Healdsburg’s thrilling victory in the NCS Division 5 championship series, which culminated on Saturday night at Cardinal Newman gym in a sold 47-35 win over San Dominico, was long overdue.
It was a hard-played game, though each team had its good quarters and its not-so-good quarters. Healdsburg leapt out to a lead in the first quarter, despite the absence of senior center Claire Berry (she had a previously scheduled college interview, as the Greyhounds’ deep run into the playoffs had not been anticipated), but Amelia Wickersham’s dominant first period put them ahead 16-2. Though it was a bumpy road, it was a lead that Healdsburg never relinquished.
San Domenico has been in playoffs before, winning the Division 2 just two years ago. So they adjusted their defense, pressuring the Greyhounds into silence while making a 16-point run before the half. When it ended with Healdsburg clinging to a 22-18 lead, the Greyhounds retreated to a nearby weight room to talk things over.
The team that emerged onto the yellow and red Cardinal Newman basketball court for the second half was the strongest team that Healdsburg has fielded in a while, maybe all year. They were poised, tactical, and aggressive when they need to be—willing to risk a bounce pass, which often paid off—and their shooting luck had returned. They scored 25 points in the second half while the Panthers were held to 17.
Amelia Wickersham led scoring for the Greyhounds with 17, Meher Dhiman sank 10 and Amber Dhiman dropped five, while freshman Savannah Hayes scored seven. The players managed to score when it counted and their ball handling made sure they had control of the game.
They even managed to nail baskets from what assistant coach Jackie Sellards called “3-point land,” including five from Amelia Wickersham and two from Meher Dhiman.
The result was a strong performance in an NCS championship series finale, and welcomed new coach Cassidy Jourdan to the school’s elite roster of coaches. (And a big week for Jourdan, who was inducted to the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame on Sunday, Feb. 22.)
The Tappin Era
Previous play-off-select Greyhound teams are not unheard of in school history. The most recent saw the Hailey Webb-led 2024 Lady Hounds eliminated in the quarterfinals. Healdsburg was in Division 4 then, but Division 5 that year was won by San Domenico, who the Greyhounds vanquished last week.
It harkened back to what Jourdan herself called “the Tappin era,” when Harry Tappin coaches the girls basketball teams to a number of post-season wins.
The team last got the top spot in a tournament in 1991, 35 years ago. But it wasn’t quite the rarity then. They had earned the championship in 1987 in Division 2, when the North Bay League was only three divisions, and again 1989 as well as 1991: five division championships in five years.
The era of Harry Tappin spans a lengthy period coaching the girls basketball program, from 1984 to 2000. In that three NCS championships and two North California championships. If there is a direct connection between the 1980s Greyhounds and the 2026 team it’s Jackie Sellards, a former player who returns to the court this year as an assistant coach.
“I played for Harry 86, 87, and 88,” Sellards told the Tribune. “Undefeated league all three years.” Herself a former basketball head coach for the Lady Hounds, 2008-2011, Sellards played a key role in getting Tappin into the HOF. Sellards herself is a HOF member, inducted in 2019 for her career as a player and coach at HHS.
“Harry was more than a coach,” said Sellards. “He was my mentor and my father figure. When I took the Varsity girls coaching job, after coaching 3 years freshman and 3 years JV, I asked Harry to be my assistant. He came out of retirement to show me the ropes of the varsity role.
“For me it’s full circle helping Cassidy,” Sellards added. “She’s one of the few I would come out of retirement for. “
The leap to the Nor Cal State championship series is a big step. In the series just concluded, though seeded #4 the Greyhounds were the highest-seeded teams after the second round, when the top three teams were bumped off.
But don’t put anything past the 2026 Lady Hounds. The NorCal State Girls championship series begins Tuesday, March 3. Healdsburg is seeded 13th of 15 teams. Their first game is against Escalon, seeded #4. Tip-off at 7pm.
Go Hounds!
