Antelope High School senior Ashley Hawkins has signed a letter of intent to play volleyball and basketball at Vincennes University, a junior college program in Indiana.
Hawkins will join her older sister Taylor, a former Antelope standout who played basketball as a freshmen this past season for the Trailblazers.
Antelope High School senior Ashley Hawkins has signed a letter of intent to play volleyball and basketball at Vincennes University, a junior college program in Indiana.
Hawkins will join her older sister Taylor, a former Antelope standout who played basketball as a freshmen this past season for the Trailblazers.
Whitney's Alexandra Rodriguez and Ponderosa's Olivia Nelson have signed to play women's basketball at William Jessup University.
Rodriguez, a 5-foot-9 shooting guard, was a three-time All-Capital Athletic League first team player and led the league in scoring as a senior, averaging 18.5 points per game.
Nelson, a 5-4 point guard, played four varsity seasons at Ponderosa and was twice named to the All-Delta River League team. As a senior, she averaged 13 points, 3.3 steals and two assists.
In a move that will have a major impact on the Sac-Joaquin Section postseason landscape, the section will bump the Sierra Foothill League to Division I starting in 2012-2013.
The section's board of managers also decided on Wednesday to move girls basketball powerhouses Sacramento and St. Mary's of Stockton and the Modesto Christian boys into higher divisions next year.
The moves are part of an effort by Commissioner Pete Saco and the board of managers to try to even the playing field in the geographically large and diverse section that stretches from Merced to Yuba City.
The SFL traditionally has been a D-II league but its growing dominance of that division - it won 15 of 29 section titles in 2010-11 - forced the section's hand, say section officials.
Some basketball quick-hit news and notes...
* Casey Cutts is the new boys coach at Rocklin.
Cutts was a key guard on the Thunder's 2007 team that went 26-4 and reached the Northern California playoffs. Cutts replaces Mike Lorente.
* Andy Beal has stepped down as the boys coach at Ponderosa after two seasons of rough sledding in the power-packed Delta River League that featured Sheldon, Jesuit, Oak Ridge and Folsom. Ponderosa did have a strong finish, stunning rival Oak Ridge in a season finale. Beal, the founder and president of MaxPreps.com, said coaching his sons and leading the program gave him "a great run with Ponderosa."
* Johnson girls basketball coach Jeanie Huizar will be recognized for her courageous efforts during a trying, winless season at the April 28 Character Combine event that emphasizes effort and sportsmanship. Huizar earned accolades and notes of appreciation from around the region from a Bee story detailing her season, including how spirited and eager the Warriors were to improve even after a 105-3 loss to Florin.
* Malik Pope, a 6-foot-7 sophomore center who helped power Burbank into the Division I playoffs this past season, has transfered to Laguna Creek. There was a lot of early speculation that Pope was headed to Sheldon, which three-peated as Sac-Joaquin Section Division I champions and won the large-school D-I NorCal title.
Sheldon returns a wealth of talent next season, including Bee Player of the Year D'Erryl Williams and Bee All-Metro forward/guard Dakarai Allen.
Follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: @sb_joedavidson
Davidson co-hosts with Mike Finnerty the SureWest Sports Radio Show each Saturday morning on ESPN1320 from 9-10 a.m.. The show is linked later in the day on ESPN1320.net.
Bee All-Metro guard Bryce Pressley of Jesuit, left, has accepted a scholarship to the University of Portland. He helped lead the Marauders to the NorCal Division I finals as a combo guard who could score inside, outside, above the rim and defend. In one playoff game, Pressley had 22 points, nine rebounds and nine blocked shots.
Pressley had received recruiting interest from across the country, including Villanova, where his father Harold played before becoming a first-round pick with the Kings and teaching his son the game.
Pressley said he has mixed feelings about going to Portland. He is thrilled at the opportunity but added, "it's mixed feelings because it's hard to know that my high school career is over."
Also, River City guard Jordan Ligons, right, who helped power the Raiders to their first-ever girls basketball league championship, will play at Point Loma University in San Diego.
A point guard with speed and a good shot, Ligons was a senior stabilizing force for one of the region's youngest teams. She said her time at River City was "the time of my life."
River City tied El Dorado for the Sierra Valley Conference championship then stunned traditional power El Camino in the postseason en route to the NorCal playoffs under coach Jamie King.
-By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
The Capital Christian girls basketball team has been selected as the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section's winter Community Service Award recipient.
This is the first year for the award, which is given three times during the school year - once per season.
Capital Christian will receive a banner and $500 and the players and coaches will be honored April 25 at the section's Board of Mangers meeting.
These are the area all-league girls basketball teams that have been submitted to The Bee.
CAPITAL ATHLETIC LEAGUE
MVP: Courtney Brignac, El Camino
All-league: Jade Sowell-Hundon and Simone Sheppard, El Camino; Alex Rodriguez and Kristin Ladas, Whitney; Ashley Hawkins, Tyler Ellis, Michelle Okoroike, Antelope; Jaime Dixon and Elizabeth Moulton, Rio Americano; Monae Newton, Cordova.
CAPITAL VALLEY CONFERENCE
MVP: Ishana Burch, Christian Brothers
All-league: Jazmine Bemby, Alicia Gonzalez and Neil Valmores, Christian Brothes; Amber Felicio and Jasmine Vogt, Casa Roble; Olivia Francis and Brittany Martin, Oakmont; Amora Harding and Kayla Josephson, Del Campo; Amber Huffhines, Rio Linda; Shelby Stepper, Bella Vista.
CENTRAL VALLEY CALIFORNIA LEAGUE
MVP: Cara Pittman, Sacramento Waldorf
Coach of the Year: Tim Smithers, Victory Christian
All-League: Molly Huffman and Laura Neville, Victory Christian; Ella Haberman, Sacramento Waldorf; Sadie Stroup, Foresthill; Selina Landberg, Delta.
DELTA VALLEY CONFERENCE
MVP: Summayyah Wiggins, Monterey Trail
Coach of the Year: David Kendrick, Grant
All-league: Qiana Levy, Monterey Trail; Ashleigh Vanderbrink, Davis; Carley Grey and Amy Schuman, Elk Grove; Ashley Marterelli and Sandy Perez, Franklin; Adrianna Joaquin and Raynell Lynn, Grant; Lindsey Kikumoto and Jasmine Yee, Laguna Creek.
It was a clean sweep for the private schools in this year's 10 CIF State boys and girls basketball championship games Friday and Saturday at Power Balance Pavilion.
The Sheldon and La Costa Canyon-Carlsbad boys and the Berkeley, J.W. North-Riverside and Laguna Hills girls all lost in finals.
North teams split with Southern California teams, each winning five games..
The Mater Dei boys and girls; Village Christian-Sun Valley boys; La Jolla Country Day girls; and Archbishop Alemany-Mission Hills were the SoCal champs.
The Salesian-Richmond boys; Archbishop Mitty-San Jose boys and girls; the Brookside Christian-Stockton girls; and Bishop O'Dowd girls won from the North.
In the 25 years since the CIF expanded the state finals to five divisions, the North and South have split evenly 10 times.
The South has won six or more games 11 times, including 9-1 in 2001. The North has won six or more games four times, including winning seven of 10 in 2004.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Nirra Fields scored 24 points and nine rebounds and Jordan Adams added 13 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and three steals to lead Mater Dei of Santa Ana to a 57-40 win over Berkeley in the CIF State Division I girls championship game tonight at Power Balance Pavilion.
It was the second consecutive state girls title and fourth in five appearances for Mater Dei (34-3).
Rachel Howard led Berkeley (27-3) with 12 points and seven rebounds and Elisha Davis added 10 points for the Yellowjackets, making their 11th state finals appearance. They have won two championships.
DIVISION I (girls)
MATER DEI-SANTA ANA 57, BERKELEY 40
Mater Dei 15 14 12 16 - 57
Berkeley 16 2 8 14 - 40
MD - Adams 13, Williamson 16, Fields 24, Powell 2, Miki-Han 2.
B - Finnie 4, Howard 12, Guinn 7, Davis 10, Youngblood 4, Gooden 2, Welch-Coleman 1.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
The Laguna Hills girls basketball team has lived and died by the three-point shot this season.
The Hawks made seven in beating favored Mission Bay of San Diego 75-69 in the CIF Southern California Division III regional championship game last Saturday.
But this afternoon against an incomparably big and athletic Bishop O'Dowd of Oakland, the shooting well was dry for Laguna Hills.
The Hawks missed all 11 of their three-point attempts and were blown off the floor by the Dragons, 62-24. It was O'Dowd's first state title after losing 53-42 to St. Joseph-Santa Maria in last season's state final.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
The Brookside Christian of Stockton girls basketball team may have one of the youngest rosters in the state. The Knights also may have one of the best.
Behind sophomore guard Tiara Tucker's 28 points and freshman center Ra'kyra Gabriel's 18 points and seven rebounds, Brookside Christian defeated Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo 70-64 to win the CIF State Division V girls championship this morning at Power Balance Pavilion.
Brookside Christian (30-4), making its first state finals appearance, has a roster of one senior, one junior, two sophomores and seven freshmen.
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
The CIF State Basketball Championships, a fixture in Sacramento for 20 years, will return for at least three more seasons to Power Balance Pavilion, CIF Senior Director Ron Nocetti confirmed Friday night.
Nocetti said he shares the excitement and pride of the CIF in general for the three-year contract extension. What happens after that, when the new sports and entertainment arena opens in 2015 with the Kings as a primary tennant and likely more NCAA visits, is yet to be determined.
"The arena management, the Maloofs, they've all been incredible to work with," Nocetti said. "We're glad to be here."
While there is stability in the state event at Power Balance, there are still questions regarding where the Northern California Regional games will be held. Normally, the NorCal finals and state-title games go hand-in-hand at Power Balance, but there's a new wrinkle that could enhance the tournament.
The Federated Council, the governing body for the CIF, will in May vote on whether or not to introduce an Open Division title game. Elite teams would be placed in the Open in an effort to provide more balance as so many title entrants are private schools.
This weekend, 15 of the 20 state-title participants - boys and girls in five divisions - hail from private schools.
If the Open Division concept passes, Open play would start next season. In that case, Nocetti said there could be multiple NorCal title sites to better accomodate teams. For example. Bay Area teams could have a Bay Area venue. Sac-Joaquin Section teams could conceivably compete at UC Davis or at Pacific, or Santa Clara or San Jose State, among others.
At current, UCD is bidding for a NorCal site, as is Power Balance.
