Girls Basketball: Highlanders Hang On, Advance in State Tournament

Piedmont 57, Scotts Valley 48

The Star: Senior co-captain Saidah Allen scored a team-high 19 points. Allen also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Turning Point: After Scotts Valley tied the score at 43 with under three minutes left, reserve guard Maddie Mills stepped up and knocked down a clutch trey to give the Highlanders the lead for good.

The Quote: "Everybody is growing up right now," Piedmont coach Bryan Gardere said. "The young ones stepped up tonight, (especially) Maddie."

What’s Next?: Piedmont will travel to the Central Valley to tangle with No. 2-seeded Modesto Christian Saturday, March 12. Game time is set at 7 p.m. Site yet to be determined.

Bottom Line: While the contest was probably closer than expected, a win is a win come postseason play.

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It takes more than one player to succeed in postseason play and the  girls basketball team displayed that notion once again Thursday evening.

Senior forward Saidah Allen poured in 19 points and 12 rebounds, and reserve guard Maddie Mills nailed two clutch three-pointers as the Highlanders advanced to the semifinals of the NorCal Division IV playoffs with an impressive 57-48 victory over Scotts Valley.

With the triumph, No. 3 -seeded Piedmont takes one step closer to a possible rematch with league foe and top-seeded St. Mary's-Albany for the NorCal title. The Highlanders will travel to tangle with No. 2-seeded Modesto Christian in the NorCal semifinals Saturday at 7 p.m.

"Everybody is growing up right now," said coach Bryan Gardere. "The young ones stepped up tonight, (especially) Maddie."

While most of the attention surrounding the Piedmont program focuses on the Allen, and deservedly so, the Highlanders' recent hot streak has been made possible thanks to the support that Allen is finally receiving.

Thursday evening was a perfect example.

Allen — earning the bulk of defensive attention from Scotts Valley — had a tough time getting touches in the crowded spaces of Scotts Valley's 1-2-2 zone defense.

With the ball out of Allen's hands, it was up to the other Piedmont players to find a rythym offensively. While that in itself was a struggle at times, the Highlanders managed to find a way in the end.

No more was that true than in regards to Mills, who hit back-to-back clutch three-pointers in the final minutes of the game to ice the victory for Piedmont.

After Scotts Valley tied the score at 43 with under three minutes left, Mills stepped up and knocked down a clutch trey on the following possession to give the Highlanders the lead for good. Moments later, Mills rattled home another three-pointer that sealed the deal.

"That's my shot," Mills described. "Especially at the end of the game when the team needs me. (Those shots) were big. Not to be cocky, but the 3's I shoot usually gets us back in the game."

In the final four minutes of the contest, Mills and fellow role players Quinci Mann (11 points) and Bailey Thompson (4 points) tallied 10 of Piedmont's final 14 points.

Scotts Valley simply wasn't going to let Allen beat them and the Highlanders made them pay.

"Right now, that's what we need," said Allen, who fought through double and triple teams all game. "Every team knows about me and the stuff that I do. This was an opportunity for Maddie to step up and make clutch shots when we needed."

Piedmont jumped out to an early lead, but saw Scotts Valley slowly peck away. Both teams went into halftime tied at 28. In the third quarter, however, the Highlanders finally gave themselves a bit of a cushion.

Piedmont held Scotts Valley to just four points in the third frame to take an 8-point lead heading into the final quarter.

For the game, the Highlanders shot 21-of-58 from the field. Scotts Valley hit 16-of-33 shots.

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Piedmont 57, Scotts Valley 48

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