Here's the girls side of the inside look feature I tried the other day with some boys events. I'm going to have to fudge a bit on this one, because the games I'm using were played at the same time, so I obviously wasn't at one of them. In this case, that's the soccer game, but I'll do my best to offer any insight I have.

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Stockdale 72, North 41, Friday night at Stockdale
What it means: The Mustangs are still the dominant team around here, and that doesn't look to be changing any time soon. Stockdale now has a two-game lead in the Southwest Yosemite League race with five games to go and a two-game sweep of second-place North in the unlikely event of a tie. For Stockdale, it's all about the playoffs, and more specifiically, if they can get to the final and play with Clovis West.
Why it happened: Actually, North played pretty well in this game, at least for stretches of the first half. Stockdale jumped to a 10-1 lead, but Stars coach Hernan Santiago called a couple of quick timeouts and settled his team down. North started effectively handling the Stockdale press and turning that into layups and open jumpers. Stockdale also had some early trouble with turnovers of its own. But all that was only enough to get the Stars within 20-16 at one point. It was a 12-point game at the half, and in the second half, when the Mustangs started getting some more open looks, it was time to think about the drive home. Jalei Kinder hit seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points, and Alexi Smith added 19 points and 10 rebounds.
What's next: Like mentioned above, it's all about that Division I bracket for Stockdale. The Mustangs can handle anyone and everyone in the playoffs up until they travel to Fresno for the section final, almost surely against Clovis West. Last year, the Golden Eagles took a 5-point halftime lead and turned it into an 87-50 victory, the kind of beatdown Stockdale is used to giving. Can the Mustangs somehow turn it around this year? Stay tuned. Meanwhile, I was impressed with North tonight, but the Stars will face an uphill battle in the D-II bracket with Hanford, Garces and a bunch of other loaded teams waiting. Looks like second place in the SWYL might have to be enough.

GIRLS SOCCER
Centennial 2, Bakersfield 0, Friday night at Centennial
What it means: That the Big Three in girls soccer for years and years might not be that clear-cut. Bakersfield, Liberty and Stockdale are who you think of when you think girls soccer in this town, but Centennial put a big dent in that theory, at least for this season.
Why it happened: The Golden Hawks apparently dominated the second half, turning a scoreless game into a big statement victory. This could have been one of those games where a team gets a goal, packs it in defensively and then counter-attacks for the insurance score late. Bakersfield out-shot Centennial 11-7. But that doesn't mean CHS didn't deserve what they got.
What's next: In the long run, this might be a feather in Centennial's cap as far as seeding goes. But will the Central Section really seed the Golden Hawks over the Drillers because of this one result? BHS has had better results year-round. And mark this down: The Bakersfield story isn't done with this loss. Yeah, the Drillers also lost a close game to Liberty. But they beat Stockdale earlier in the year and get another crack at the Patriots in a couple of weeks. Then it'll be playoff time.