End of an era for North Salinas High girls hoops

A group of five seniors who changed the course of the North Salinas High girls basketball team played their final game together Wednesday night in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Vikings gym.

Nicole Hermosillo-Wright, Monae Hobson, Adea Prime, Alyssa Springs and Aliyah Urzua came up as freshmen on the North Salinas varsity squad. Most of the group played together in middle school and set a goal to win two titles on the high school team. By their sophomore year, they won their first of three consecutive Gabilan Division titles.

Based on their size, the group could be considered over-achievers. While their height may have been the difference in a season-ending loss in the NorCal Division I playoffs against Oakland Tech, the Vikings made up for their size with blistering speed and a passion for defense rarely seen at the high school level. 

While coach Darren Jackson brought the program its first Central Coast Section Division I girls title back in 2010, he was able to coach up the current team to bring the program to its peak. The team bought into Jackson's system and the girls had the skill and intelligence to run it flawlessly. The Vikings didn't go down with a whimper against Oakland Tech. Despite going down two scores with just over seven seconds left, North Salinas fought relentlessly until the buzzer sounded. 

The emotion on the Vikings' faces showed how much their cared about this team. The crowd reflected that as well. It was clear Wednesday that the North Salinas community knew how much the girls had invested themselves in this team. It was clear the crowd appreciated the passion the Vikings put out on the court, day in and day out. While some gyms sit half-empty for both boys and girls postseason basketball games, the huge crowd at North Salinas was electric.

It's clear that the group of five seniors, coined the Jackson 5, can be successful in whatever awaits them now that their varsity hoops careers are over and graduation is only a few months away. If they put in the effort and embrace it with the passion and hard work they put into their run of back-to-back CCS titles, anything's possible. While Jackson will have a tough time finding replacements, junior Jordyn Enos matched the level of intensity of her senior counterparts. 

I only got the chance to watch this group together a handful of times, but their passion for the sport they love was inspiring. Congratulations to the Vikings on all of their accomplishments.