There was a moment at the beginning of the 2025-26 winter campaign when Scotts Valley head girls basketball coach Stu Hurvitz truly believed they were Central Coast Section contenders.
And not just any contenders, but a title bound one at that.
That fanciful notion became a reality as the No. 2 Falcons blew past top-seeded Notre Dame-Belmont, 53-42, in the Division IV finals at Mission College on Feb. 28.
“There will be a banner in the gym for the kids, that’s history for them,” Hurvitz said in a phone interview. “Let’s face it, they’ve been putting the work in since I got there three years ago.”
It is Scotts Valley’s first-ever section title in the program’s history for either girls or boys basketball.
The Falcons also got a bit of redemption on the Tigers after losing to them in last year’s D-IV quarterfinals.
“We were really good last year. I thought we had a good chance to do it,” Hurvitz said. “This year, just to see it all come together for the kids, and how happy they are, that’s why I do this.”
The amazing journey continued this week with the start of the California Interscholastic Federation State Championships. The No. 8 Falcons defeated No. 9 Central Catholic of Modesto, 58-51, on Tuesday evening in the first round of the D-III Regional playoffs.
Scotts Valley freshman Isabelle Jas recorded a double-double with 26 points and 28 rebounds. Teammate senior Maya Guerra had 12 points, while junior Hanna Shehorn added 11 points for the Falcons.
“A huge crowd at the game tonight, it really helped us,” Hurvitz said. “The kids are on top of the world, and we get another home game.”
With the win, Scotts Valley will get to host at least one more home game. They play No. 16 Notre Dame-Belmont in the second round on Thursday evening at 7pm in what will be a rematch of last week’s CCS D-IV finals.
Notre Dame-Belmont is coming off a stunning 44-39 win against top-seed Placer in Tuesday night’s NorCal Regionals opener.
Central Catholic was by far the hardest competition Scotts Valley has faced with the exception of Los Altos, which handed the Falcons their lone loss of the season.
According to the Max Preps website, the Raiders were ranked No. 99 in California, while Scotts Valley ranked No. 97 going into Tuesday’s contest.
“[Central Catholic] was well coached, they were aggressive” Hurvitz said.
Hurvitz went as far as to say Central Catholic nearly played a similar style to Scotts Valley.
“Aggressive defense, they have good shooters,” he said. “In a way it felt like we were playing ourselves, except we had Isabelle [Jas]. She was the X factor.”
Jas had a huge block midway through the second quarter, which then led to a 10-3 run and a 25-18 lead going into halftime.
In the third, Central Catholic came storming back to jump ahead, 34-32, shocking both the Falcon players and home crowd.
Scotts Valley retook the lead in the fourth stanza, but not without a fight from a ferocious Raider group. Central Catholic cut the deficit at 46-45 with less than one minute remaining in the contest. On the very next possession, Jas turned the ball over on the inbound pass.
But, like Elastigirl from the movie “The Incredibles,” she extended her arms to block her opponent’s shot attempt while getting fouled on the loose ball recovery.
Jas made just one of two free-throw attempts, which allowed CC sophomore Mia Cardoza to send the game into overtime tied at 47-all.
In the extra period, Jas continued to dominate on the boards and added five points, including a three-point play that put the Falcons en route to victory.
Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League champion Scotts Valley has already cemented itself as one of the best teams the school has ever seen. They dominated the SCCAL by going 10-0 in league play and winning the end-of-season tournament for a second consecutive season.
Now, the Falcons—who had the top-ranked offense and defense in the CCS D-IV—are on their way to possibly adding more into the history books.
“If we just keep that up, we have a chance because we can score,” Hurvitz said. “Now I gotta figure this out for [Thursday].”
