats captured the Division IV state championship Saturday morning, defeating Albany St. Mary's 51-47 at Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento.

Throughout the season, Windward School'sl girls'  basketball team has risen to the occasion when the game is on the line. Each time, a different player has stepped up and on Saturday it was Jordin Canada who shone.

The 5' 7'' freshman guard made a three-pointer from the top of the key with 47 seconds remaining to give the Wildcats a 50-47 lead.

In a matchup between teams ranked eighth and ninth in California by Cal-Hi Sports, it was the Wildcats' height advantage that ultimately allowed them to break the North Coast Section champion's 17-game winning streak.

Imani Stafford, Windward's 6' 7'' junior center, blocked a layup attempt by St. Mary's forward Shannon Mauldin, secured the rebound and was fouled. She made one of two free throws to give the Wildcats a four-point lead with 14.7 seconds left and neither team scored again.

"I don't know what to say... I just play the game," said Canada, who finished with 12 points and two steals. "Imani gave me a great pass and I happened to be the one to take the shot. It felt good leaving my hand, but sometimes they feel good and don't go in."

With the game tied 47-47, Windward Coach Steve Smith called for a play meant to get the ball to Stafford in the paint. However, if the defense collapsed on Stafford her job was to kick it out to an open shooter, which is what happened.

"Jordin missed the last two days of practice with the flu but she's a gamer," Smith said. "I have no reservations letting anyone take the shot on this team, no matter what grade they are."

Windward led 20-14 after the first quarter and Stafford's layup just before the buzzer allowed the Wildcats to take a 30-28 lead into halftime. Stafford's putback broke a 38-38 tie and Courtney Jaco's three-pointer from the corner upped the lead to 43-38 with 2:01 left in the third quarter.

St. Mary's (30-5) went ahead 44-43 lead on Emily Vann's layup with 5:53 left, but Stafford answered with a hook shot to put Windward back in front as the clock ticked under five minutes and Canada made a jump shot from just inside the arc to increase the Wildcats' lead to 47-44.

"Whoever is in the best condition is going to win this game," Smith told his players during a timeout. Neither team scored a basket for the next several minutes until Mauldin drove for a layup to tie the game 47-47 with 1:10 left, setting the stage for Canada's go-ahead three-pointer.

"Yeah, we were nervous when it was tied with one minute left, but it was time to show our heart," said Stafford, who finished with 18 points, 19 rebounds, two blocks and two steals. "We just wanted it more than them. This feels great. I love our team."

USC women's coach Michael Cooper sat courtside to watch Stafford, who sat out the pre-season and missed the team's first 13 games despite being academically eligible. "I had a 3.2 [grade point average] but my dad wouldn't let me play until I had a 3.5," Stafford said. "So it took until the next grading period."

The Wildcats were 9-4 when Stafford rejoined the team and they never lost again.

"We've won 20 straight games with her, so it just shows how valuable she is to our team," Smith said of Stafford, among the most heavily-recruited girls in the state. Our defense has gotten better since she's been back because she makes opponents have to choose how they want to defend us. We have guards who can fill the lanes, which makes us a tough team to beat."

Dartmouth-bound forward Milica Toskovic had seven points and four rebounds and freshman guard Macchiati Smith contributed six points and three steals for Windward, which finished with an identical record in 2005-06 but lost to Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco 66-56 in the state Division IV final on the same floor.

It was a fitting end to the season for Stafford and Canada, who were selected CIF-Southern Section With both returning next winter, Windward seems primed for back-to-back section and state titles. Smith has already scheduled games with Division I powerhouses Mater Dei and Long Beach Poly.

"I want to give respect to St. Mary's," said Smith, after guiding the Wildcats to a 68-46 win over Torrance Bishop Montgomery in the Southern Section championship game March 2 at the Anaheim Convention Center. "They played great defense, they forced turnovers and made us move the ball from side to side. They kept coming at us and played us tougher than anyone has played us this year."

Patch is delighted to highlight the work of  Windward School's journalism class - the possible future writers and editors of tomorrow. You can read the journalism students' review of the game on their own  site, The Windward Bridge, here.

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Windward 51, St. Mary's 47

Windward