WATSONVILLE — After winning their first Central Coast Section championship since the early ‘80s last season and returning nine players from that roster, the pressure and expectations placed upon the Aptos High Mariners this season have been, at times, backbreaking.
Fourth-year head coach Stefan Hocom has tried his best to keep his team focused on the big picture — another section title and a deep run into the regional playoffs — but after clinching the league title a week ago, and completing the perfect regular season on Tuesday night, he was singing a different tune.
“You do have to stop and smell the roses at some point and say, ‘wow, look what we’re doing,’” the coach said. “It could just get lost, you might not even appreciate these things… Do we have bigger goals? Sure. But this is special in its own right.”
How special?
Tuesday night’s 68-49 victory over St. Francis High locked up the program’s first 12-0 Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League season since 1983. It’s also the first time the Mariners’ can call themselves league champions — period — since 2001.
So, yeah, a short but sweet whiff of their success thus far wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Especially after finishing runner-up to Soquel High in both the regular season and the league tournament a year ago.
“Getting close last year, and not winning killed us,” said Aptos sophomore guard Gabby Giuffre. “This year, it’s like redemption. It’s like the best feeling ever. We feel like we’re flying right now. It’s insane.”
St. Francis (11-10, 5-6) honored senior forward Meghan Clifton, who had her season cut short by a knee injury, by allowing her to score the game’s ceremonial opening bucket, but it was all Aptos from there.
The Mariners led 19-12 at the end of the first quarter, and were up 35-22 at the break.
Aptos opened up the second half by draining several 3-pointers to power a 16-0 run.
Everything seemed to go right for Aptos, which despite its youth has played like a seasoned powerhouse through its league slate. All but one SCCAL win has come by double digits.
Giuffre scored 19 points, grabbed seven rebounds, swatted three shots and made a pair of steals. Junior guard Hannah Hocom swished four 3-pointers and finished with 15 points. Sophomore forward Natalia Ackerman added 14 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, five blocks and two steals.
Forward Abby Saxton, the lone senior on the team, chipped in 13 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks.
Saxton said she remembers finishing 9-16 as a freshman on the varsity squad and missing the CCS playoffs. That experience made this year’s title sweeter.
“We started from the bottom and really worked our way up,” Saxton said. “We’ve built a super strong program with a great group of girls that I not only love on the court, but outside, in school, and as friends. It’s finally come together, and, being a senior, it means a lot.”
The win not only locked up the historic league title, but also guaranteed the Mariners their third straight CCS playoff berth.
With an impressive 21-3 overall record, and close defeats against state-ranked Dublin and St. Francis of Mountain View, there have been rumblings that Aptos could possibly move up to the prestigious but cut-throat Open Division come playoff time.
Giuffre and Co. have heard the rumors, and said the Mariners, CCS Division III champs last season, would welcome the challenge.
“We got the win last year, what else is there down in Division III? Why not go up and see what we can do? ” Giuffre said. “It’d be nice to show these big teams that we’re here, too. It’s not all private schools. Show them that public schools can play basketball, too.”
But all of that is in the future. At the moment, the Mariners are basking in their glory.
If only for a few moments.
“Last year there were a lot more milestones, this time it’s like, ‘good win, but…nice shot, but…’” Hocom said. “It’s different. These girls, it’s always the next thing, the next thing, the next thing. I’m like, ‘you guys need to let this sink in.’ They’ve had so much success now that it almost feels like it’s suppose to happen. It’s different, but it’s been fun.”
SENIOR NIGHT
Along with Clifton, St. Francis also honored Chloe Deleisseguess, Shelby Velasco, Alyssa Vargas, Samantha Castro and Janiya Sevilla for Senior Night.
Sevilla had 24 points. Junior guard Janessa Yniguez added 10.