Power Balance won out in bidding for the state games over Anaheim and Bakersfield, home of the 2010 state finals when the NCAA Women's Tournament had a Power Balance visit.
Follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: @sb_joedavidson
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Emily Dinger and Kalyn Simon each had 16 points and Pepperdine-bound Amanda Lovely added eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds to lead Archbishop Mitty of San Jose to a 56-54 defeat of J.W. North of Riverside in tonight's CIF State Division II girls basketball championship game at Power Balance Pavilion.
It was the 557th win and fifth state title for Mitty coach Sue Phillips.
Kelli Hayes added 13 points for Mitty (28-5), which put on a great late-season run. In the CIF NorCal playoffs, the Monarchs upset state ranked Carondelet of Concord in the semifinals and nationally ranked St. Mary's of Stockton in the championship game.
Tonight's win was Mitty's 13th in a row.
Simone DeCoud had 14 points and nine rebounds and Akilah Martin and Pricalla Brooks 11 points apiece for the Huskies (30-6), making their first state title appearance.
Division II girls
ARCHBISHOP MITTY-SAN JOSE 56, JW NORTH-RIVERSIDE 54
JW North 12 7 15 20 - 54
Mitty 13 9 14 20 - 56
N - Calhoun 6, Martin 11, DeCoud 14, Crain 5, Brooks 11, Diaz 5, McDonald 2.
M - Dinger 16, Lovely 8, Hayes 13, Simon 16, Galipeau 1, Lisowski 2.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Junior guard Kelsey Plum scored 32 points, including a record-tying five three-pointers, to lead La Jolla Country Day to a 72-41 win over Salesian of Richmond in today's CIF State Division IV girls basketball championship game at Power Balance Pavilion.
The 5-foot-9 Plum's five three-pointers tied the state D-IV record of five held by former La Jolla Country Day star Candice Wiggins (2004).
Plum, averaging 22.2 points per game, made 10 of 24 attempts from the field - 5 of 11 in three-pointers - and 7 of 8 from the foul line. She also had six rebounds.
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
I had a long discussion with CIF Executive Director Marie Ishida in her Sacramento office this week. At the CIF helm for 11 years and in education/administration for some 40 years, Ishida is retiring in July. Some highlights from the talk...
* Ishida said the CIF is in good health but she worries and feels for troubled school districts across the state that are bracing for budget cutbacks. She said the fear is always losing kids to other schools, for any reasons.
* On how far athletics have changed in 30 years, "it's a different ball game."
* Ishida said the same issues remain in recent decades: public schools versus private and if it's fair - and how to solve it.
* Ishida said it's far easier said than done to just dramatically introduce an Open Division or create a private school tournament to go with a public school like Texas or New York. Ishida said there has to be a positive vote by the Federated Council - 64 members strong - to pass. Still, Ishida said, "personally, I don't know if it'd pass. The concern is a once-in-a-lifetime team getting stuck in the Open Division and not winning. We are exploring ways to making regional and state championships more competitive and interesting."
* There will be a May vote in the Federated Council to decide on an Open Division concept. If it passes, it would be introduced next season.
* Ishida on her role in general, "I don't make the rules, I administer them. Do I have an influence? Yes."
* Ishida said the introduction of the regional NorCal and SoCal football games - the winners reach State Bowl games - is a great move for the CIF. An example: a Grant-De La Salle showdown, at long last, with Ishida saying, "we may never get that matchup unless it's a regional game. This would be something people would want to watch."
* Ishida said the TV Time Warner Contract boosts the CIF with an eight-figure contract over the life of the 15-year deal.
* The NorCal and state title games at Power Balance Pavilion, pretty much a staple in the state capital for 20 years, could be on the move. The existing contract expires at the end of this weekend. Bids are being entertained across the state. One place that doesn't seem likely - ever - is Oracle Arena in Oakland where the Warriors play. Ishida said Arco Arena/Power Balance has always been a good relationship - and that it could continue.
* All indications as of Friday evening are that the state tournament will return to Power Balance for another three seasons. The NorCal site could be multiple sites, depending on the May vote for the Open Division concept.
* The CIF has an annual budget of $800,000 to fight lawsuits, generally regarding transfers. Without rules and holding firm, Ishida said transfers would ruin prep sports. And without fighting them, the CIF would be trampled. Still, she is concerned as always with the amount of transfers that do happen.
* Ishida said she is troubled by club sports that tug at high school athletes. She said the appeal of prep sports is playing for your school and community, saying, "high school sports are an extremely valuable experience."
* Ishida said she is cringes at the thought of Mater Dei suing the CIF for what the school contends is unfair scrutiny and standards regarding transfers. Ishida said it is "reprehensible" that Mater Dei has a suit.
* Ishida is beyond pleased with the impact of Title IX, the law that mandated gender equity in 1972, adding, "What a difference. Kids now don't realize the impact of Title IX. That's the only thing I'm envious of - not playing high school sports with Title IX."
* Ishida said she is "very comfortable" stepping down in July. Her time has come, she said, and it's time for a fresh voice and leader. Said Ishida amid a laugh, "I get that final notice from medicare and it's 'maybe I really am that old!"
* Ishida said she wants to tour the country in an RV - clogging traffic from the fast lane. She is involved with the Habitat for Humanity where homes are built across the country for the needy.
* Ishida grew up in Strathmore in the heart of Tulare County and learned the value of work ethic on her family's tomato farm. One of four daughters, there was always work to be done, always an eye on the weather report. Said Ishida, "I can tell you everything about pruning, weeding, how a tomato seed grows into a tomato - packing, loading, shipping it to market."
* Ishida cracked that she didn't dare tell her parents she was switching from tomato growth to citrus until they were retired.
* The old tomato farm is still in the family, but is now a citrus farm with oranges and lemons. She will surely take her RV there, not to mention her Santa Cruz home.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
During the CIF Northern California Regional boys and girls basketball championship games on Saturday at Power Balance Pavilion, a player from each team received a sportsmanship award after the six D-III through D-I contests
.
Kennedy star Lynette Johnson was the Cougars' recipient, and it was easy to see why it went beyond her 19-point, 11-rebound, four-assist performance in a 56-38 loss to Berkeley in the D-I girls final.
Whenever the hard-charging junior collided with a Berkeley player during their physical, full-throttle tussle, the junior 5-foot-10 forward was quick to lend a helping hand to her fallen rival.
Johnson even did it when a could-have-gone-either-way offensive foul call near the Kennedy basket in the fourth quarter went against her - her fourth.
"I know people look up to me, so I need to show sportsmanship at all times," Johnson said. "I don't want to see basketball get out of hand. Basketball is supposed to be a fun game, and that's what I want younger kids to see when I play."
By John Parker
Special to the Bee
Mariya Moore hit three free throws and stole and inbounds pass with seven seconds remaining to lead Salesian of Richmond to a 47-44 win over St. Mary's of Berkeley in the girls basketball CIF Northern California Regional championship game today at Folsom High School.
St. Mary's, a league rival of Salesian's, was the two-time defending champion.
SALESIAN 47, ST. MARY'S-BERKELEY 44
St. Mary's (26-8) 9 8 14 13 - 44
Salesian (31-4) 14 7 13 13 - 47
SMB: Cowling 13, Serrell 9, Mauldin 8, Green 6, Goodwin 5, Negrin 3. S: Moore 13, Mosely 12, Horton 7, Stallworth 6, Mi. Williams 5, Brown 2, McNair 2.
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
Winning never gets old for Mitty High School of San Jose, regardless of decade, division or gender.
The Monarchs of the South Bay rallied to beat nationally ranked No. 11 St. Mary's of Stockton 53-51 in a girls Division II Northern California championship thriller today at Power Balance Pavilion to crown veteran coach Sue Phillips' program with their ninth title in 17 appearances, dating back to the mid 1990s.
St. Mary's of the Sac-Joaquin Section was seeking its 10th title and third in a row in different divisions. Remarkably, the power programs had never faced off for a regional championship until here.
St. Mary's (30-4) had its 30-game playoff winning streak snapped and had its 29-game streak this season halted.
Kelli Hayes scored the game winner on a fastbreak bucket with 25.9 seconds left for Mitty (23-5) and the Rams turned it over twice down the stretch. Hayes, a skilled 6-foot-1 national recruit sophomore wing, had 23 points and seven rebounds. Amanda Lovel had 12 and 12 for the Rams, who return a wealth of talent for another title run next season.
Charise Holloway, another national recruit sophomore wing, had 11 points for St. Mary's, which shot 30 percent, made 6 of 22 three-pointers and could not capitalize on 27 Mitty turnovers.
Phillips was remarkably composed and relaxed down the stretch, and grinned after the game when she said, "We got-r done!"
* Mitty-San Jose 63, Newark Memorial 58 - The Monarch boys won their fourth title in since 2007 by using a late 12-1 run to defend their title. National 6-7 junior recruit Aaron Gordon had 21 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots for Mitty, which beat Newark earlier this season by 20 and now seeks to defend its state championship.
Thomas Peters had 15 points for Mitty (30-3). Casey Norris had 17 for Newark Memorial (27-6), which had its 21-game winning streak stopped. Mitty has won 19 consecutive games.
ARCHBISHOP MITTY-SAN JOSE girls 53, ST. MARY'S-STOCKTON 51
Mitty 8 21 10 14 - 53
St. Mary's 11 21 11 8 - 51
M - Dinger 6, Lovely 12, Hayes 23, Simon 6, Galipeau 4, Lisowski 2.
SM - Camera 7, Jemerigbe 7, Range 8, Coleman 3, Holloway 11, Viss 3,
Fisher 3, Moore 9.
ARCHBISHOP MITTY-SAN JOSE boys 63, NEWARK MEMORIAL 58
Newark Memorial 10 13 19 16 - 58
Archbishop Mitty 13 12 12 26 - 63
NM - Norris 17, Frenchwood 14, Jones 4, Singh 4, Roger 8, Siddig 11.
M - Biebel 2, Vranicar 14, White 3, Peters 15, Gordon 21, Peterson 4, Farrell 4.
Follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: @sb_joedavidson
In the 30-year history of the Northern California basketball playoffs, Sheldon and Jesuit represent the only boys teams to play for a title in a larger-division title bout.
For the girls: it's happened three times with area clubs facing off for NorCal honors.
A closer look:
1983: Grant 61, Cordova 40, D-I Finals - Norte Del Rio consolidated with Grant in the same Del Paso Heights neighborhood to form a super power, with the Pacers improving to 36-0 under coach Don Boyce and all-time regional greats Teri Hunt and Jackie Rogers.
