Girls basketball No. 1 St. Mary's loses to Pinewood in California Open Division playoffs

Video: Pinewood, CA wins CA D-V state title
See highlights from when Pinewood won it all in California in 2010.

Pinewood (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) girls basketball coach Doc Scheppler kept saying it, but no one believed him. Except maybe his own players.

"If we can shoot the ball well, we can beat them," he said Monday night.

"Them" was the No. 1 team in the country St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.), the winner of 57 straight games and the defending California Open Division state champion.

And on Tuesday night, behind 21 points each from Erin Poindexter-McHan and Hannah Jump, the tiny school of 210 students beat "Goliath" 72-69 on the home court of St. Mary's. That's certain to throw some calamity into this week's Xcellent 25 National Girls Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard.

Scheppler has won six small-school titles and came into the contest with a sparkling 551-120 record. He's also been a professional shooting coach for 30 years and his prized pupil is Charlotte Hornets point guard Jeremy Lin.

But throughout his spiffy 20-year career, he's never defeated the No. 1 team in the country. The Rams, with a 17-person roster, were taller and deeper. They featured two of the nation's top seniors, Nebraska-bound 5-foot-9 guard Mi'Cole Cayton and Oregon State signee Kat Tudor, a 6-foot guard, along with one of the country's top sophomores in 6-2 forward Aquira DeCosta.

But behind the team's 16 three-pointers, Pinewood "Shocked the world," Scheppler said.

Pinewood (24-5) came in 24th nationally in the MaxPreps Computer Rankings presented by the Army National Guard, so it wasn't a complete shocker. Especially not to the team's NorCal final opponent Miramonte (Orinda), a 74-61 winner over Salesian. Miramonte (31-0) is ranked sixth in the country.

"Pinewood can play with anyone in the country and the proved that tonight," Miramonte coach Kelly Sopak said. "Especially when they shoot well. They have a great coach and don't fear anyone."

Clearly, Scheppler didn't coming into the game. He said Monday: "We'll go see what we can do with Goliath. We'll give it our best shot."

Pinewood has a history of slaying bigger and more athletic teams, including its 2010 state championship team (see video) against St. Anthony (Long Beach), which had a front line of 6-3, 6-2 and 6-foot. Pinewood rarely has 6-foot players. Its tallest player this season is 5-10.

The Panthers, winners of six small-school state championships, fell behind by 10 in the third quarter but came back.

"We played with great heart and joy and with nothing to lose," Scheppler said. "We just kept denting into their lead with 3-pointers. We shocked the world man. It feels great."

Akayla Hackson and Klara Astrom added 12 points for the winners. Pinewood now plays a Miramonte team led by McDonald's All-American Sabrina Ionescu, who scored 31 of her game-high 36 points in the second half against Salesian Tuesday.