Pajaro Valley High sophomore Elizabeth Zamora, No. 10, celebrates with teammate sophomore Karley Alvarado following a 36-30 win over North Salinas on Feb. 13. With the win, the Grizzlies secured a share of the Pacific Coast Athletic League Cypress Division crown. (Juan Reyes/The Pajaronian)

If someone would’ve told Pajaro Valley High senior Monique Ayala back in November they’d be Pacific Coast Athletic League champions come the end of the winter campaign, she’d probably still be laughing till this day. 

The Grizzly team captain was guffawing after last week’s regular season finale against North Salinas but it wasn’t because of an outrageous statement.

Instead, Ayala and her teammates were roaring uncontrollably after they brought home the program’s second league championship.

“I’m overwhelmed, but just proud,” Ayala said. “Proud of how far we’ve come. Because at the beginning, I never believed this was possible.”

Pajaro Valley defeated North Salinas, 36-30, to secure a share of the PCAL Cypress Division title alongside Pacific Collegiate as both teams finished tied with a 12-2 record in league play.

It’s the first league title for the Grizzlies since winning the PCAL Santa Lucia Division with a perfect 10-0 record in 2018-19. 

Ayala was held to six points in last week’s low-scoring affair, yet she hit one of the biggest shots with a huge 3-pointer as time was winding down in the game.

“I wanted to do it for my team,” she said. “I knew what it would do for this game, and for myself as a player. I wanted to show my teammates that I was there and that I was gonna put up a fight until the end for them.”

Teammate senior Olivia Contreras finished with a team-best 13 points, including a pair of free throw shots that sealed the game and league crown for PV. 

“It’s definitely surreal,” Contreras said. “I didn’t really have too high expectations for us, especially during preseason because we started off a little rough. I’m really excited that we’ve been able to come this far.”

PV first year head coach Darren Jackson won his 13th league title after winning the previous 12 on the same court at North Salinas for the past 24 years.

“I just knew it was their time,” he said. “All season long we preach just stick with it. They believed in what I was selling them, and they believed in what I was doing.”

The Grizzlies went from placing sixth with a 3-11 record in the Cypress Division last year to league champions in no time, showing how much of an impact Jackson had in just one year at the helm. 

“I started seeing every single practice was 100 percent from everybody, and our coach demanded that 100 percent,” Ayala said. “That made us all such better players. And slowly I started believing.”

Jackson praised his players for showing up to practice on a daily basis, and going about their business on the court come gameday. 

“I demand that they work hard, and they do it,” he said. “They’re still growing a little bit. We are not good as we can be, but we’re good enough to compete right now. Just a great group to have.”

Other big contributors for PV this season include sophomores Karley Alvarado and Elizabeth Zamora, who finished with nine points in the regular season finale.

PV (16-7, 12-2) earned the No. 12 seed in the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs. They will host division rival King City (16-8, 11-3) in a play-in game Friday at 7pm.

Ayala said they deserve every ounce to be in this position, especially after the fact that they’ve worked hard to get to this point.

“We’re just gonna go into it with the 200 percent that we’ve been playing with and go even further,” she said. “Try to elevate our own selves and play better than we haven’t played.”

Contreras added she’s looking forward to being able to extend their season and compete against some of the best the CCS has to offer.

“I feel like we can get pretty far,” she said. “I feel like if we really work and we’re determined enough, I think that we can do it.”

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A Watsonville native who has a passion for local sports and loves his community. A Watsonville High, Cabrillo College, San Jose State University and UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism alumnus, he primarily covers high school athletics, Cabrillo College athletics, various youth sports in the Pajaro Valley and the Santa Cruz Warriors. Juan is also a video game enthusiast, part-time chef (at home), explorer and a sports junkie. Coaches and athletic directors are encouraged to report scores HERE.

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