Cardinal Newman girls begin road to state title defense with No. 1 seed in NCS play

Twenty-five Redwood Empire girls basketball teams will compete in the North Coast Section divisional playoffs beginning Tuesday, including two No. 1 seeds and a No. 2.

No surprise, one of those top seeds is Cardinal Newman, the reigning state champion, which returned every starter from last year’s title team.

This year’s Cardinals breezed through the North Bay League undefeated (14-0) and compiled an overall 25-3 record in their bid to top last season.

They were seeded at the top in Division 4, and have a bye until the second round on Saturday, when they host the winner of Piedmont (8) and Del Norte (9).

In Division 2, Montgomery won a No. 2 seed and will host No. 15 Kennedy of Fremont.

Ukiah (8), Windsor (11), Casa Grande (12) and Rancho Cotate (14) also qualified, but only Ukiah has a home game, against No. 9 Alameda.

The official seeding announcement on Sunday was probably the sweetest for Rancho Cotate and coach Mario Newton.

The Cougars haven’t made the playoffs in about 25 years. But in four years under Newton, the team has improved steadily, finishing 13-13 this year (4-10 in the NBL), enough for a spot at the NCS table.

Rancho Cotate will play No. 3 Acalanes Tuesday in Lafayette.

Even other coaches praised the Cougars.

“It’s so awesome that Rancho made it after being out of the tournament for so long,” said Montgomery coach Darryl LaBlue. “That shows how hard Mario has worked to give them back in the mix. It must be so rewarding for those kids.”

As for his Vikings, LaBlue also has a special feeling. After longtime coach Steve Bell retired to assist his ailing parents, LaBlue took over. He’d been an assistant under Bell for years, but still, it was a transition for the team.

“We didn’t play very well our last game again Santa Rosa, but I’m really proud of the kids with this whole situation with Steve stepping down and me taking over,” he said. “They’ve worked hard for me and I’m blessed to have the group that I have. They understand what it’s all about.”

Santa Rosa is the only team in the Empire to play in Division 1 this year, and the Panthers drew a tough position.

Seeded No. 16, the Panthers (13-15 overall and 9-5 in the competitive NBL) will face No. 1 Carondelet Tuesday in Concord. The Cougars were 24-4 overall and won their East Bay League with a 13-0 record.

In Division 3, Sonoma Valley, which won the Sonoma County League with its own undefeated season (12-0, 22-6 overall) was seeded 8 and will host No. 9 Alhambra.

No. 10 Analy, which came in second behind Sonoma Valley in league but won the SCL tournament Saturday with a 45-35 win against the Dragons, will travel to No. 7 Eureka.

Sonoma Valley coach Jann Thorpe, in her first year as head coach, said “I’ll take an 8 seed. I don’t want to look too far ahead.”

“I like that we have a home game,” she said. “It was nice to win league and having a long winning streak.”

She was busy researching Alhambra Sunday afternoon to find out what may be in store for her Dragons Tuesday night.

The region’s other top seed is Division 6’s Rincon Valley Christian, whose Eagles went 19-7 overall and 11-1 in the North Central League II.

The Eagles host No. 16 Patten Academy of Oakland (8-10, 5-1) Wednesday night.

In Division 5, four Empire teams made the cut, with Sonoma Academy (6) and Clear Lake (8) hosting games Wednesday, while Cloverdale (10) and Upper Lake (16) travel.