1986: Grant 55, Bella Vista 46, D-I Finals - Coach Felix Duncan lost the season series to Capital Athletic League rival Bella Vista 3-2, but the CAL and NorCal titles went to the Pacers. Grant was led by Tasha Irby, Debra Anderson, LaTonya Wilson and Tamela Green. Bella Vista was anchored by Michelle Wooten.
1996: El Camino 67, Del Campo 55, D-II Finals - The Eagles and Cougars were fierce Capital Athletic League rivals, taking turns snapping each other's lengthy winning streaks. El Camino and coach Bill Baxter was led by twins Elisha and Antoinette Polk and Del Campo was powered by senior Anne Marie Guzman and underclassmen twins in Jerkisa and Jermisha Dosty. Del Campo and coach Paul Roming made it back to the NorCal D-II finals the following two seasons.
Follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: @sb_joedavidson
Junior center Oderah Chidom had 24 points and 15 rebounds, freshman guard Asha Thomas 13 points and junior post Breanna Brown 10 points and nine rebounds to lead top-seeded Bishop O'Dowd of Oakland to a 70-51 win over No. 6 Miramonte of Orinda in today's CIF Northern California Regional Division III girls basketball championship at Power Balance Pavilion.
O'Dowd (29-3) shot a sizzling 56 percent from the field (32 of 57) and its 70 points tied a Division III NorCal girls record. The Dragons outrebounded Miramonte 50-24.
It was the Dragons' second consecutive D-III NorCal title and they will play Southern California champion Laguna Hills, a 75-69 winner over Mission Bay-San Diego, for the state championship 1 p.m. on Saturday at Power Balance Pavilion.
Devon McDonald led Miramonte (31-2) with 13 points. Miramonte, which upset second-seeded Sacramento High in the semifinals, suffered both its losses to the North Coast Section rival Dragons.
Division III (girls)
BISHOP O'DOWD-OAKLAND 70, MIRAMONTE-ORINDA 51
Bishop O'Dowd 17 20 19 14 - 70
Miramonte 8 14 20 9 - 51
BO - Thomas 13, Bostick 9, Robertson 2, Kalmbach 2, Huntington 2, Chidom 24, Brown 10, Waters 8.
M - Kizzie 8, Reid 8, McDonald 13, Miller 1, Fenn 3, Sorenson 2, Gill 8, Loutzenhiser 8.
Former Del Oro girls basketball standouts Emilie Johnson and Madeline Campbell are members of the UC Santa Barbara women's team that will face national No. 1 Baylor in the first round of NCAA Des Moines Regional Sunday in Bowling Green, Ohio.
Top-seeded Baylor is 34-0 and is led by 6-foot-8 junior Brittney Griner, one of four finalists for the 2012 Naismith Trophy for Women's College Player of the Year. Griner averages 23.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 5.1 blocks.
Johnson, a 5-6 senior guard, leads the No. 16-seeded Gauchos (17-15) in scoring (9.5 points per game), assists and steals while averaging 32.1 minutes per game.
By John Parker
Special to The Bee
Lynette Johnson finally got to finish a game in the CIF Northern California Regional playoffs, but she was not the closer.
Kennedy's prolific do-it-all junior had fouled out of the Cougars' previous two regional playoff contests, leaving a gritty corps of teammates to finish. During Tuesday night's 44-40 Division I semifinal win over visiting Gunn of Palo Alto, she committed just two fouls.
It was a contrast of emotions for two teams Tuesday night - tears for one at home and cheers for another on the road - in the CIF Northern California Regional basketball semifinals.
In Concord, fourth-seeded Jesuit High School outscored top-seeded De La Salle 14-3 down the strech to topple the defending NorCal champion Spartans 44-41. Jesuit will play Delta River League rival Sheldon for the title on Saturday at Power Balance Pavilion.
In Oak Park, the second-seeded Sacramento girls saw their season come to a shocking close against a hot-shooting, well-coached and determined Miramonte of Orinda team 71-64 in D-III.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Second-seeded Sacramento's collision course with top-seeded and defending CIF Northern California Division III champion Bishop O'Dowd of Oakland continued Saturday night in Oak Park.
Behind Briana Womack's long-range shooting, Jasmine Ware's relentlessness at both ends of the floor and the heart-tugging return of Allie Green, Sacramento rolled to a 72-34 win over San Marin of Novato (25-7) in the D-III quarterfinals.
The win moves Sacramento (26-6) into Tuesday's semifinals at home against Miramonte of Orinda, the North Coast Section runners-up. Miramonte defeated Sacrad Heart Cathedral of San Francisco 76-61.
While it's still too early to know if Sacramento City Unified School District trustees are serious about eliminating sports as part of the $28 million in budget cuts they recently approved, West Campus girls basketball coach John Langston would hate to see that happen.
"Sports is another way of raising a child," said Langston, who also coaches boys golf at Kennedy. "You teach them discipline, you teach them competitiveness and you teach them how to be a good person through winning and losing.
"I really think that if you cut out sports, you cut out an important part of people's lives. Idle time is such a tremendous failure to kids."
Langston's West Campus girls, despite starting only one junior and four sophomores, have reached the CIF Northern California Regional Division IV quarterfinals.
The Warriors (24-6) play top-seeded Salesian of Richmond on Saturday at Pinole Valley High School.
Despite having only 29 students in the high school, Wilton Christian has consistently had one of the area's top small-school girls basketball programs.
Credit coach Kirt Duncan for squeezing every ounce of talent out of his 10-player squad that included two sophomores and four freshmen.
On March 1, Wilton Christian lost 45-37 to Victory Christian in the inaugural girls D-VI championship game at Galt High School. It was the school's third appearance in a section final (the other two at D-V) in five seasons.
Victory Christian was coached by Tim Smithers, the man who got Duncan into girls coaching 17 years ago.
"Before he moved to Victory Christian, Tim was the athletic director at Wilton and I was coaching the JV boys," Duncan said. "He came to me and asked if I would be interested in coaching the girls program. I didn't know anything about coaching girls.
"That was 17 years ago. This was going to be my last season, but I'm coming back because it's a lot of fun."
He'll do it without one of the program's greats.
Six-foot-one senior Kendra Jeffcott, who had 24 points, 18 rebounds and eight blocks against Victory Christian, will graduate.
She finishes a four-year career with 1,871 points and 1,105 rebounds. The Patriots went 85-21 during that span.
BOYS BASKETBALL
CIF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PLAYOFFS
FIRST ROUND
DIVISION I
PLEASANT GROVE 64,
CASTLEMONT-OAKLAND 57
Pleasant Grove 20 14 16 14 - 64
Castlemont 20 6 16 15 - 57
PG-Hayes 16, Nordquist 13, Nguyen 7, Smrekar 2, Jackson 2, Dunn 4, Demps 20. C-Evans 7, Oliver 18, Martinez 12, Corbino 9, Armstrong 11.
CASTRO VALLEY 54, BELLARMINE 48
DEER VALLEY 92, BETHEL 89 (OT)
PIEDMONT HILLS 56, FREEDOM 47
DIVISION II
BELLA VISTA 65, SHASTA 51
Bella Vista 12 17 22 14 - 65
Shasta 12 13 15 11 - 51
BV-Hennen 10, D'Alesandro 11, Logue 9, Smith 14, Salhani 17, Berkness 4. S-Crane 9, Romac 6, Eboigboden 2, Graham 12, Lauritzen 10, Ajamien 12.
WINDSOR 57, McNAIR 49
LAS LOMAS 76, LODI 64
CHICO 74, COLLEGE PARK 64
DIVISION III
CENTER 88, MISSION 76
Center 25 18 22 23 - 88
Mission 21 15 18 22 - 76
C-Hunter 17, Horton 4, Parker 18, David 8, Arrington 14, Smith 27. M-Murray 8, Porter 17, McFarland 10, Edwards 15, Fisher 10, Prescott 16.
FOOTHILL-PALO CEDRO 75, CAMPOLINDO 55
EL CERRITO 51, EL CAMINO-S.F. 50
LINDHURST 54, ENTERPRISE 50
MIRAMONTE 73, SIERRA-MANTECA 68
DIVISION IV
Half Moon Bay 67, Calaveras 28
Arcata 66, Central Valley 36
Ripon 56, Gridley 45
Cardinal Newman 53, Marshall 51
St. Patrick/St. Vincent 50, Riverbank 48
DIVISION V
CAPITAL CHRISTIAN 79, TULELAKE 27
Capital Christian 16 30 26 7 - 79
Tulelake 14 0 7 6 - 27
CC-Belton 19, Iroegbu 2, Wilson 6, Perry 8, Aibuedefe 8, Donlan 11, Garza 3, Ware 4, Nissen 6, Lealao 12. T-Fensler 1, J. Burrier 5, Crawford 8, Idrogo 8, Reyes 3, Herman 2.
SACRAMENTO WALDORF 73,
LIBERTY CHRISTIAN 65 (OT)
Sac.
Liberty Christian 17 15 20 11 2 - 65
SW-Dean 11, Schwartz-Edmisten 49, Rose 3, Petersonwood 8, C. McElligott 2. LC-Dankson 18, Pkhakadze 20, Papashvilli 14, Lynch 4, Dunken 9.
BRANSON 68, FALL RIVER 34
ST. FRANCIS-WATSONVILLE 58, DURHAM 46
CENTRAL CATHOLIC 68, BENTLEY 44
UNIVERSITY-S.F. 79, RIPON CHRISTIAN 77
GIRLS BASKETBALL
CIF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PLAYOFFS
FIRST ROUND
DIVISION I
OAK RIDGE 51,
WASHINGTON-SAN FRANCISCO 24
Oak Ridge 12 11 15 13 - 51
Washington 10 4 6 4 - 24
OR-Bateman 4, Barkley 5, Hoffman 9, Honaker 3, Liebert 4, Dow 5, Klein 9, Sende 5, Anderson 5, Zagyi 2. W-Chang-Sulton 10, Luy 2, Vutac 6, Arunlung 6.
PLEASANT GROVE 66, PALO ALTO 56
Pleasant Grove 15 15 12 24 - 66
Palo Alto 21 10 9 16 - 56
PG-Lee 18, Pena 5, Villaruz 2, Beebe 7, James 15, Grays 10, Williams 9. PA-Allen 10, Osagiede 25, Alipate 2, Black 11, Palmer 3, Butler 5.
