Girls basketball: Redwood comes up big to win Division I title

In the biggest game of their season so far, the Redwood High bigs were a lot better than Heritage’s in the North Coast Section Division I final on Friday night.

The top-seeded Giants won their second NCS championship in three seasons, 57-42 against No. 7 Heritage, thanks to a dominating night by 6-foot-1 senior center Brooke Denler and 6-3 junior center Hindi Copeland.

Denler led the way with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Copeland added 11 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocked shots. Kitty White, a 5-11 senior, had 14 points and eight rebounds.

“Big game, you need big moments,” said Redwood fifth-year coach Zach Borello. “We played a really good basketball game tonight.”

The Giants won the NCS Division II title in 2024 for their first section championship in program history. Not only does their NCS Division I title rank as another program first, but it also stands out as the highest level NCS championship captured by an MCAL school.

“In 2024, that was our first year winning NCS in school history,” said Denler. “Now this is our first year in Division I winning NCS in school history. We just keep making history, honestly.”

Redwood (25-6) and Heritage (23-7) had already earned trips to the CIF NorCal tournament, which starts Tuesday, by making it to the title game. The Giants will be making their third straight trip to NorCals.

On paper, the Giants and Patriots from Brentwood had a lot more in common than their NCS seedings and the final score would suggest.

They both went unbeaten in the respective leagues: the Giants went undefeated in the MCAL at 10-0 for the second straight season. The Patriots won the Bay Valley Athletic League at 12-0.

Both teams boast league MVPS: Redwood has White. Heritage features 5-10 senior forward Lily Wilright.

One of the major differences on Friday night during the NCS final played at Marin Catholic was that Wilright, known for her defense and rebounding, was never a factor. She picked up her second foul in the first quarter and sat out the rest of the half. She was limited to three points, failing to score until 34 seconds were remaining in the third quarter.

“We do good jobs on good players,” said Borello. “Hindi and Brooke were really good tonight.”

In a game they never trailed, the Giants came out attacking in the third quarter with a 6-2 run for a 35-24 lead in less than 90 seconds. Copeland had a pair of baskets and Denler scored to force Heritage to call a timeout.

“Brooke and Hindi stepped up to the challenge and showed them who the better bigs were,” said White.

Redwood also got off to a fast start in the fourth quarter with six unanswered points on buckets from White, Copeland and Denler for their biggest lead of the game at 49-34 with 5:39 left to play.

The Patriots, making their first appearance in the NCS final, got 14 points from 6-foot all-league forward Jessie Cooper, who fouled out late in the fourth quarter. Heritage was without all-league point guard Riley Bayot in the second half due to a knee injury.

Borello said the Giants didn’t really try to get the Patriots in foul trouble, but the game unfolded that way as Denler and Copeland were menacing inside. Once, Copeland had multiple blocks on the same play.

“My assignment was to lock down the bigs on the other team — don’t let them get rebounds, sliding feet,” said Denler. “You don’t really slack off on defense in this type of game and that’s what I tried to do.”

The Giants’ accomplishment as the first MCAL school to claim the NCS Division I banner is not lost on the Redwood players and coaches.

“We did it sophomore year in Division II, but I think Division I is like a whole different league,” said White. “Getting here and getting the championship is an amazing feeling.”

“It might be the best finish in Marin County history,” said Borello. “I’m speechless. I’m so proud.”