Santa Ynez High squad makes second straight trip to Fresno after two road wins in playoffs
By Mike Chaldu
michael@santaynezvalleystar.com
For the second straight year, the Santa Ynez High girls basketball team will be headed to Fresno’s Selland Arena to vie for a CIF Central Section championship.
This year the Pirates are in the Division V bracket, seeded No. 5, and will be playing No. 3 seed Rosamond High, on Saturday, Feb. 27. This year, Pirates head coach Jennifer Rasmussen is confident her team can seal the deal after falling in the 2025 Division IV championship game.
“We were there last year [losing to Central Valley power Immanuel High of Reedley], they’ve been there before, and this time they just have to do their job and win the game,” Rasmussen said during the Pirates’ Thursday practice, their last before leaving Friday for Fresno.
Santa Ynez and Rosamond are scheduled for a 10 a.m. tipoff, the first of six championship games (three girls, three boys) to be played at Selland Arena on Saturday.
The Pirates (15-10, 4-6 in the Sunset League) earned their berth to the title game on Friday, Feb. 20, by knocking out the top seed of Division V, Coalinga High, overcoming a halftime deficit to defeat the Horned Toads 62-55.
Coalinga, whom Santa Ynez beat in the second round of the playoffs in 2025, came in as co-champions of the West Sierra League with a 23-8 overall record, but the Pirates were able to overpower them in the second half to erase a nine-point halftime deficit.
“I thought we controlled most of the game, but we had a letdown in the second quarter, which I don’t know why, but we have one quarter when we let down a bit,” Rasmussen said. “At halftime, I just stressed one basket at a time and just stop them and then score, and when we came out for the second half, that’s what we started doing, and we just played great team ball like we did to start the game.”
The Pirates allowed just eight points in the third quarter, which ended with them down just 39-37, and then scored 25 in the final quarter to overtake the Toads for the win.
Helina Pecile was the top scorer for SYHS with 16 points, while Rylan Agin added 14, and Jazmine Juarez 11. Pecile and Elliette Rasmussen brought down 7 rebounds each to tie for the team lead.
Before beating Coalinga, the Pirates traveled all the way up to Bishop and defeated host and No. 4 seed Bishop Union 47-25.
As the SYHS prepare for Rosamond, Rasmussen noted that her team is going into the title game with a little more rest, as the Pirates beat Coalinga on Feb. 20, but the Roadrunners played their semifinal against Corcoran this past Tuesday, Feb. 24. However, the coach admitted that there could be drawbacks.
“I appreciated the additional rest, but at the same time, we haven’t been used to taking off a week between games,” Rasmussen said. “We’re almost to the point we’re running out of things to do in practice; however, I think we’ll be OK.”
Rasmussen said she has had the chance to see some footage of Rosamond.
“They’re a 3-point shooting team like we are, and they have a physical defense,” she said. “But I think we can run with them.”
The game is scheduled for 10 a.m. in Fresno, and is being offered on streaming through the NFHS Network website, which specializes in high school games. Viewing of the game requires a paid subscription. To get access, go to nfhsnetwork.com, or you can click a link on www.maxpreps.com/ca/santa-ynez/santa-ynez-pirates/basketball/girls/
