By Vincent Liu

Blending an abundance of talent on the court with a little dose of coaching wisdom in the locker room, the Pinewood School girls basketball team wore down St. Francis High 70-51 last Saturday to claim its sixth consecutive Central Coast Section championship.

After leading by only six points over the fired-up Lancers at halftime, Pinewood coach Doc Scheppler told his players to ratchet up their intensity to start the second half.

“The first few minutes after the intermission in a close game is often crucial,” he told them.

The Panthers took the advice to heart and threw down the gauntlet in the third quarter.

They pitched a shutout for 5 minutes and 26 seconds, forcing the Lancers into numerous turnovers and bad shots. By the time St. Francis scored its first basket, with 2:34 left in the third stanza, Pinewood had completed a sizzling 18-0 run to decide the game.

Scheppler, never at a loss for words, turned Forrest Gump after the game. “Sometimes a CCS game is like a box of chocolate; you never know what you’re going to get from your shooters,” he said.

What he didn’t know he would get was a career game from forward Anna Tracy.

With Pinewood trailing by a point two-thirds of the way through the first quarter, Tracy took over. During the next five minutes, she drained four consecutive three-pointers to give her team a lead it never relinquished. She finished the night 5 of 7 beyond the arc and had 17 points.

Tracy, who transferred from Burlingame High in the fall, was remarkably cool playing in her first CCS final.

“Before every game, I would close my eyes and picture my shots going in,” she said. “Tonight, I was in a zone and felt no pressure.”

If Tracy was the propeller, then senior center Katy Digovich would be the engine that thrust the Panthers to their third-straight CCS Division II title (the previous three were Division V crowns).

With four 6-footers on its roster — three of them starters — St. Francis mapped out a game plan to rotate its post players to guard powerhouse Digovich straight up while deploying a man-to-man defense to disrupt the Panthers’ vaunted perimeter shooting.

The strategy worked for a half and went astray soon after. On this night, the Lancers experienced what numerous other victims of Pinewood found out the hard way: You can’t stop Digovich’s inside game and the Panthers’ three-point shooting at the same time — one or the other will kill you.

Scheppler calls it “pick your poison.” For this game, add defense to a lethal concoction that paralyzed the Lancers.

“Our pressure in the first half probably wore them out,” Scheppler said.

Despite giving away height against taller defenders, the 5-foot-11 Digovich was simply too strong and too quick to be contained with single coverage. Driving the lanes at will with a variety of power moves, she punctured St. Francis’ defense with a game-high 31 points, including 12 of 16 free throws. She even hit a rare trey to reduce the Lancers’ early four-point lead just prior to Tracy’s three-point barrage.

“They (the defenders) were big but not very quick,” Digovich said after the game. “I knew I could drive on them.”

When Digovich was not wreaking havoc inside, her teammates went to their favorite weapon: the three ball. The Panthers hit 12 three-pointers to increase their season total to 314, shattering a state record previously held by Ventura (281). Senior guard Kiely Schork chipped in with three treys and 13 points.

Despite its size disadvantage, Pinewood battled St. Francis on the boards almost on even terms. Digovich had a game-high 10 rebounds, and 5-8 Stacie Roshon pulled down nine boards.

Both Digovich and Scheppler credited Yasemin Kimyacioglu for her defense. Often asked to stop the opponent’s most dangerous player, the 5-7 Kimyacioglu held the Lancers’ standout guard Jen Bow to three points.

Strong perimeter shooting by Bow and fellow guard Lauren Haugh, plus stellar inside play from center Ellen Porshneva, catapulted St. Francis to the CCS Division II final for the first time since 2000. Porshneva scored 14 points in the final to lead her team.

Lancers coach Mike DeCarlo praised his squad for handling pressure well, especially in the first half, against a top-notch team with a big reputation, “We didn’t play scared. We played aggressive basketball and the girls came in with the right attitude,” he said. “We didn’t show up just to entertain. We made them earn it.”

DeCarlo’s sentiments were echoed by his counterpart.

“St. Francis was great handling pressure and played fabulous,” Scheppler said. “Their strong play in the first half did not surprise me. After all, they played tough against (CCS Division I champ) Mitty.”

Mitty, ranked No. 2 in the state, beat Pinewood twice early in the season.

As finalists in the CCS playoffs, both Pinewood (23-4) and St. Francis (18-13) have secured spots in the NorCal Division II playoffs and were scheduled to play opening-round games last Tuesday. Top seed Pinewood hosted No. 8 Folsom (23-8) at Palo Alto High; No. 6 St. Francis played at No. 3 Vacaville (29-2). Second-round games are slated for 7 p.m., Thursday, at the homes of the higher seeds.

With two wins, Pinewood and St. Francis could meet again in Saturday’s NorCal final at ARCO Arena in Sacramento (2 p.m.).

For DeCarlo, his preseason goal to go deep in the CCS playoff has been reached. For Scheppler, his goal, which has remained the same year-in and year-out, still lies ahead: to reach the state final.