KENNEDY 52, CASTLEMONT-OAKLAND 49
Castlemont
Kennedy
C-Johnson 17, Hall 14, Anderson 5, Watson 5, Adams 4, Jelinek 4. K-Johnson 18, Wong 12, Lauderdale 7, Greer 5, Kolokihakaufisi 4, Lee 4,
Foster 2.
DEER VALLEY 54, ARMIJO 49
HERITAGE 53, OAKLAND TECH 46
GUNN-PALO ALTO 35, MISSION SAN JOSE 33
DIVISION II
Dougherty Valley 72, Chico 40
Casa Grande 55, Florin 52
Pleasant Valley 49, River City 47
McNair 65, Alameda 49
DIVISION III
CHRISTIAN BORTHERS 71, PARADISE 39
Christian Brothers 6 31 15 19 - 71
Paradise 13 7 11 8 - 39
CB-Valmores 11, Burch 14, Munoz 4, Kellison 13, Gonzalez 11, Tillman 2, Bembry 4, Garrett 8, McKechnie 4. P-Hansen 6, Burnett 9, Horner 15, Echeberry 2, Mundt 7.
MODESTO CHRISTIAN 60, ACALANES 48
MIRAMONTE 64, VANDEN 45
SAN MARIN 53, OROVILLE 30
DIVISION IV
WEST CAMPUS 58, ANDERSON 42
West Campus 22 11 10 15 - 58
Anderson 4 15 17 6 - 42
WC-Nelson 5, Keomany 9, Collins 2, Datu 4, Paongo 1, Williams 14, Shaner 23. A-Greenhaw 15, Lange 2, English 6, Sidhu 2, Flesuras 3, Nunnelley 14.
McKINLEYVILLE 55, COLFAX 43
MARIN CATHOLIC 45, MERCY 44 (OT)
BEAR RIVER 39, WEST VALLEY 36
DIVISION V
Hamilton 60, Capital Christian 56
International 71, Portola 25
St. Joseph's-Notre Dame 67, Colusa 45
Pinewood 61, San Domenico 37
Turlock Christian 68, Durham 61
Ripon Christian 50, University-San Francisco 41
Despite playing without ace point guard Marissa Wimbley, Pleasant Grove scored the game's last 10 points to beat host Palo Alto 66-56 in the CIF Northern California Regional Division I girls basketball playoffs tonight.
Avonna Lee had 18 points and Dejza James 15 for the Eagles (22-9), who lost a heartbreaker to eventual Sac-Joaquin Section D-I champion Kennedy in the semifinals.
Palo Alto, the Central Coast Section runners-up, finish 19-6.
Pleasant Grove will travel to top-seeded Berkeley on Saturday.
In other games involving area girls teams tonight:
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
Breaking down the Northern California Regional girls basketball playoffs that start Wednesday (top seeds have first-round byes):
Division I
1. Berkeley (NCS) 26-2
2. Lowell, San Francisco (SFS) 25-4
3. Kennedy, Sacramento (SJS) 23-8
4. Oak Ridge, El Dorado Hills (SJS) 23-8
5. Oakland Tech, Oakland (OS) 18-11
6. Deer Valley, Antioch (NCS) 21-8
7. Gunn, Palo Alto (CCS) 19-6
8. Palo Alto (CCS) 19-5
9. Pleasant Grove, Elk Grove (SJS) 21-9
10. Mission San Jose, Fremont (NCS) 27-3
11. Armijo, Fairfield (SJS) 23-7
12. Heritage, Brentwood (NCS) 24-5
Opening-round games, Wednesday, 7 p.m.:
Pleasant Grove (21-9) at Palo Alto (19-5)
Heritage (24-5) at Oakland Tech (18-11)
Washington (11-12) at Oak Ridge (23-8)
Castlemont (11-12) at Kennedy (23-8)
Armijo (23-7) at Deer Valley (21-8)
Mission San Jose (27-3) at Gunn (19-6)
Translation: No surprise here that Berkeley is the top seed as the Yellowjackets have been dominant this season - and seemingly for 30 years in the NorCal field. There are no 6-foot towers like seasons past, but there is a skilled player in Arizona State-bound Elisha Davis. Kennedy, a double-overtime winner over Oak Ridge in the Sac-Joaquin Section title game, could host three NorCal games if it keeps playing well. Oak Ridge got a No. 4 seed, with Berkeley looming if the wins continue. Pleasant Grove, which fell to Kennedy in a section semifinal, is a real darkhorse here.
Division II
1. St. Mary's, Stockton (SJS) 28-3
2. Carondelet, Concord (NCS) 26-3
3. Archbishop Mitty, San Jose (CCS) 24-5
4. St. Ignatius, San Francisco (CCS) 25-5
5. Casa Grande, Petaluma (NCS) 30-2
6. Pleasant Valley, Chico (NS) 35-3
7. McNair, Stockton (SJS) 27-4
8. Dougherty Valley, San Ramon (NCS) 20-9
9. Chico (NS) 17-5
10. Alameda (NCS) 22-7
11. River City, West Sacramento (SJS) 27-3
12. Florin, Sacramento (SJS) 24-5
Opening-round games, Wednesday, 7 p.m.:
Chico (17-5) at Dougherty Valley (20-9)
Florin (24-5) at Casa Grande (30-2)
River City (27-3) at Pleasant Valley (35-3)
Alameda (22-7) at McNair (27-4)
Translation: St. Mary's of the Sac-Joaquin Section is the clear favorite here to win a fourth consecutive NorCal title, second in D-II, as it aims to become just the second team to win four consecutive state titles. Two local teams are Florin, which opens at Casa Grande, and River City, which travels to Pleasant Valley. The Panthers and Raiders fear no obstacle, of course. Those who could derail St. Mary's are Carondelete with Notre Dame-bound Hannah Huffman, though St. Mary's rolled in an earlier meeting this season.
Division III
1. Bishop O'Dowd, Oakland (NCS) 26-3
2.Sacramento (SJS) 25-6
3. Sacred Heart Cath., San Francisco (CCS)
4. Terra Nova, Pacifica (CCS) 23-6
5. Modesto Christian, Modesto (SJS) 25-6
6. Miramonte, Orinda (NCS) 28-1
7. San Marin, Novato (NCS) 24-6
8. Paradise (NS) 17-11
9. Christian Brothers, Sacramento (SJS) 23-7
10. Oroville (NS) 13-15
11. Vanden, Fairfield (SJS) 22-8
12. Acalanes, Lafayette (NCS) 15-13
Opening-round games, Wednesday, 7 p.m.:
Christian Brothers (23-7) at Paradise (17-11)
Acalanes (15-13) at Modesto Christian (25-6)
Vanden (22-8) At Miramonte (28-1)
Oroville (13-15) at San Marin (24-6)
Translation: Sacramento got its desired No. 2 seed and targets a rematch with Bishop O'Dowd in the finals at Power Balance on March 17. O'Dowd, big and skilled, lost just one starter off its team last season and is quick - much like Sacramento, led by Jasmine Ware, Briana Womack, Jehiah Cook and a host of others. Sacramento is superbly coached and conditioned, and eager for more. When clicking, it's hard to imagine Sacramento losing. Christian Brothers opens against a Paradise team that hasn't won as many games or faced as strong a schedule, either, so a favorable draw.
Division IV
1. Salesian, Richmond (NCS) 28-3
2. St. Mary's, Berkeley (NCS) 24-7
3. Calaveras, San Andreas (SJS) 28-3
4. Soquel (CCS) 25-4
5. McKinleyville (NCS) 22-7
6. Mercy, San Francisco (CCS) 26-3
7. West Valley, Cottonwood (NS) 21-6
8. West Campus, Sacramento (SJS) 23-6
9. Anderson (NS) 20-9
10. Bear River, Grass Valley (SJS) 20-9
11. Marin Catholic, Kentfield (NCS) 22-8
12. Colfax (SJS) 18-9
Opening-round games, Wednesday, 7 p.m.:
Anderson (20-9) at West Campus (23-6)
Colfax (18-9) at McKinleyville (22-7)
Marin Catholic (22-8) at Mercy (26-3)
Bear River (20-9) at West Valley (21-6)
Translation: It's loaded at the top with Salesian and St. Mary's with both targeting each other for a showdown in the NorCal finals at Folsom High. The teams are league rivals and have played three tight games, with St. Mary's winning two of them behind Gabby Green. Of local note, West Campus, Bear River and Colfax are long shots, though West will host its first-ever NorCal game. St. Mary's is the defending champion and has a win over D-I Berkeley, if that's any indication of power.
Division V
1. Brookside Christian, Stockton (SJS) 26-4
2. Eastside College Prep, East Palo Alto (CCS) 15-13
3. St. Joseph Notre Dame, Alameda (NCS) 20-10
4. Hamilton, Hamilton City (NS) 29-0
5. Pinewood, Los Altos Hills (CCS) 18-12
6. Turlock Christian, Turlock (SJS) 26-4
7. Ripon Christian, Ripon (SJS) 21-5
8. International, San Francisco (NCS) 21-10
9. Portola (NS) 25-5
10. San Francisco University (NCS) 26-5
11. Durham (NS) 11-16
12. San Domenico, San Anselmo (NCS) 22-7
13. Capital Christian (SJS) 17-12
14 Colusa (NS) 20-7
Opening-round games, Wednesday, 7 p.m.:
Portola (25-5) at International (21-10)
San Domenico (22-7) at Pinewood (18-12)
Capital Christian (17-12) at Hamilton (29-0)
Colusa (20-7) at St. Joseph (20-10)
Durham (11-16) vs. Turlock Christian (26-4) at Calvary Christian
SF University (26-5) at Ripon Chrisitian (21-5)
Translation: Brookside and scoring guard Tiara Tucker got the top seed in a field long dominated by the Bay Area, with East Side Prep and St. Joseph still factors. The real darkhorse is the lone unbeaten team in the field in Hamilton City.
* Follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: @sb_joedavidson
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
West Campus girls basketball coach John Langston affectionately calls his players "my babies."
He's amazed and pleased at how far his underclass-dominated team has come in such a short time.
So on Saturday, Langston was more father figure than task master in a 30-minute post-game locker room pow wow after the third-seeded Warriors lost 56-45 to No. 1 Calaveras in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV girls championship game at Power Balance Pavilion.
He wanted them to consider the positives:
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
In a meeting of old school against a much newer place of learning, tradition won out in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV girls championship Saturday afternoon.
