Yes, the Pinewood girls basketball team fell in the state Division V title game to Sierra Canyon 47-33 on Friday morning with a young team, though Panther coach Doc Scheppler said that's no guarantee of future success.
But don't bet against a veteran coach and proud program that was appearing in its seventh state title game (five of them resulting in victories).
Pinewood will miss graduating 5-foot-9 senior Angelina Mapa next season, but Scheppler and the Panthers have re-loaded before and his job should be made easier by the fact he'll have 10 players returning.
Scheppler seemed to have mixed feelings about Friday's loss at Sacramento's Sleep Train Arena and his team's prospects for the future.
"I don't like to lose, but it was an honor to play in this game," Scheppler said. "It's a long journey and it's no guarantee we'll be back just because we only have one senior. We have a lot of work to do to get better and if this loss gets the players even more motivated, then maybe it will serve a purpose down the road."
Mapa was disappointed with the double-digit setback, but confident the Panthers can recover and bounce back next season, even in her absence.
"I'm proud of the girls, no matter what," Mapa said. "We came a long way (this season). It didn't work out today, but we'll be state winners next season, I promise that."
As for the Sierra Canyon girls, they were all smiles in the post-game press conference, after blitzing Pinewood 18-5 in the third quarter to turn an 18-17 halftime advantage into a 36-22 lead by the start of the fourth quarter.
Pinewood shot just 22 percent from the field for the game (11 of 49) and made only four second-half field goals.
Mapa hinted the grand stage of the D-V title game was even more of a factor than the difficult depth perception a big arena can cause.
"I was here my freshman and sophomore year and I got the feel of the court," Mapa said. "But I think the crowd does it a lot too. Playing up to the expectations is hard."
Sierra Canyon, which captured its first state title, had three girls taller than Pinewood's tallest player (Leeanna Bade at 5-10), but struggled inside against the aggressive Panthers for most of the first half. But then 5-6 Trailblazer guard Gabi Nevill made two 3-pointers in the final 1:28 of the first half to help turn a 14-12 Pinewood lead into a one-point Blazer advantage at the break.
"Those were huge," Sierra Canyon first-year coach Alicia Komaki said. "Gabi hit those two big ones and it changed the game."
Pinewood had success on offense early against Sierra Canyon's man defense, but the Trailblazer started half-court trapping and playing more zone in the second and third quarters and it paid off. The Panthers didn't shoot well from outside (5 of 26 from beyond the arc) and couldn't score inside against the taller Blazers.
"Five of 26 is not great shooting," Scheppler said. "We had to shoot better than that and at a key juncture their little No. 1 (Nevill) made some threes that were crucial."
Pinewood (24-8) never stopped hustling. Down 14 to start the fourth quarter, they went on a 7-0 run to close to within 36-29 with 4:56 left in the game.
"We came out sluggish to start the third quarter, but we showed a lot of fight in the fourth quarter to cut it to seven," Scheppler said.
But then Sierra Canyon (24-9) zoomed away again with a 6-0 run and was able to pull its starters by the final minute.
By game's end the Panthers could only look on helplessly as Sierra Canyon collected its first-place plaque and medals.
Schepper was philosophical afterward.
"We made it to the state title game and had a lot of success so I'm pleased and thankful for that and to coach these girls," Scheppler said. "It was a great season that had its ups and downs, but it's all part of the journey."
Gabi Bade led Pinewood with eight points and Marissa Hing and Leanna Bade scored seven apiece. They're all underclassmen. Leanna Bade also took eight rebounds for a team that was out-boarded 44-34.
Sophomore 6-0 guard Kennedy Burke led Sierra Canyon with 14 points and 16 rebounds.
Although it's not of much solace to Pinewood right now, just getting to the title game was quite an accomplishment. To do so it had to knock off formidable Eastside College Prep in the NorCal Regional title game a week earlier, which it did by 12 points. Eastside had previously defeated Pinewood three times, by 15, 13 and 24 points.
*****
John Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@Prep2Prep.com.
