I am not sure how long I have been doing this, my guess is around six years, but this has been a different kind of basketball season.  Usually when I mention Elsie Allen High School for any extended point, I usually get some comments and they aren’t happy ones.  That is because it has something to do with realignment not going far enough or something like that.  It wasn’t about Elsie Allen, and success on the playing field.
It has been a pleasure following something that didn’t seem possible, Elsie Allen having a championship moment.  It seems like I am not the only one happy about this development.  The BREAKING NEWS about Elsie Allen winning the SCL championship had over 100 likes.  Compare that to a post the same night about the Cardinal Newman and Montgomery tying for the NBL crown, there were two fan bases happy with that news and had about 50 likes.  Actually, how many like there were takes me back to the Petaluma  National Little League World Series days.
Another development with this team is the show of school pride. Last season you had to wonder if anyone was paying attention to a team that tied a school record in wins.  In a big game against Analy, hardly anyone showed up.
They were noticed this season.  The Elsie Allen-Piner game had one of the biggest crowds that I have seen this season and the Elsie Allen fan base came out in a big way in the home game against Analy, a game that basically wrapped up the SCL title.  The fan base was there to cheer its team on and they showed something else that a person outside the school area doesn’t quite understand and that is pride in its school.
Best of luck the rest of the way.
SIMILAR CHAMPIONS
It took two decades for the Elsie Allen Boys to get its first ever SCL basketball championship. It has taken longer than that for Sonoma Valley to win a solo SCL Girls Championship.  They did share one in 2008.  The school is saying that 1984 was the last solo championship.  The records I have says they tied it with Healdsburg that season and shows the last solo title was back to back seasons in 1979 and 80.
Either way we are talking over three decades.
The Elsie Allen Boys and Sonoma Valley Girls are both 21-5 overall and went through league 11-1.
NBL BOYS FINISH
If you want some history about what the tie between Cardinal Newman and Montgomery might mean when it comes to the post season tournament, you only have to go back three years.
In 2012 the two teams also tied for the regular season title. Cardinal Newman won the post season tournament defeating Rancho Cotate in the Championship Game.  Rancho Cotate defeated Montgomery in the first round 49-48.
If you wanted better news Montgomery fans, go back to 2008.  That year Cardinal Newman, Maria Carrillo and Piner tied for the league title.  Montgomery won the post season tournament by defeating Cardinal Newman in round one and Maria Carrillo in the championship game.
JUST THE BEGINNING?
The Cardinal Newman Boys and Girls are both getting a NBL championship flag to add to their already filled gym wall. The immediate future looks pretty good to add more.
The Boys JV team lost one league game (that to Montgomery) and the freshmen team went undefeated, as did the Girls JV team.
THREE POINT KING
Kylie Oden of Santa Rosa hit two 3 point shots in the regular season finale against Montgomery.  That broke the school record of 78 in a season.  She had set the record last season with 77, breaking the record she broke the year before with 62.
According to the Max Preps numbers, she has played 97 games in three seasons and scored 1,012 points.  That is an average of 10.4 a game. She has hit 217 three point shots.
DECISIONS DECISIONS
Rancho Cotate’s Chris Taylor-Yamanoha has now had offers from, in order, Louisville, Boise State, Utah, Washington State, San Diego State, Utah State and Nevada.
There will be more.
REMEMBER HER?
Dana Thompsen, who went 30-4 over two seasons with Petaluma and helped them win two SCL Softball championships, is pitching for SRJC.  The team has started this season winning eight of nine and in the first rankings is No. 11 in the state.
Thompsen has pitched most of the innings and has every decision.  Last weekend she pitched a no-hitter against De Anza striking out eight and walking one.  Two hours later she was on the mound again and took a 10-2 win over Yuba.
My email address is jacpasquini@comcast.net
You can also now follow me at twitter @homer2612