'Leave your mark:' Oakland Tech basketball team wins state championship

OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland Tech High School girls basketball team won the CIF Division 1 championship game – and they said they had their coach's mantra on their minds. 

Tech's "Lady Bulldawgs" defeated Santiago High of Corona in Southern California Friday at the Golden One Center in Sacramento with a dominant 75-to-51 win.

One of the seniors on the team says their coach’s motto for the team this year was "leave your mark."

"Months ago, before we were even thinking about playoffs, he was telling us, 'There's something special here. You have the opportunity to do something great,'" recalled Tech senior Mari Somvichian. "It would be a shame if you didn't do it.' We were just trying to leave our mark on history. I think it's safe to say we did that."

The Oakland Tech’s girls basketball team won the state title in 2019. 

They didn’t play during 2020 due to the pandemic shutdown.

But they picked up where they left off last year winning another title. 

This is their third consecutive title.