Healdsburg’s thrilling victory in the NCS Division 5 championship series, which culminated on Saturday night at Cardinal Newman gym in a solid 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 the road ahead proved to be bumpy, Healdsburg never relinquished its lead.
San Domenico has been in these playoffs before, winning the Division 2 title just two years ago. So it adjusted its defense, pressuring the Greyhounds into scoreless silence while making a 16-point run before the half. When it ended with Healdsburg clinging to a 22-18 lead, thanks to Maya Sherman’s timely 3-pointer, 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 Healdsburg has fielded in a while, maybe all year. The players were poised, tactical and aggressive when they needed to be, willing to risk a bounce pass and take their shots. They rang up 25 points in the second half while the Panthers were held to 17, and with the end result in sight (a 47-33 win) the crowd showed their appreciation in the neutral Cardinal Newman gym, chanting, “Let’s Go Hounds!”
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.
It was a big win for Jourdan, who was inducted to the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame on Sunday, Feb. 22. “It’s been quite the week! I’m so proud of the girls,” Jourdan said following the game.
“What’s great about this group is everyone chips in. A rebound here, a steal there. Amelia obviously had a standout game. She was able to do that with her teammates looking to set her up for success and her ready to pop shots off, wherever she was on that court!” Jourdan said. “Days later, I still haven’t wiped a smile off my face.”
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 coached 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 in 1989 as well as 1991: three division championships in five years.
The Harry Tappin era spans a lengthy period, during which he coached the girls basketball program from 1984 to 2000. That period saw 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 in 2013. Sellards is also an HOF member, inducted in 2019 for her career as a player and coach at HHS.
“Harry was more than a coach,” Sellards said. “He was my mentor and my father figure. When I took the varsity girls coaching job after coaching three years freshman and three 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 team after the second round, when the top three teams were bumped off.
The 2026 basketball journey for HHS ended in the NorCal State Girls championship series this week. On March 3, Healdsburg, seeded #13, lost to #4-seeded Escalon, 56-37.
As we always like to say, Wait till next year! This time we mean it.
