Bishop Diego girls basketball beats Calvary Chapel, soars into CIF title game

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - After Bishop Diego boys basketball advanced to a CIF championship game on Friday, the girls team delivered just as big a win 24 hours later.

On their home court, the Cardinals came up with an impressive fourth quarter and held off Cavalry Chapel 42-36 in a tightly contested CIF Southern Section Division 5A semifinal on Saturday night.

"It's so awesome having the boys win, I think the girls just fed off of that," Bishop Diego head coach Jeff Burich said.

The Brickhouse was loud and full of energy for a second straight night.

"We just had such a great crowd," Burich said. "It's an unbelievable feeling."

The Cardinals led throughout but the game was close until the final minutes. A 7-0 run midway through the fourth quarter for Bishop was the game's critical moment.

On a night when three-pointers weren't falling for either team, Bishop's Julia De La Cruz hit a huge one during that deciding run.

"It was a big thing for me, personally, because I wasn't scoring anything at all," she said. "And just to be able hit a three for my team, for the crowd and for anybody who liked it, it was an amazing feeling."

The Cardinals made their free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

"Our biggest thing was working together as a team," De La Cruz said. "Playing together as a team."

"These kids earned it," Burich said. "It's a great feeling for them. I'm happy they were able to get this done... we knew we had a chance at the start of the year, but the kids have to do it. And they just wanted it."

Bishop Diego (23-8) will play Ganesha (23-3), of Pomona, in the Div. 5A championship game next weekend.