The St. Joseph Notre Dame (SJND) Pilots men’s and women’s basketball teams had their seasons end last week in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) NorCal playoffs.  

Women’s Team 
The women’s team lost to Salesian College Preparatory (SCP) of Richmond, 55-47, in the opening round of the CIF NorCal Open Division tournament on Feb. 27. The Pilots entered the six-team tournament as the fifth seed. SCP was the four seed.  

Neither team held a sizable advantage in the contest. No team led by more the eight points. The game was tied, 26-26, at halftime. The Pride held a slim 39-37 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Pilots were outscored, 16-10, in the final period to end their playoff hopes. A three-pointer by SCP’s Anisa Rillo with 30 seconds left put the game away. 

SJND junior Malia Mastora scored a game-high 14 points. Senior Zhane Duckett was second on the team with 13 points, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the first half. Senior McKayla Edwards led the Pride with 11 points. USC-bound senior Angel Jackson scored 10 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked seven shots. 

The Pilots ended their season with a 22-8 overall record.  

Before the NorCal tournament, the Pilots took part in the Div. III North Coast Section (NCS) tournament. They advanced to the final but lost to SCP again, 58-54, on Feb. 23.  
In this contest, Duckett led the Pilots with 22 points. Mastora contributed 18 points for SJND. Jackson had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Pride.  

The Pilots began the tournament with two blowouts. The thirdseed Pilots took down the 14th-seed Pinole Valley High, 87-13, on Feb. 12. They followed that performance with a 74-31 victory over 11th-seed Moreau Catholic of Hayward on Feb. 15 in the quarterfinal. The Pilots defeated Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa, 54-47, in the semifinal on Feb. 20. 

Men’s Team 
The men’s team could not outlast Grant High of Sacramento in their 66-58 overtime loss in the CIF NorCal Div. II quarterfinal on Feb. 28. The Pilots were the sixth seed in the 16-team tournament. They led heading into the fourth quarter, but the Pacers stormed back to force overtime. Grant outscored SJND, 10-2, in the overtime period. The Pilots finished the season 20-8.  

In the NorCal first round the Pilots defeated St. Ignatius of San Francisco, 55-42, on Feb. 26. SJND trailed, 31-26, late in the third quarter, before going on a 12-0 run to end the period. The Pilots led, 38-31, at the end of the third and held on to the lead for the remainder of the contest. 

Before the NorCal tournament, the Pilots advanced to the NCS Div. III semifinals before losing to SCP, 54-41, on Feb. 20. The team defeated Alhambra High of Martinez, 63-42, in the first round on Feb. 12 and Albany High, 37-29, in a defensive showdown on Feb. 15.