Last night, the varsity girls basketball team pulled out a comeback victory over the Montgomery Vikings in the first round of the CIF Division II NorCal state tournament.

The 58-51 upset against the eighth-seeded Vikings gave the program its first state-tournament win in in the past two decades. The ninth-seeded Tigers (now 22-8 overall) have proved themselves to be a threat on the road with a 10-1 record.

The Tigers started the game slow, only scoring 10 points in the first quarter. They trailed for most of the game but exploded later with 23 fourth-quarter points, of which senior guard Shelbie McKay contributed 12.

Leading the way for the Tigers was McKay, who poured in 19 points. Also adding to the total were juniors Ari McCurry and Bailey Bowen-Seay, who registered 16 points and 8 points, respectively.

According to Bowen-Seay, their determination to leave with a victory motivated them.

“We played really well, since we lost in the second round [of the section tournament] and didn’t feel too good,” Bowen-Seay said. “We kept the energy that we needed to win this game.”

Bowen-Seay’s spark in the beginning of the third quarter bettered the Tigers’ chance to win the game.

“I knew what I had to do,” Bowen-Seay said. “There was nothing we could lose, so I just went for it.”

The Tigers now anticipate their second-round matchup against the top-seeded Vanden Vikings (27-5) this Saturday at 6 p.m.