Calaveras High School of San Andreas held off a spirited charge from West Campus of the Sacramento City Unified School District, winning 56-45 with a late surge in an otherwise entertaining contest of skill and speed.
It is the first section title for the decades-old Redskins since taking the very first D-II girls title in 1975. Calaveras reached three more title games before enduring a stretch in the 1990s in which it missed the postseason eight consecutive seasons.
West, meanwhole, was in a title game Saturday for the first time. The school broke off from being Johnson High West Campus in 2002 and has quickly established itself as an academic/athletic program of note, particularly in girls basketball under coach John Langston, who won a section title for the Sacramento High Dragons in 2007.
Langston raved about his young Warriors, who will return in tact next season with so many underclassmen.
Haley Shaner, a skilled forward who can shoot, rebound and run, had a game-high 23 points for West. She had 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. Erianna Williams had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors, who will still advance to their first NorCal Regional playoff tournament that starts next week.
* For a more detailed game story, check Bill Paterson's Bee report in tomorrow's Bee or on Sacbee.com after midnight.Follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: sb_joedavidson
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
It's always an fun-to-observe transformation with the Sacramento Dragons, the girls basketball juggernaut from Oak Park.
Giddy, giggling and general goofballs outside any arena, they suddenly and collectively morph into grim-faced defensive tyrants when it counts - especially big games.
On Saturday night at Power Balance Pavilion, the top-seeded Division III Dragons put the pedal to the championship medal and blasted No. 2 Modesto Christian 73-36 in the Sac-Joaquin Section championship game in impressive display of speed, defense and offensive balance.
Sacramento has won 22 consecutive games since a six-game skid - all agonizingly close games - to state and national competition. The Dragons (26-6) are unbeaten in the section and walloped a Crusaders team that they beat by four earlier this season.
Before Friday's rematch, the Dragons had a sing-song cheerful demeanor, then were stoic in pouncing on loose balls, trapping with purpose and bolting down court on outlets in gassing the Crusaders (25-6). Afterward? Shrieks of joy, of course, so much so that Sacramento principal Will Jarrell couldn't resist getting into the group high-five act.
"I really feel this team has something special happening here," Dragons coach Michele cq Massari said. "They play so hard. We play incredible defense. They like each other. They hang out with each other. Unbelievable team chemistry."
Unbelievable, team, too.
Senior leaders Jasmine Ware, Jehiah Cook and Briana Womack led an otherwise young team with typical complete-game efforts. Ware, the 5-foot-10 wing headed for UC Santa Barbara, had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and her bloodied lip spoke of her relentless nature. She swarmed on defense, crashed the boards, initiated the break, attacked the lane and hit jumpers.
Cook, a blur point guard headed to UNLV had 18 points, scoring off steals or on breaks and hitting mid-range jumpers. Womackm, a shooting forward had seven points. The support crew included junior Casey Williams, who had 10 points, sophomore Zonyia Cormier 10 and sophomore post Ayanna Edwards had six points with five rebounds and two blocked shots.
Massari heaped praise on her team and her coaches, including strength and conditioning guru Alex Van Dyke, the former Burbank High and Nevada All-American receiver who had a stint in the NFL.
"We're in shape," Massari said of Van Dyke's impact. "Every day we run like it's track practice - and we're fast."
Ware wore the look of relief and pride. Earlier this season, she crumpled to the floor with what she initially feared was a season-ending knee injury. It was just a deep bruise, and Ware has played with purpose ever since, with no hesitation.
"I'm glad I was OK, and I thank Coach Van Dyke for the rehab," Ware said, the net around her neck. "I'm going to miss my team when it's over."
It may not be over for a good while as the Dragons expect to land at least a No. 2 NorCal D-III playoff seed when brackets are announced on Sunday.
It was also a proud moment for assistant coach Darnell Hillman, who 20 years ago this week was the All-Metro point guard for Johnson's gritty team that pushed state-ranked Jesuit to overtime in the D-I large-school championship on this very floor. He didn't win that title but he now has two title patches for the Dragons repeat efforts.
Photo: Dragons' #21 Jasmine Ware reaches to steal the ball from the Crusaders' #31 Elizabeth Flores during the Girls DIII Sac Joaquin Section championship game between the Sacramento High School Dragons and the Modesto Christian High School Crusaders at Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento on Friday, March 2, 2012. Randall Benton rbenton@sacbee.com
Follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: @sb_joedavidsonCheck the SureWest Sports Radio Show link on ESPN1320.net for news and notes on today's games, tomorrow's title tilts and discussion on the greatest prep scorers in Sacramento-area history.
Top-seeded Victory Christian went on a 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter and rallied to defeat No. 2 Wilton Christian 45-37 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI girls basketball championship game tonight at Galt High School.
Wilton Christian entered the final quarter with a 33-31 lead but scored only four points in the final quarter against Victory Christian's relentless man-to-man defense.
Junior guard Molly Huffman led Victory Christian with 18 points, including eight in the fourth quarter, as the Vikings won their first girls section basketball title.
Senior post Kendra Jeffcott topped Wilton Christian with a game-high 24 points, 18 rebounds and blocks.
This is the first year for a D-VI girls and boys (Victory Christian is playing Sacramento Adventist now), a division created for schools with 150 or fewer students.
Unlike the upper divisions, D-VI champions do not advance to the CIF Northern California Regional playoffs.
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
STOCKTON - St. Mary's High School mows all comers, methodically stretching close games into bruising routes with defense, size, skill, offensive balance and a tradition impossible to match.
The Rams of Stockton beat Florin 74-33 in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinal Tuesday night at the University of the Pacific and now inch closer to the program's 13th section championship, and beyond that, a 10th state title.
Seeded No. 1 in the field, the nationally ranked Rams were paced by steady stars Charise Holloway (18 points), Courtney Range (15) and Unique Coleman (13).
Florin was led by Daijah Joe-Smith (10 points, 15 rebounds) and Deja Conger 10 points. The Panthers, enjoying their best season since the section finalist teams of 1996 and '97, had 38 turnovers and shot 34 percent against the Rams' smothering defense that includes quickness, size and depth.
All told, St. Mary's has blasted area teams this season in Bradshaw Christian (110-46), Pleasant Grove (84-44), St. Francis (94-59), Vacaville (111-54) and Inderkum (82-40).
It was 44-26 at one point against Florin before St. Mary's hit the jets, outscoring the Panthers 21-4 in the fourth.
St. Mary's will play Tri-City League member McNair of Stockton on Saturday in the section finals at Power Balance Pavilion. St. Mary's blasted McNair, a talented, tall team, 82-45 and 87-45.
Florin will still advance to next week's NorCal Regional tournament, as a low seed on the road. The Panthers were winless at 0-24 just three seasons ago but have made a rapid rise under coach Larry Price, who will return the bulk of his roster next season.
Follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: @sb_joedavidson
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
STOCKTON - Size and power doomed River City High School on Tuesday night in the biggest playoff game and setting in the program's 35-year history.
Though the effort was there, the Raiders were undone by the long arms and bodies of McNair of Stockton, who prevailed 58-43 in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinal at the University of the Pacific.
Both teams advance to the NorCal Regional tournament that starts next week, a milestone in itself for the Raiders of West Sacramento. But make no mistake. River City coach Jamie King wanted to reach a section final for the first time for a school he graduated from more than 20 years ago and has coached the past eight seasons. All section semifinalists advance, but the road will be steep with a road game at the likely No. 1 seed of a Bay Area section.
Carmen Garcia led River City with 11 points against McNair, with team leaders Jordan Ligons and Katie King going for nine each. King hit two late free throws to beat longtime section power El Camino last week, the program's greatest win to date. Before this season, the Raiders had never won or shared a league title or won a playoff game.
The Raiders do not boast of size but they do compete, and every loose ball calls for an all-out scramble and scrum.
McNair, with three starters 6-foot-2, outrebounded the plucky Raiders 58-43. Asiana Scott had 14 points and 13 rebounds for McNair, and Mandy Coleman had 11 and 12 and four blocked shots.
Follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: @sb_joedavidson
Jasmine Hampton and Lexi Tubbs each had 19 points to lead third-seeded Modesto Christian to an 86-62 win over second-seeded Christian Brothers in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III girls basketball semifinal tonight at Cosumnes River College.
Niel Valmores led four Christian Brothers players in double figures with 15 points.
Modesto Christian, the three-time defending Division IV section champs, will play Sacramento in the D-III final on Friday at Power Balance Pavilion.
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
STOCKTON - Lynette Johnson has suffered three concussions in her basketball career, but good luck convincing the Kennedy High School junior dynamo that a safer place is on the bench, in warmups, or to ease up on her game.
Basketball is her life, she says with an assured grin, and such is the rough-and-tumble nature of her craft, one also graced with skill and polish. With Johnson scoring 19 points to go with eight rebounds and start-to-finish poised leadership, Kennedy stunned top-seeded Pleasant Grove of Elk Grove 52-48 in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinal at the University of the Pacific on Tuesday night.
The No. 4-seeded Cougars of Greenhaven now seek the program's fifth large-school title since 2001 and ninth NorCal tournament bid in that span.
"I suffered my first concussion last year against Pleasant Grove - hit my head on the floor - and then a second one and had my third earlier this year, but I'm OK, and I can't change how I play," said Johnson, whose shy post-game demeanor doesn't relate to her game intensity. "This is who I am."
Johnson praised her teammates for their efforts against a terrifically talented Pleasant Grove team, saying the team collectively is "100 percent better" than they were earlier this season. Johnson credited defense for the improvement, and defense was the key against Pleasant Grove, ranked second by The Bee all season. Kennedy used a 16-0 run in the second half to take charge then held off the Eagles, who still advance to the NorCal tournament for the first time.
During that 16-0 run, Pleasant Grove went scoreless for seven minutes. The Eagles climbed to within 50-48 on a Wilmbley bucket with 38 seconds remaining and had a chance to tie or win it on a final possession that started after a time out with nine seconds to go. Kennedy came up with a steal and Johnson sealed it with two free throws with .3 seconds to go.
"We went cold," Pleasant Grove coach James McKeever said. "Lynette took care of business and we couldn't get any rhythm."
Jessica Lauderdale scored 10 for Kennedy, which made 20 of 22 free throws and withstood the 1-2 punch of Pleasant Grove's Dejza James (15 points, 14 rebounds) and Marissa Wimbley (13 and seven).
