NCS girls basketball playoffs 2026: What to know after Sunday’s seeding meeting

OPEN DIVISION: CAN ANYONE BEAT SAN RAMON VALLEY?

Much like Salesian on the boys side of the playoffs, San Ramon Valley is the clear favorite to win the section’s highest postseason division.

But SRV has been even more dominant than the Richmond school. 

The Wolves beat East Bay Athletic League opponents by an average of 58.6 points per game. In their nonleague schedule, the Danville school defeated the likes of St. Francis, Moreau Catholic, Caruthers (twice), Alameda, Clovis, Bishop O’Dowd, Redwood, Clayton Valley and Pinewood – all teams playing in the Open or Division I brackets in their respective sections – in dominant fashion. 

With a team that has no problem going 10 deep and a coach that is among the Bay Area’s elite, SRV (24-3) is a clear-cut top team in the state. 

Between San Jose State-bound guard Alyssa Rudd, scoring machine Ella Gunderson, sharpshooters Carly Stern and Hania Bowes and freshman star Presley Uchikura, SRV has all the talent it needs to breeze past the competition. 

If seeds hold, SRV will play Carondelet for a third time in the Open Division finals. The Cougars only lost by 10 in the regular season, but were thoroughly dominated on Friday in the EBAL championship, losing by 21 points. 

Should SRV’s dominance continue, a long-awaited matchup with the Bay Area’s top overall team, Archbishop Mitty, could be on the horizon in the NorCal Open Division playoffs. 

WHO WINS DIVISION I?

Good luck trying to pick a winner in this bracket. 

This year’s Division I field is filled with powerhouse teams and elite players. 

Acalanes, seeded fourth, is a year removed from an NCS Open Division title game appearance and boasts an exciting lineup that includes prolific scorer Lexi Le, freshman star Millie Jones and sisters Sofia and Sienna Fernandez. The Dons beat the bracket’s top seed, Redwood, in January. 

No. 2 Dublin has been a pleasant surprise this season, led by senior Arianna Chacon, who is averaging just over 17 points per game. The Gaels will play another upstart program on Tuesday in College Park, which upset Acalanes last week. 

Alameda, Heritage, California, Pinole Valley and Dougherty Valley are all battle-tested programs that have multiple top players on their roster. 

Redwood will get a bye in the first round. 

BUZZER BEATERS

Salesian was one of the top teams in the section, but missed out on the Open Division. Since the Pride’s base division is D4 and they can only move up a maximum of two divisions, the Pride are the top seed in D2. The Richmond school will get a bye, and if seeds hold, it will play Moreau Catholic in the finals. 

While SRV will be the heavy favorites in the Open Division, both first-round games are expected to be competitive. After winning the Diablo Athletic League, Clayton Valley will host perennial powerhouse Bishop O’Dowd with the winner playing SRV in the second round. Piedmont will host Cardinal Newman in what should be an excellent clash of styles. The winner of that game will play Carondelet in the second round. 

In its first varsity season, Emerald went 5-20. But it was good enough to make the playoffs. The Aerouants had a winning record against teams in their base division, qualifying them for the postseason. 

Small Cornerstone Christian out of Antioch received the top seed in Division VI. The Cougars have quietly been one of the section’s small-school powerhouses, reaching an NCS title game in each of the last four seasons. Cornerstone Christian will try to win its second section title in five seasons.