by Michael Dixon Thepress.Net

Freedom guard Bria Greenhouse puts up a shot during the Topaz Division final game against Drake at last weekends West Coast Jamboree. The Falcons won their division for the first time in 13 years of hosting tournament games. Photo by Angelo Garcia Jr.

Carondelet guard Amy Harioka tries to shoot over Heritage center Sabrina Engelstad during the Cougars' 68-57 win at the West Coast Jamboree. Photo by Angelo Garcia Jr

Freedom power forward Cydnee Kinslow shoots during the Falcons' 73-33 win over Mt. Diablo on day one of the West Coast Jamboree. Photo by Angelo Garcia Jr.

The Falcons won the Topaz Division of the worlds most prestigious high school basketball tournament, which was held at eight high schools around the Bay Area. Freedom, Deer Valley, Heritage and Antioch all competed from the Bay Valley Athletic League in the field of 120 teams from around the nation.

Senior guard Elsa Ross led Freedom throughout the tournament. Freshman center Cydnee Kinslow, sophomore guard Bria Greenhouse and junior forward Candra Smith also came up huge for the Falcons. Sophomore Kailyn Brown added versatility to propel Freedom to victory.

Its a good morale boost, said Freedom head coach Albert Nunez. Its been long overdue. I hope we use this to turn a corner and finally compete with some of these top teams.

Freedoms offense was in top shape. The Falcons beat Mt. Diablo 77-33 and Las Lomas 61-39 before downing Drake 62-58 to claim the championship.

Antioch, which has also struggled at the tournament in the past, finished in second place in the Agate Division, beating Rio Vista 47-39 and Contra Costa Christian 52-45 before falling to Encinal 52-16 in the final.

While 104 teams were put in eight-team brackets, the tournaments best were put in a prestigious 16-team bracket.

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Freedom wins title at West Coast Jamboree