In the finals on Saturday at Power Balance Pavilion, Kennedy will take on a familiar foe in Oak Ridge, another program steeped in tradition. The sixth-seeded Trojans beat No. 2 Armijo 63-52 in the other semifinal. Oak Ridge denied Kennedy a D-I section title three-peat in 2010, en route to a state championship behind all-time program great Sara James, now at Stanford. Oak Ridge beat Kennedy 61-49 earlier this season.
Kennedy coach Dave Parsh said he has been intrigued with the potential of his bunch all season. The Cougars were battled tested in the Metro Conference by Bee No. 1 Sacramento and by Bee-ranked Florin and then bounced defending D-I champion St. Francis in a second-round game with Johnson going for a career-high tying 37 points. St. Francis had beaten Kennedy twice this season in nonleague games.
"It's a great win," Parsh said. "We saw Oak Ridge win and we want the rematch!"
Parsh said that amid laughter, understanding that the bulk of both rosters were not around in 2010 for that playoff showdown. Still, Parsh said the D-I field was ripe for the picking this season, and he's right as the top three seeds have been defeated.
"We thought D-I was wide open and we didn't think anyone was unbeatable," Parsh said. He said of Johnson, "This is great for her. She keeps fighting, playing well."
Follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: @sb_joedavidson
Jasmine Ware scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had three steals and 6-foot-4 sophomore center Ayanna Edwards had seven points, 10 rebounds and five blocks to lead top-seeded Sacramento to a 54-32 win over fourth-seeded Vanden in today's Sac-Joaquin Section Division III girls basketball semifinals at Cosumnes River College.
For the Dragons, it will mark their ninth consecutive year of playing in the section championship game.
The Dragons (25-6) led only 25-21 at the half, but outscored the Vikings (21-8) from Fairfield 17-2 in the third quarter.
Sacramento will play the winner of the Christian Brothers-Modesto Christian game (currently under way) 7:30 p.m. Friday at Power Balance Pavilion.
Here are the semifinal and championship matchups entering the final week of the Sac-Joaquin Section boys and girls basketball playoffs, with some notes from section media director Will DeBoard.
SEMIFINALS
Division I/II girls
Tuesday at Spanos Center, University of the Pacific
4 p.m.: No. 6 Oak Ridge vs. No. 2 Armijo
5:30: No. 4 Kennedy vs. No. 1 Pleasant Grove
7:30: No. 7 River City vs. No. 3 McNair
9: No. 4 Florin vs. No. 1 St. Mary's
Division III boys/girls
Tuesday at Cosumnes River College
4 p.m. (girls): No. 4 Vanden vs. No. 1 Sacramento
5:30 (girls): No. 3 Modesto Christian vs. No. 2 Christian Brothers
7:30 (boys): No. 3 Center vs. No. 2 Sierra
9 (boys): No. 4 Lindhurst vs. No. 1 Foothill
In perhaps a passing of the torch, two emerging girls basketball programs beat well-established powers in tonight's Sac-Joaquin Section quarterfinals.
Katie King's 24 points, including two deciding free throws with two seconds, helped seventh-seeded River City to stun No. 2 El Camino 50-48 in a Division II thriller at El Camino.
Meanwhile in South Sacramento, Daijah Joe-Smith's 22 points led No. 4 Florin to a 58-46 win over No. 5 Del Oro, last year's Sac-Joaquin Section and CIF NorCal Division II runners-up.
Florin will face top-seeded St. Mary's of Stockton while River City plays No. 3 McNair in the D-II semifinals Tuesday at the Spanos Center at UOP.
In other girls games reported to The Bee:
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
Jamie King was so spent, he could hardly speak.
"I'm exhausted," the River City girls basketball coach said.
Catch your breath, coach. We're here for you.
King was ecstatic and reminded it was a good exhaustion, one of triumph. His seventh-seeded Raiders of West Sacramento eliminated No. 2 and host El Camino 50-48 in a second-round Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoff game.
This is significant because before this season, the Raiders had done very little in the sport. This season marked the first time the program had won or shared a league championship in the 35-year history of the program, and even in a late-game defeat at El Dorado that snapped a 23-game winning streak, El Dorado fans raved about the class and sportsmanship of Raiders players in defeat.
What's more, this postseason also marks the first time the Raiders have even won a playoff game. Now they have two postseason triumphs and are suddenly greedy for more.
The final play was dramatic and didn't come without controversy, however. King called time out with 29.8 seconds left and had a simple order: go for the win on a late shot or settle for overtime. His daughter, standout junior forward Katie King, fired a really long three-point shot with two seconds left - and the El Camino defender was called for a foul, with King selling it all the more by falling to the floor. El Camino fans and coaches howled in dismay.
King made two of three foul shots. El Camino wasn't able to answer. Raiders players celebrated and El Camino athletes dropped to their knees.
"I know (El Camino coach) Rich Drawbert thought it was a terrible call, but we won the game and the girls played great," King said. "It's a very big win for our program, the biggest. I have the utmost respect for El Camino, a great program. I coached there for two years. I know how special it is. We're not the biggest or the fastest team, but our girls have a lot of heart. It's beyond explanation how good this feels."
King the player had 26 points. Fellow team captain leader Jordan Ligons was steady as usual at guard, and a host of others contributed to a piece of school history. Next is a semifinal game Tuesday at Pacific against McNair, a tall order in that the Stockton team has three starters standing 6-foot-2 or taller.
Follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: @sb_joedavidson
Photo: Katie King of River City takes part in a practice drill while her father and coach, Jamie King, left, and an assistant, hit her with padded shields to disrupt her dribble. Bee photo by Lezlie Sterling.
By Matt Kawahara
mkawahara@sacbee.com
Haleigh Filer had 17 points and Chelsey Aardahl 15 as fourth-seeded Capital Christian defeated No. 5 seed Sacramento Waldorf 67-38 in a Division V girls playoff game tonight at Capital Christian.
Three other Cougars also scored in double figures: Monique Colbert with 11 points and Nicole Colbert and Shelby Hicks with 10 apiece. Cara Pittman led the way for Sacramento Waldorf with 11 points.
Capital Christian, playing swarming defense, advances to face top-seeded Brookside Christian in Wednesday's semifinals at Galt High School. Brookside Christian defeated Vacaville Christian 75-34.
"We've got to have our A-game, that's for sure, but it'll be fun," said Capital Christian coach Suzanne Baker. "We're happy to be going to semifinals. We're excited."
Here are the results of the Sac-Joaquin Section/Les Schwab Tires Girls Basketball playoffs, as posted tonight by section media director Will DeBoard.
DIVISION I
Quarterfinals
Pleasant Grove 86, Bethel 69
Kennedy 70, St. Francis 57
Oak Ridge 48, Lincoln-S 41
Armijo 58, Sheldon 55
Semifinals/Tuesday at UOP (Times TBA)
#4 Kennedy vs. #1 Pleasant Grove
#6 Oak Ridge vs. #2 Armijo
DIVISION II
Quarterfinals
St. Mary's 82, Inderkum 40
Florin 58, Del Oro 46
McNair 74, Grace Davis 43
River City 50, El Camino 48
Semifinals/Tuesday at UOP (Times TBA)
#4 Florin vs. #1 St. Mary's
#7 River City vs. #3 McNair
DIVISION III
Quarterfinals
Sacramento 80, Weston Ranch 45
Vanden 64, East Union 58
Modesto Christian 58, Manteca 49
Christian Brothers 55, Benicia 42
Semifinals/Tuesday at Cosumnes River College (Times TBA)
#4 Vanden vs. #1 Sacramento
#3 Modesto Christian vs. #2 Christian Brothers
DIVISION IV
Quarterfinals
Calaveras 53, Liberty Ranch 35
Bear River 40, Ripon 31
West Campus 47, Riverbank 33
Colfax 58, Argonaut 46
Semifinals/Wednesday at Tokay High School (Times TBA)
#4 Bear River vs. #1 Calaveras
#3 West Campus vs. #2 Colfax
DIVISION V
Quarterfinals
Brookside Christian 75, Vacaville Christian 34
Capital Christian 67, Sacramento Waldorf 38
Ripon Christian 72, Foresthill 64
Turlock Christian 61, Central Catholic 42
Semifinals/Wednesday at Galt High School (Times TBA)
#4 Capital Christian vs. #1 Brookside Christian
#3 Ripon Christian vs. #2 Turlock Christian
DIVISION VI
Semifinals
Victory Christian 53, Faith Christian 29
Wilton Christian 52, Sacramento Adventist 35
Championship/Thursday at Galt High School, 6 p.m.
#2 Wilton Christian vs. #1 Victory Christian
Here is coverage of the thrilling Antelope-Grace Davis game in Modesto from colleague Richard T. Estrada at the Modesto Bee.
Richard T. Estrada
restrada@modbee.com
Davis High had struggled to get rebounds for much of Tuesday's playoff game, but the Spartans battled to grab three of their missed shots on an overtime possession.
With the season riding on the next shot, the Spartans got the ball to Leslie Escudero for a fourth opportunity.
Her 3-pointer with 20 seconds left lifted the Spartans to a 77-75 overtime victory to open the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 2 playoffs.
"I can't remember a game-winning shot like that one," said Escudero, who played at Modesto Christian before coming to Davis as a junior.
"I was feeling good earlier in the game, but then I started missing my threes late. Coach tells me to keep shooting, though, and I listened."
Escudero's shot stunned Antelope, which had rallied for a 75-74 lead with 1:15 to play in OT. Davis forced a turnover after Escudero's trey, on Antelope's ensuing possession.
Antelope had a final shot, but Ashley Hawkins' jumper rolled off the rim right at the buzzer.
"I was a little nervous late in the game, but I never had a doubt we'd win," said Andrea Hernandez, in her first year coaching the Spartans.
The nail-biter was in contrast to last year's 64-24 first-round loss to Lincoln. Sixth-seeded Davis (23-4) travels to No. 3 McNair (25-3) for a quarterfinal on Thursday.
McNair features 6-foot-4 Mandy Coleman in the middle, but Davis will try and make the Eagles adapt to its smaller, aggressive lineup.
The momentum in Tuesday's game shifted Davis' direction when 5-6 sophomore Tamia Castaneda replaced 6-foot Stephanie Crist -- creating a height disparity that Antelope could not exploit.
All five Spartans were capable of handling the ball, shooting from the perimeter and driving to the hoop.
Antelope had three 6-footers on the court, but the size was somewhat neutralized as Davis picked up the pace.
Antelope led 17-9 after one quarter, but Escudero started firing away and hit three straight treys to spark a 24-5 run for a 35-26 halftime lead.
