Piedmont High School’s four winter sports teams all made the North Coast Section playoffs. The NCS announced the playoff brackets for boys and girls basketball and boys and girls soccer on Feb. 16.
The girls basketball team finished the regular season with a 21-4 record and earned a berth in the NCS Open Division playoffs which contains the top six teams in the section. Piedmont earned the honor for the fourth consecutive season and received the fifth seed. The Highlanders will open with a game at No. 4 Cardinal Newman on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. The winner faces top seed Acalanes on Feb. 26.
The boys basketball team finished the season 12-14 but thanks to a strong nonleague schedule received the top seed in the Division 4 bracket. Piedmont will host No. 16 Ukiah on Feb. 19 at 7 p.m.
The two soccer teams also received No. 1 seeds in Division 4. The girls team finished the year 6-9-2 but also played a strong schedule against many upper division teams. They will host College Prep on Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. at Witter Field.
Piedmont’s boys team was 5-8-4 on the field and also got the benefit of playing bigger schools. The Highlanders will host Justin-Siena-Napa on Feb. 19 at Witter Field at 7 p.m. or after the girls game if it goes long.
Girls basketball coach Bryan Gardere said it was an honor for his squad to make the Open Division again.
“I feel that’s a testament to the girls and their hard work this year to make it to the Open,” Gardere said. “I don’t know what the expectation was to start the year, but if you’re in the open that means you’re one of the top six teams in the area.”
All six teams in the Open Division receive automatic berths in the California Interscholastic Federation playoffs. That’s a key to Gardere.
“The Open is exciting,” he said. “All the other teams are really good. But to make it to the state tournament, which is the biggest tournament and what everyone’s playing for is the most exciting part.”
Piedmont lost one of its top players to an illness in the final month of the season. Andrea Martin missed four games but returned and finished the season with 24 points, 12 rebounds, six blocked and five steals in a win over Castro Valley on Feb. 14.
“Andrea is a big part of what we do,” Gardere said. “I think we’re still trying to get the cardio back.”
The coach added that he likes where his team is now.
“This is probably the most complete we’ve been,” he said.
Boys basketball coach Ben Spencer knows he has had teams with better records. But he’s excited to see what this year’s team can do in the playoffs.
“The thing from year to year is to play the best competition possible,” Spencer said. “We’re not scared of anybody. The teams we play, the (Camoplindos) the Universities get us ready for everyone. Now we’re finally healthy with everybody. We’re hitting our stride.”
Dillon Casey missed time with an ankle sprain late in the season but is back on the floor. Ravi Silverberg also missed time during the season as did P.J. Brayer.
“We haven’t had a full healthy team since that Castro Valley game a month ago,” Spencer said. “We’re feeling pretty good.”
Girls soccer coach Dan Chubbock knows all about having kids miss games due to injuries and illness. He said the Highlanders have probably had more missed time this year than during the COVID-19 season.
“The girls hung in,” he said. “Finished the league with a win. Confidence is actually starting to go up again.”
It won’t be a full roster for the game against College Prep. Elsa Wallway is out for the season with a broken collarbone. Darcy McKee is also out for the season. Kyla Williams may be back from a concussion suffered late in the season. Some players will miss due to ski week.
However, the missed time for starters allowed other players to gain experience which will be needed in the playoffs.
“Right now we are OK,” Chubbock said. “But who knows what can happen. Hopefully we’re turning the corner with illnesses and injuries.
“It’s not just being absent, it takes a week or so to recover. If you’ve got a cough you can’t be 100 percent.”
An early-season 2-1 win over Cardinal Newman was key to getting into the playoffs, Chubbock said. Cardinal Newman had been a playoff nemesis over the years and Chubbock said the victory was the first for the Highlanders over the Cardinals.
Piedmont played College Park in the NCS Division 4 playoffs in 2022, coming away with a 4-0 win.