After Getting Tripped Up Early, St. Bernard Earned a Trip to State : Division IV: The Vikings lost four games in December but have rebounded to win 24 in a row going into Friday’s championship game.

In December, the St. Bernard High girls’ basketball team was having problems.

After being ranked among the state’s best teams before the season started, the Vikings found themselves struggling for victories.

Instead of being the team to beat in Southern Section Division IV, St. Bernard had already lost four games.

That’s when the Vikings turned around their season.

St. Bernard (29-4) has won 24 consecutive games entering Friday’s State Division IV championship game against Grass Valley Bear River (32-2) at the Oakland Coliseum.

St. Bernard has steamrollered its playoff opponents. In a two-week span, the Vikings won their second Southern Section title in three years by defeating top-seeded Santa Ynez, 75-50, for the Division IV championship.

On Saturday, the Vikings crushed Cerritos Valley Christian, 51-22, in the Southern Regional Division IV title game.

“Reaching the state finals is a dream come true,” senior guard Joi Turner said.

Coach Lori Pawinski believes that her team, which has defeated each playoff opponent by at least 10 points, is peaking at the right time.

“We really came together after our poor start and haven’t lost since,” Pawinski said. “Anyway, I’d rather lose in December than in March.

“Everyone had so much high expectations for us, and so did we. Now, I guess, everyone’s expectations have been met.”

Senior guard Kelly Shimabukuro credits a players-only meeting in late December for the Vikings’ turnaround.

“We had to just get used to each other, so we had a team meeting by ourselves and talked things over,” Shimabukuro said. “We knew we had a good team, but we weren’t playing like one.”

Another reason St. Bernard is playing so well is because of its tough early season schedule. The Vikings lost to Lynwood, Brea Olinda, Morningside and Santa Ynez, four teams that reached Southern Section finals.

“We were primed and ready for the playoffs,” Pawinski said. “All the games we played before March were just practice games to get ready for the playoffs. The teams we lost to were not powder-puff teams.”

Shimabukuro has been a key factor in St. Bernard’s postseason success. Against Santa Ynez in the Southern Section championship game, she made six of seven three-point shots and finished with a game-high 22 points.

“Kelly has played exceptional basketball in the playoffs,” Pawinski said. “She’s very underrated.”

It’s easy for Shimabukuro, who was an All-Southern Section Division III second-team selection last season, to be overlooked because three of her teammates have signed to play at Division I schools.

The 5-foot-9 Turner, who will attend San Jose State, is regarded as one of the state’s top defensive players.

In two postseason games, Turner held Santa Ynez’s Erin Alexander, an All-Southern Section Division IV selection last season, to a combined nine points.

“She is just an amazing defensive player,” Pawinski said of Turner, who led the Vikings with 15 points against Valley Christian. “She just shuts down people.”

Olympia Scott, a 6-2 junior forward, is one of the Southland’s top inside players. Against Valley Christian, Scott had 10 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocked shots.

“Olympia has played great in being a real workhorse,” Pawinski said. “She has done the job all season in getting her points and rebounds.”

The late bloomer in the group is Marte Alexander, a 6-4 center, who scored nine points against Valley Christian.

“The thing is that everyone is playing and doing the job,” Pawinski said. “The intensity and motivation is there now. With all the talent we have, it’s been hard for the kids to take lesser roles, but that is exactly what they have done in order to win.”

Pawinski does not know much about Bear River, but she is confident that the Vikings will hold their own.

“The team is playing so well now,” Pawinski said. “They are living up to the expectations I had for them this season.”

St. Bernard will be tough again next season with the return of three key players.

Olanike Faradolu, a 5-9 junior, and freshmen Joi Thomas (6-2) and Tracie Oaks (5-2) come off the bench for the Vikings.

“Win or lose we’ve had this motto: That when you leave the gym or arena with the feeling that you’ve played your absolute best, you are a winner,” Pawinski said.