Escudero (23 points, seven treys), Kelci Haueter (20 points) and Tania Castaneda (14 points) helped Davis to a 10-point lead in the final quarter, but Antelope tied it at 67 with 20 seconds left.
Each team missed a shot late in regulation, but Antelope went ahead 73-72 in OT on Hawkins' layup halfway into the four-minute period.
After the teams swapped baskets, Davis forced a turnover. The Spartans missed three shots with the clock ticking down to 25 seconds, but used their quickness to grab each of those misses.
Haueter saw Escudero on the opposite side, and Escudero shot as soon as she got the pass. Her bench exploded as the ball hit the net.
Escudero hit her first five 3-point shots, missed four of her following five, then hit her career-best seventh to keep Davis' season alive.
Antelope had used its muscle to dominate the opening quarter, even though Davis was looking eye-to-eye with the 6-foot tandem of Hawkins (24 points) and Tyler Ellis (16 points, 14 rebounds).
The lineup shift gave Antelope a big advantage inside, but the Spartans used their quickness to deny the ball.
"I liked the way that lineup played against their size, giving us five guards and a quicker team," said Hernandez, whose team's up-tempo style surprised Antelope.
So did Escudero's treys.
"It's not something we did a lot of during the regular season, but Leslie's heating up," Hernandez said. "They had to pick their poison. Do they let Leslie shoot and focus on Kelci inside, or come out to defend Leslie and let Kelci go one-on-one inside?"
Haueter was scoreless in the first quarter, but scored 10 in the second. Castaneda scored 10 in the second half, and her aggressive play put Antelope point guard Cameo Warren in foul trouble.
Dejza James led four Pleasant Grove players in double figures with 18 points as the top-seeded Eagles defeated No. 16 Chavez of Stockton 77-55 in tonight's Sac-Joaquin Section Division I girls basketball opener in Elk Grove.
Rachel Beebe added 16 points, Avonna Lee 13 and Marissa Wimbley 12 for the 20-8 Eagles. Kelsey Bumanglag led Chavez with 18 points and Renee Gentry added 17 for the Titans.
Chavez (16-12) beat Pitman of Turlock 51-44 in a play-in game on Monday.
In other games tonight reported to The Bee:
DIVISION I
First round
Pleasant Grove 77, Chavez 55
Bethel 57, Nevada Union 48
St. Francis 61, Monterey Trail 50
Kennedy 51, Napa 49
Lincoln-S 70, Tokay 25
Oak Ridge 76, Grant 36
Sheldon 71, Beyer 51
Armijo 70, Franklin-EG 44
Quarterfinals/Thursday
#8 Bethel at #1 Pleasant Grove
#12 St. Francis at #4 Kennedy
#6 Oak Ridge at #3 Lincoln-S
#7 Sheldon at #2 Armijo
DIVISION II
First round
St. Mary's 111, Vacaville 54
Inderkum 56, Del Campo 53
Del Oro 55, Rio Americano 41
Florin 62, Kimball 33
McNair 74, Central Valley 34
Grace Davis 77, Antelope 75 (OT)
River City 57, Rocklin 38
El Camino 81, River Valley 46
Quarterfinals/Thursday
#8 Inderkum at #1 St. Mary's
#5 Del Oro at #4 Florin
#6 Grace Davis at #3 McNair
#7 River City at #2 El Camino
DIVISION III
First round
Sacramento 73, Casa Roble 24
Weston Ranch 58, El Dorado 51
East Union 42, Dixon 28
Vanden 74, Oakmont 39
Modesto Christian 72, Los Banos 35
Manteca 62, Patterson 40
Benicia 61, Foothill 46
Christian Brothers 63, Valley 39
Quarterfinals/Thursday
#9 Weston Ranch at #1 Sacramento
#5 East Union vs. #4 Vanden
#6 Manteca at #3 Modesto Christian
#7 Benicia at #2 Christian Brothers
DIVISION IV
First round
Calaveras 58, Mariposa 43
Liberty Ranch 42, San Juan 39
Ripon 45, Sonora 41
Bear River 64, Hughson 31
West Campus 55, Linden 44
Riverbank 54, Bret Harte 51
Argonaut 44, Bradshaw Christian 28
Colfax 64, Venture Academy 34
Quarterfinals/Thursday
#8 Liberty Ranch at #1 Calaveras
#5 Ripon at #4 Bear River
#6 Riverbank at #3 West Campus
#7 Argonaut at #2 Colfax
DIVISION V
First round
Vacaville Christian 59, Big Valley Christian 39
Sacramento Waldorf 53, Stone Ridge Christian 32
Foresthill 50, Denair 32
Central Catholic 65, Elliot Christian 34
Quarterfinals/Thursday
#8 Vacaville Christian at #1 Brookside Christian
#5 Sacramento Waldorf at #4 Capital Christian
#6 Foresthill at #3 Ripon Christian
#10 Central Catholic at #2 Turlock Christian
DIVISION VI
Quarterfinals
Victory Christian 68, Valley Christian 39
Faith Christian 69, New Life Christian 25
Sacramento Adventist 51, Trinity Prep 48
Wilton Christian 61, Lodi Academy 33
Semifinals/Thursday
#4 Faith Christian at #1 Victory Christian
#6 Sacramento Adventist at #2 Wilton Christian
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
Matt Mills is coaching.
He's offering insight, instruction, life lessons, an impact in high school sports, and to that conclusion, I say - "of course he is." Mills was absolutely meant for this line of work - teaching and coaching, and doing both very well.
To understand this man Mills, to comprehend his inner-core thinking and drive is to appreciate his passion for high school sports.
He's the first-year coach for the Casa Roble Rams girls basketball team, seeded 16th in the Division III field and bracing for the buzz saw that dresses in purple and goes by the name of the Sacramento Dragons, top-ranked by The Bee all season and roaring into the postseason as the prohibitive favorite to repeat as champions.
Mills caught the coaching and teaching bug from his father Wayne, who coached a ton in the Monticello Empire League, mostly football, and was a principal at Vacaville High for years. So much for retirement. Kid Mills got Old Man Mills off the golf course and beaches to help him this season on the bench, and crafty Coach Mills knows the deal here. Matt takes credit for the victories and sticks the losses on the old man.
Now the monstrous task of taking on Sac High. For Mills, there is no fear in his voice. He'd take on Pat Summit and the Tennessee Vols if it didn't violate some sort of CIF rules. On Tuesday, Mills will receive a hearty effort against long odds because his team always competes.
"I've really enjoyed coaching this year, and the girls are great," Mills said. "So are the other coaches. (Sac High coach) Michele Massari has even invited me in the past to her practices. Sac State coaches have done the same thing, to learn new things. Girls coaches are great like that. Boys coaches never do that. They hold things too close to their vest."
To me, Mills resonates class and achievement with everything from a sneer and snarl to broad grins and a good one-liner. He was a basketball grinder at Vintage High School in the early 1990s with a great first step, a trusty jumper and bruises head to toe for crashing into anything - walls, bleachers, foes, family, referees.
He was also quite accomplished in track and field, taking on the sport's most grueling races such as the 400 and 800 meters because he rather enjoyed bolting for one lap or two and then hugging a trash barrel to deposit his senses. He went on to Sacramento State, discovered writing then wondered what he was going to do with the rest of his life.
In 1995, he caught wind that I was looking for part-time help at The Bee in the prep sports department. It wasn't a glamorous gig by any means, a grunt position common for papers across the land of menial tasks such as answering phones, inputting scores, schedules, etc. Papers of our size like to employ up to 12 such grinders.
Mills tracked me down and asked what he could bring to the interview. He insisted that we'd be foolish not to hire him, that he'd outwork all of us one way or another. So I tested him. Asked him to fetch as many rosters for all of the high school basketball playoff teams in the field - boys and girls - for the looming playoffs. We're talking more than 115 rosters - and well before MaxPreps arrived to provide such luxuries. This meant he had to phone coaches who had no idea who he was, or drive to scores of schools.
Four days later, here comes mighty Mills, armed with a sure grin and two bloated binders. One binder for the girls rosters, in order by league, all neatly hole-punched and inserted, and one for the boys. He managed to get a roster for every single school in the playoffs. The guy could have come in bare foot, dressed in coveralls and babbling nonsense and I was going to keep him. Told my boss Tom Negrete if we landed Mills our department would sing.
Mills was gold in our department. He inputted statistics, scores, schedules and standings, all with purpose (and again well before MaxPreps spoiled us with such gifts). He took it personally because he knew this information was well read. What's more, Mills fielded grouchy calls by the dozens about why The Bee didn't cover more hockey and nasty e-mails on coverage and perceived bias.
In other words, we prepared Mills for coaching high school where the joys can be the teenage achievements and the nightmares can be the parents of those teens.
I used Mills like a pack mule inside the office, in the field and on my own time. In 1998, I informed Mills and another one of our golden young college hires in Sam Amick, now covering the NBA inside and out for SI.com, that I needed their help for an exhaustive move of furniture and boxes full of books from one end of Elk Grove to the other. They asked what they'd receive for their efforts. Told them, "job security."
Mills was with us until 2002 - 10 years ago. Still not sure we've fully recovered. Funny thing about Mills. The last two times I moved with extra heavy boxes and couches, he wouldn't return my calls.
Mills' heart finally steered him to teaching and coaching. After bouncing around the region, he's found a home with the Rams in Orangevale. His young team is in the playoffs for the first time since 2007. He has nine players, meaning assistant coach Tim Carroll runs the floor in every practice for a legit 5-on-5. Better Carroll than Mills because Mills' game is shot.
The players call Mills' father Wayne "Grandpa Mills." Grandpa is in charge of the defense, which has allowed an average of 39 points a game. Sacramento averages 39 a half, so guess who is threatening to yank any stipend paycheck perk to the assistant coach if it gets to be a runaway against the Dragons?
Mills raves about his players such as Amber Felicio, a senior guard averaging 12.8 points. Jasmine Vogt is a senior forward who sounds like Mills' kind of player, "she does everything for us - and her motor never idles, let alone stops."
Senior center Tara Prato-Morrison is a 6-3 talent who is "playing the best basketball of her career." She had a triple-double against rival Del Campo with 10 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocked shots, with Mills adding, "best part was she didn't know what a triple-double was." She does now. Mills needs one more from her - against Sac High.
The coach said he appreciates the efforts of Carlie Marunio, who "loves to take charges." And he has two sophomore starters in point guard Deidre McAuliff and Krystal Aubert, also a superb softball player.
