Photos by Taunya Brunton – The St. Bernard’s players line up for the national anthem before their game on Saturday.

By Ray Hamill — Never has the often repeated St. Bernard’s motto “one family” ever rung more true.

On Saturday, the Crusaders secured a first-ever state championship for the H-DNL in basketball, with the SB girls team capping the most memorable season in school history with a relatively comfortable 47-29 win over Grossmont in Sacramento.

This was a third state title for head coach Matt Tomlin, following the two he has won with the school in football, and when asked what made this team special, he responded without hesitation.

“This team just represents the St. Bernard’s one family more than any team I’ve ever coached,” said the longtime coach, who also was a student-athlete at the school back in the 1990s. “We have 13 players that build each other up every day and just play for each other every game.”

The coach added it’s something you don’t always see from high school girls teams.

“These young ladies supported each other and they elevated each other to another level more than any team I’ve seen,” he said.

The players definitely shared a special bond, something evident on and off the court, and that’s something they all believe played a major role in their success this year.

The two team captains certainly believed so.

“What I really like about our group of girls is how we just support each other through everything,” said senior captain Madelyn Shanahan, who closed out her high school basketball career in the best way possible, achieving something very few players ever manage. “We didn’t get chippy at each other, we didn’t get mad at each other. We’re just always there supporting each other, and it’s been so much fun captaining a team like that.”

It wasn’t the only aspect of the team’s game that paved the way to success.

Fellow captain, junior Laila Florvilus, liked the way this group of players continued to battle no matter what sort of adversity they faced along the way.

Phoros by Taunya

“This team just never gives up,” she said after Saturday’s historic victory. “Everyone shows up for each other, on and off the court.”

That’s something that was evident in Wednesday’s thrilling come-from-behind win over Arcata in the all-local NorCal regional final at College of the Redwoods, as the Crusaders battled back from an 11-point third-quarter deficit to pull out a 60-54 victory.

Without that resiliency the Crusaders would never have gotten the opportunity to play for the league’s first-ever state championship in the sport.

Junior guard Aliyah Vigil, who played a huge role in the team’s outstanding defensive performance on Saturday, also believes this team had a special bond.

And that’s what elevated the players to heights never witnessed before in local high school girls basketball.

“What makes this team special is how we all bond,” Vigil said after the ground-breaking win. “And when someone is down we pick them up.”