Junior Eden Wynne nailed a go-ahead floater with six seconds on the clock to lift Bishop Diego girls basketball to a 42-40 win over Burroughs in the CIF-SS Division 5 championship on Saturday at Azusa Pacific.
After a neck-and-neck battle throughout, the two sides found themselves tied at 40-40 with 15 seconds on the clock. The Cardinals had possession of the ball and head coach Jeff Burich called a timeout.
Out of the break, senior Jaymi Coronado found Wynne and the junior transfer went to work, backing her defender down and lofting a floater over the defense and into the bottom of the net.
“The last play was designed to get Eden the ball in open space and let her do her thing. Eden was clutch at the end,” Burich said.
Following a timeout by Burroughs, the Bishop Diego defense stood tall and forced a miss to clinch the CIF championship.
It was the Cardinals’ first CIF-SS title since 2015, when Burich and Bishop Diego hoisted the Division 5A trophy.
“I’m so proud of the girls and how they persevered,” Burich said. “Burroughs was playing in-your-face defense, and Luz did a great job attacking the post player and finding open players.
“I’m very proud of our effort and defense, especially in the fourth where we held them to seven points.”
The heavyweight battle was just that from the jump, as both defenses took center stage in the first half and Burroughs went into the halftime break with a slim 18-17 lead.
Both offenses picked it up a bit in the third quarter, with the Bears maintaining their one-point lead at 34-33 with one quarter to go in regulation.
The two sides continued to exchange blows down the stretch until they found themselves tied up in the final seconds, setting the stage for Wynne and the Cardinals’ heroics.
Wynne finished the championship game with a team-high 16 points, while sophomore Luz Castro and Coronado scored nine and eight points, respectively.
Bishop Diego rounds out its stellar season with an overall record of 27-4.