SCL champs sense the moment

Great teams are easy to detect. They will possess skill, unselfishness, determination. They’re the most fun to watch. And they win.

The Petaluma High School girls basketball team, in winning the Sonoma County League Tournament to finish its season with a perfect league record, showed those attributes and more.

Most impressively, the T-Girls have a sense for the moment.

In the opening quarter of its SCL tournament run, Petaluma outscored Analy 23-8. Kaileigh Pate, Kassidy Bacon and Sheriene Arikat combined for five 3-point baskets. Jaden Krist and Kelsey Martin ruled the paint, creating second chances for themselves and teammates.

In the third quarter, the game tightened. Analy scored the first nine points of the second half and cut Petaluma’s lead to six. The Trojans’ momentum was slipping away.

But Krist, the 5-foot, 11-inch junior center, refused to relent.

She stole the ball after a missed shot by the Trojans, and a rebound by Analy, and passed to Arikat, who was fouled.

Petaluma inbounded the ball under its own basket, and Arikat found Krist for an easy layup. The Trojans took control once again, leading by as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter on their way to another win.

In the SCL title game against Sonoma, Petaluma would have to win without its star center. Krist injured her knee while driving to the basket in the game’s opening minute.

“We all came together, and then we were like, ‘OK we just gotta do it,’?” Pate said of the team’s mindset after Krist’s injury, which left the knowledgeable crowd at SRJC’s Haehl Pavilion gasping.

Arikat entered the game for Krist and immediately produced, going 2-of-4 from the free-throw line in the first quarter and hitting a 3-point shot in the second. Another 3-point shot from Bacon pushed Petaluma’s lead to 14-9.

“The Trojans pass the ball pretty well, don’t they?” said one Sonoma fan to another in the stands.

Two seconds of game clock ticked by before his companion replied.

“Yes, they do,” she said.

But Sonoma, led by an aggressive full-court defense, took a 20-18 lead into halftime and didn’t let Petaluma score until the 4:09 mark of the third quarter. A back-and-forth affair left Petaluma down by one with just 6.9 seconds remaining in regulation.

A driving shot by Martin yielded two Petaluma free throws. Martin made one and sent the game to overtime.

“It was such a relief,” said Martin about making it to overtime. “Because we definitely play our best, and we play together, when we get into those stressful situations.”

Arikat opened overtime with a beautiful drive to the basket for two. Costa nailed a jumper. A Costa steal led to two made free throws by Angelina Scaccalosi. Martin converted from the paint. Arikat hit a free throw.

At the end of the game, the Trojans were the last team standing. They hoisted the SCL championship trophy high.

“It was amazing,” Bacon said after the game. “It’s just amazing to (win) this championship.”

It was amazing to witness, too. And it was a lot of fun.

The next stop for the undisputed champion of the Sonoma County League is the North Coast Section playoffs.

“We’re really looking forward to NCS,” sophomore guard Paris Buchanan said. “It should be fun. It should be a challenge. And I think we’re ready.”