After going undefeated in their league and placing second at the NCS Championships, Encinal’s varsity women advanced even further, the basketball season ending at the CIF semi-finals against Woodland Christian. With seven seniors, this end to the season was a special but emotional time for Encinal.
CIF Semi-Finals vs Woodland Christian – 3/11
After traveling all the way to Sacramento County, Encinal started off a little slower than desired. Woodland Christian’s senior Teagan Hayes played well, scoring easily. The first quarter ended at 11-4 Cardinals.
However, Encinal quickly picked up the pace, especially senior Jazzy Alcantar, leading the team to much higher scoring, keeping the Cardinals to 12 points in the 2nd quarter. The highest scorers and team captains, Alcantar, Surina Castro (12), and Haley Huynh (12) kept the team strong, ending the first half 23-16 Cardinals.
Woodland Christian came back much hotter in the third quarter, with many highlights from Hayes and sophomore Elena Gayo. Their defense remained undeterred, keeping Encinal to few points for the entire quarter. The final score of Q3 ended up being 40-28 Cardinals, a difficult position for the Jets going into the 4th.
Encinal continued pushing forward, making a break for the lead by scoring 17 points while only keeping Woodland Christian to 14. With Alcantar being the highest scorer the entire game, it was a hard, finalizing loss for the season and for the seniors, the final score 54-45 Cardinals.
The Jets had a positive outlook on their season despite the cutting loss. “I was not expecting to make it this far,” senior Isabelle Lu concluded. “I know we were doing really [well] in league and we were undefeated, but I was not expecting to make it all the way to state championships…I thought it was really special to end my season off making it this far and playing on varsity for all four years felt really good.”
CIF Round 1 vs Argonaut – 3/4
The game against Argonaut started off much closer than expected, the first quarter ending 8-7 Mustangs.
At the start of the second quarter, however, senior Surina Castro scored a 3, and the ‘home’ side energy only grew from there. Senior Haley Huynh made a 3 then a layup at 4:40. By now the score was 25-14. Castro scored another 3-point shot, at 1:18, and the quarter ended 30-17 Jets.
The second half went by quickly, with 37 total points by Encinal and 19 by Argonaut. Alcantar scored two 3-pointers in a row and Huynh repeatedly scored and drew fouls at 3:51 and at 5:58 to maintain momentum.
The buzzer rang with a final score of 67-36, and excitement and cheering from the Encinal side as they advanced to the next round.
CIF Round 2 vs Orland – 3/6
Castro led the Jets as the highest scorer of the entire team. The girls played hard and well together, with strong defense and offense, the game ending 67-32 Jets.
The most eventful quarter for both teams was the third, with 12 by Orland and 19 by Encinal. The first half had strong defense from the Jets, holding the Trojans to 11 points while Encinal excelled in shooting and play-making, scoring 30 points.
Orland came back after the half, scoring more in the third quarter than they had in the first half. Encinal, however, remained unphased, shooting and defending with ease, the quarter ending 49-23 Jets.
The final quarter went by fast, Encinal sinking double the points Orland did, ending the game with a strong finish, 67-32 Jets.
CIF Round 3 vs Washington – 3/8
With an explosive start from Encinal, the score difference almost immediately grew, 6-0 at 6:35. The team’s coordination and unity was clear, as they kept the Eagles at nothing for almost the entire quarter, the ending score being 23-4 Jets.
The second quarter started out just as strong for Encinal as the first, with a block made by Zoey Johnson at 7:41. They kept the momentum, with a 3-point shot by Jazzy Alcantar at 5:31. Near the end, however, the Eagles began finding a rhythm, scoring 4 back-to-back points. Even with their points, senior Princess Anderson, undeterred, scored a 3 at 1:15, leaving the score at 38-11 Jets at the half.
In the second half, the Eagles’ rhythm carried on, with a 3 at 6:51 and another 3 at 5:55; a total of 13 points scored by the opposing team that quarter. Encinal went on a prominent scoring drought, near the end of the quarter, however, Encinal came back. Alcantar stole the ball by intercepting a pass, passing it to Surina Castro, who scored a layup with less than 20 seconds left.
Both teams scored relatively little in the 4th quarter, 3-pointers made by both Isabelle Lu and Alcantar. In the end, the score was 59-37, with the advancement of Encinal to the semifinals.
The girls would go on to lose to Woodland Christian in the semifinals. Despite the end of the season, the 2024-2025 Encinal Women’s Basketball team advanced further than any other team had in the history of the school.
“It felt really rewarding…” Castro said. “We haven’t made it this far in all four years and we made history, so it just felt good to see something good come out of the season.”
The season completed bitter-sweetly, Jazzy Alcantar, Surina Castro, Isabelle Lu, Princess Anderson, Honor Philips, Haley Huynh, and Kate Shafer are all set to graduate at the end of the school year. Pride was expressed for all the players that made it this far. Each one of them will go down in Encinal history as the most successful women’s basketball roster to date.
