An undefeated league season is rewarded with a primetime matchup this Friday.

The Palo Alto High School girls’ basketball team (22-2, 12-0) exceeded its initial goal of the season, not only finishing atop the De Anza League, but also capping off an undefeated record of 12-0 in league with a 64-62 victory on Feb. 18 against the Los Gatos Wildcats (16-7, 7-4). With a perfect league season in the books and a 22-2 overall record, the team will play its first Central Coast Section postseason game as the No. 8 seed this Friday, Feb. 27 against San Francisco’s St. Ignatius High School (20-4, 10-2), the No. 1 team in Northern California and the No. 5 team in the United States, according to MaxPreps.

The game will be played at 7:30 p.m. at Oak Grove High School in San Jose.

Prior to the start of league play, sophomore guard Julie Chandler said winning league was one of the team’s primary goals, which the team ultimately accomplished with relative ease.

The Vikings are currently ranked 35th in California, also according to MaxPreps.

Junior guard Courtney Lovely said that winning the boards battle and playing consistent defense will be crucial if the Vikings are to pull off the upset.

“We are going to need really good defense and [get] rebounds [to win],” Lovely said. “They [St. Ignatius] are really strong on the boards.”

If the Vikings defeat St. Ignatius, they will play the winner of the Scotts Valley (23-3, 12-0) and Sacred Heart Cathedral (14-10, 9-3) game on Tuesday, March 3, also at a neutral location.

Regardless of how the team does in the CCS tournament, it is guaranteed a spot in the NorCal tournament which begins shortly after the conclusion of CCS.