Well, not exactly, but they'll sure be close. Two hard-earned wins over Redwood City and clutch victory over Coyote Creek helped the Roadrunner girls basketball team win a berth in the NJB National All-Star Tournament set for April 16­18 in Anaheim.

The Roadrunners, who won three of four games in the Silicon Valley NJB Sectionals, are just the third Almaden NJB team to advance to the nationals in the seven-year history of the organization.

After a tough 29-20 loss to Willow Glen, Almaden had to fight back for a tight 27-25 win over Redwood City and a 32-21 victory over Coyote Creek to advance to the Division III nationals.

Amelia Rodriguez starred on the boards and Christiana Powery led the defensive effort in the key win over Coyote Creek.

Aly Murakami tossed in nine points to lead all scorers in the win. She hit a three-pointer at the end of the fourth period that helped the Roadrunners clinch the win.

Lindsay Allmon added seven points, Courtney Lisowski hit six and Emily Griffith had five in a balanced attack.

Almaden had opened the tourney with a 26-22 win over Redwood City. Lisowski had a big game with nine points, 13 rebounds and seven steals. Allmon was the defensive star in the win.

Lisowski popped 10 points, Jennah George and Nicole Johnston each played well, but the Roadrunners lost to Willow Glen.

That set up a rematch with Redwood City, and the 'Runners came through with a 27-25 win to stay alive in the tourney. Jessica Marshall's late bucket tied the game, then a Griffith pass set up Murakami for the game-winning shot with just 14 seconds left to play.

Lisowski was the scoring leader in the win with nine points and Griffith and Krisanne Keiser were praised for their solid performances.