SANTA CLARA — Aptos head coach Stefan Hocom sat in the stands of the Santa Clara High gym with a Central Coast Section hat on his head and the Division III championship trophy to his left. His players were still busy posing for their parents’ pictures, occasionally running up and grabbing the trophy for a quick photo.
It was the storybook ending his girls had dreamt of from the beginning of the season. It was almost too perfect to believe.
“It’s surreal,” Hocom said. “I think it’s going to take a while for it to set in. It’s hit me a bit but it’s still tough to accept. We did this.”
And they did it their way.
The No. 5-seeded Mariners punctuated their improbable CCS-title run by exacting some sweet revenge on the No. 2-seeded Soquel Knights with a 71-59 win on Saturday to capture their first section title since 1983.
Playing in its first CCS championship game since 2001, Aptos (26-4) continued to prove the doubters wrong by pulling its third straight upset of the tournament. The Mariners knocked off No. 4 Mills in the quarterfinals and punched their ticket to Saturday’s championship game by edging top-seeded South San Francisco on Wednesday night.
It seemed like they saved their best game for last, as the Mariners were, at times, unstoppable on offense in their wire-to-wire win.
Sophomore guard Hannah Hocom hit five 3-pointers and poured in a game-high 25 points, senior guard Teal Maixner constantly penetrated the middle of Soquel’s man defense to finish with 17 points and freshman guard Gabby Giuffre hit a trio of timely 3-pointers, adding 14 points. Freshman center Natalia Ackerman chimed in with 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Aptos led by 16 in the first half after Hocom swished three consecutive NBA-range 3-pointers but Soquel (22-6), the outright Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League champ, clawed its way back into the game, cutting the deficit to 11 at the half and tying it up at 43-all on a layup from sophomore center Mckenna Finch midway through the third.
But the Mariners, who were presented the CCS Scholastic championship for holding a 3.77 team grade point average before the game, never panicked.
Giuffre knocked in a shot from beyond the arc on the next Aptos possession to start a game-changing 15-4 run, which 5-foot-4 Maixner capped with an incredible layup over the 6-foot-1 Finch.
Soquel tried to extend the game by fouling but the Mariners made 11 of their final 14 free throws to ice it and clinch the historic title.
“We played our game,” Maixner said. “We didn’t let them shake us in any sort of way.”
It was the fourth meeting between the two SCCAL squads. Their last showdown — on Feb. 18 — was also for a championship: the league tournament title. Soquel was the team on fire that night, hitting 10 3-pointers and denying Aptos’s bid for its first league title since 2001. The roles were reversed on Saturday, as the Knights struggled to solve the Mariners’ zone/man hybrid defense and Aptos made eight shots from deep.
“I think in our minds we wanted a rematch,” Hannah Hocom said. “I think we wanted another chance to prove that we’re on their level and that we can beat them.”
And the Mariners might be on their own level over the next few years. Maixner is one of only three seniors — Haley Shirley and Valerie Jiminez being the other two — and the lone starter Aptos will graduate at the end of this season. There could be a dynasty brewing at 100 Mariner Way.
“All the things that they’ve said about us, that we’re too young, or inexperienced, it’s just a great example that youth doesn’t mean it’s impossible,” Maixner said.
The Mariners and Knights will continue their seasons in the California Interscholastic Federation playoffs.
Aptos received the No. 5 seed and will host No. 12 Moreau Catholic on Wednesday at 7 p.m. It could very well be the Mariners final home game of the season.
“We don’t want this season to end,” Hannah Hocom said. “I hope we go as far as possible. Continue our play from here and see what happens.””
