Midway through the 2nd quarter of the CIF Division 4 championship game Friday, Shalhevet’s Yalee Schwartz slumped to the ground after taking an inadvertent finger to the eye from a San Domenico player.
You can excuse the Firehawk faithful in the Golden 1 Center if their hearts sunk for a moment, remembering when the star left last year’s Division 5 title game with an injured ankle and couldn’t return to keep the Panthers from winning the championship. .
But Schwartz and her coach Ryan Coleman shared a quick laugh and a minute later Schwartz went coast to coast after grabbing a rebound and hit a layup and the ensuing free throw.
It stopped a 9-1 San Domenico run, stretched Shalhevet’s advantage to 6 points and the Firehawks never gave up the lead en route to a 50-46 win that made them the first Jewish girls team in the United States to win a state championship. Only one other time - the Yavneh Dallas boys team in 2020 - has a Jewish team won a state basketball title.
Schwartz finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds and her fellow star junior Arielle Grossman added 18 points and 10 rebounds. The win capped a 31-2 season for Shalhevet and cements their #1 ranking in the Jewish Hoops America Top 18.
After the game, Schwartz told Spectrum SportsNet that last year’s outcome motivated her all season long.
“I wanted to get back so badly, honestly,” she said. “I only played five minutes last year and I wanted redemption from the last game, I wanted to be able to prove myself and I wanted a state championship.”
The Firehawks never trailed in the game, opening up 16-5 and holding a 26-18 halftime lead despite a dozen turnovers. The Panthers got to within 40-38 with just over six minutes left in the game but consecutive baskets by Grossman, Schwartz and Davina Benelyahu put the lead back up to 8 and the Firehawks were poised to celebrate.
The Erev Shabbos game limited how many Shalhevet fans could make the trip to Sacramento, while the entire San Domenico school seemed to be in attendance thanks to the 90-minute bus ride from San Anselmo.
Schwartz said that the Firehawks defied the odds.
“Given how small our school is and getting back two years in a row and after losing we prove ourselves and we win, it’s absolutely insane.”