The Rams certainly respect Sac High but they do not fear them. Mills and the fear of a challenge? Unheard of.
Follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: sb_joedavidosn
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
The Sac-Joaquin Section men's and women's basketball playoff brackets offer all sorts of possibilities and twists and turns.
In men's Division I, Sheldon seeks a large-school three-peat and the program's fourth title since 2007 and fifth NorCal playoff berth since 2004. The Huskies are balanced, defensive minded and motivated under coach Joey Rollings.
If No. 8 Burbank can upend No. 9 Golden Valley, a terrific second-round game could pit those Titans at Sheldon on Friday.
A second-round game could also pit Pleasant Grove at Franklin. Oak Ridge is in the field despite the last-second loss to rival Ponderosa in a regular-season finale on Friday, thanks in large part due to the strength of the Delta River League and Lincoln of Stockton losing on Friday as well, costing the Trojans a playoff spot.
Jesuit is the No. 2 seed under coach Greg Harcos, eager for another shot at Sheldon, which has downed the Marauders six consecutive times, including in last year's D-I title game at Power Balance Pavilion and in a last-play thriller at Sheldon this season. Jesuit has won eight section titles lifetime in D-I and II.
Antelope and coach Rob Richards has won 25 consecutive games and looms as a favorite in D-II, having reached the finals a year ago with its first senior class. And there's three-time defending D-III champion Sacramento, which prompted the move up in division, per section rules. The Dragons have won six section titles lifetime.
In Division III, Foothill is the monster under coach Drew Hibbs, winners of 19 straight and seeking a fourth section title since 1997. Modesto Christian is the favorite in D-IV, having already won a section-best 13 titles in various divisions. Capital Christian and veteran coach Terry Battenberg - in his first season with the Cougars - are the favorites in D-V, a very talented field that also includes high-scoring Valley Christian under coach Brad Gunter.
D-VI is also a talented field, headed by No. 1 Victory Christian.
A look at the opening round games on Wednesday with second-round games at home sites on Friday:
Division I
No. 16 Pitman at No. 1 Sheldon
No. 9 Burbank at No. 8 Golden Valley
No. 12 Granite Bay at No. 5 Bethel
No. 13 Oak Ridge at No. 4 West
No. 14 Turlock at No. 3 Franklin-Elk Grove
No. 11 Rodriguez at No. 6 Pleasant Grove
No. 10 Chavez at No. 7 Kennedy
No. 15 Nevada Union at No. 2 Jesuit
Division II
No. 16 Downey at No. 1 Antelope
No. 9 St. Mary's at No. 8 Grace Davis
No. 12 Cosumnes Oaks at No. 5 Fairfield
No. 13 Rio Americano at No. 4 Bella Vista
No. 14 Johansen at No. 3 McNair
No. 11 Yuba City at No. 6 Del Campo
No. 10 Del Oro at No. 7 Lodi
No. 15 Buhach Colony at No. 2 Sacramento
Division III
No. 16 Dixon at No. 1 Foothill
No. 9 Natomas at No. 8 El Dorado
No. 12 Vista del Lago at No. 5 Weston Ranch
No. 13 East Union at No. 4 Lindhurst
No. 14 Patterson at No. 3 Center
No. 11 Valley at No. 6 Vanden
No. 10 Casa Roble at No. 7 Los Banos
No. 15 Placer at No. 2 Sierra
Division IV
No. 16 Amador at No. 1 Modesto Christian
No. 9 Lathrop at No. 8 Encina
No. 12 Union Mine at No. 5 Calaveras
No. 13 Bear River at No. 4 Sonora
No. 14 Mariposa at No. 3 Riverbank
No. 11 Escalon at No. 6 San Juan
No. 10 Highlands at No. 7 Ripon
No. 15 Waterford at No. 2 Bret Harte
Division V
No. 9 Faith Christian at No. 8 Delta Charter
No. 12 Forest Lake vs. Elliot Christian at Tokay
No. 11 Woodland Christian at No. 6 Valley Christian
No. 10 Sierra Ridge at No. 7 Le Grand
Byes: No. 1 Capital Christian; No. 2 Central Catholic, No. 3 Ripon Christian; No. 4 Sacramento Waldorf
Division VI
No. 8 Wilton Christian at No. 1 Victory Christian
No. 4 Tioga at No. 5 Brookside Christian
No. 6 Lodi Academy at No. 3 New Life Christian
No. 2 Sacramento Adventist at No. 7 Trinity Prep
For the women, Pleasant Grove is the top seed and favorite in Division I under coach James McKeever, having posted two Delta River League wins over Oak Ridge and St. Francis, the defending D-I section champion.
An intriguing opener is No. 12 St. Francis playing at No. 5 Monterey Trail. St. Francis is tradition with scores of titles and the Mustangs are basking in their first league title in basketball.
In Division II, St. Mary's is the clear favorite, again formidable with a full-court pressing team and shooters. All told, St. Mary's has won a section-leading 12 section titles. Bear River has won 10, Colfax nine, St. Francis six, El Camino and Nevada Union five and Kennedy and Bradshaw Christian four.
An intriguing second-round game could include No. 5 Del Oro at No. 4 Florin and/or No. 7 River City at No. 2 El Camino.
In Division III, defending champion Sacramento is the clear favorite, superbly coached by Michele Massari and supremely conditioned and eager for another NorCal title push. Looming on the opposite bracket is No. 2 Christian Brothers, one of the section's youngest teams.
Division I
No. 16 Pitman-Chavez at No. 1 Pleasant Grove
No. 9 Nevada Union at No. 8 Bethel
No. 12 St. Francis at No. 5 Monterey Trail
No. 13 Napa at No. 4 Kennedy
No. 14 Tokay at No. 3 Lincoln-Stockton
No. 11 Grant at No. 6 Oak Ridge
No. 10 Beyer at No. 7 Sheldon
No. 15 Franklin-Elk Grove at No. 2 Armijo
Division II
No. 16 Vacaville-Buhach Colony at No. 1 St. Mary's
No. 9 Del Campo at No. 8 Inderkum
No. 12 Rio Americano at No. 5 Del Oro
No. 13 Kimball at No. 4 Florin
No. 14 Central Valley at No. 3 McNair
No. 11 Antelope at No. 6 Grace Davis
No. 10 Rocklin at No. 7 River City
No. 15 River Valley at No. 2 El Camino
Division III
No. 16 Casa Roble at No. 1 Sacramento
No. 9 Weston Ranch at No. 8 El Dorado
No. 12 Dixon at No. 5 East Union
No. 13 Oakmont at No. 4 Vanden
No. 14 Los Banos at No. 3 Modesto Christian
No. 11 Patterson at No. 6 Manteca
No. 10 Foothill at No. 7 Benicia
No. 15 Valley at No. 2 Christian Brothers
Division IV
No. 16 Mariposa at No. 1 Calaveras
No. 9 San Juan at No. 8 Liberty Ranch
No. 12 Sonora at No. 5 Ripon
No. 13 Hughson at No. 4 Bear River
No. 14 Linden at No. 3 West Campus
No. 11 Bret Harte at No. 6 Riverbank
No. 10 Bradshaw Christian at No. 7 Argonaut
No. 15 Venture Academy at No. 2 Colfax
Division V
No. 9 Big Valley at No. 8 Vacaville Christian
No. 12 Stone Ridge at No. 5 Sacramento Waldorf
No. 11 Denair at No. 6 Foresthill
No. 10 Central Catholic at No. 7 Elliot Christian
Byes: No. 1 Brookside Christian; No. 2 Turlock Christian; No. 3 Ripon Christian; No. 4 Capital Christian
Division VI
No. 8 Valley Christian at No. 1 Victory Christian
No. 4 Faith Christian at No. 5 New Life
No. 6 Sacramento Adventist at No. 3 Trinity Prep
No. 2 Wilton Christian at No. 7 Lodi Academy
Jade Sowell-Hundon's game-high 23 points led No. 4 El Camino to a 65-45 Capital Athletic League win over No. 17 Rio Americano in girls basketball tonight.
With the win, El Camino (23-4, 10-0) finishes unbeaten in league play for the second consecutive season and first under new coach Rich Drawbert. Fie Brandt led Rio Americano (17-10, 7-3) with 19 points.
Michelle Okoroike had 26 points and freshman Cameo Warren 14 as No. 19 Antelope (18-7, 7-3) defeated Whitney 70-45 to finish in a tie for second in the CAL with Rio Americano. Alex Rodriguez had 22 points for Whitney.
In other games involving The Bee's Top 20 girls teams:
Jasmine Ware scored 22 points as top-ranked Sacramento hiked its Metro Conference record to 13-0 with a 61-30 pounding of No. 9 Kennedy in a girls basketball game tonight.
Sac High last lost a league game in 2006, when the Dragons were in the Capital Athletic League.
In other games tonight involving Bee Top 20 girls teams:
Sam Reeder had 19 points and Courtney Macklin 13 points and 10 rebounds as No. 17 El Dorado upset No. 3 River City 48-45 in a girls basketball game tonight in Placerville.
The win clinches at least a share of a fourth consecutive Sierra Valley Conference championship for coach Pat Winter's Cougars (18-7, 11-1).
River City (24-2, 10-1), which defeated El Dorado 42-32 Jan. 20 in West Sacramento, will need to beat Vista del Lago on Friday to gain a co-championship with El Dorado.
El Dorado is 47-1 in league during the last four seasons.
Dejza James scored 22 points and Marissa Wimbley added 17 as Bee No. 2 Pleasant Grove defeated Lincoln 62-50 tonight in Stockton in a battle of Sac-Joaquin Section girls basketball powers.
Pleasant Grove is ranked No. 2 in the section behind St. Mary's of Stockton by Maxpreps.com. Lincoln is ranked No. 4.
In other games involving Bee Top 20 girls teams:
It seems a little shocking that defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division I champion St. Francis is sitting at No. 16 - the final playoff qualifying spot - in today's Sac-Joaquin Section D-I girls basketball power ratings.
Troubadour fans shouldn't worry.
St. Francis (14-12) should make the postseason since its last game is on on Friday at Delta River League cellar-dwelling Folsom (7-19), winless in league.
Oak Ridge outscored St. Francis 16-11 in the final quarter as the No. 4 Trojans posted a 43-42 win over No. 7 St. Francis in a Delta River League girls basketball game tonight in El Dorado Hills.
Haley Anderson finished with 11 points and Jenn Hoffman added 10 as Oak Ridge remained in second place in league.
In other games involving Bee Top 20 girls teams:
Joie Camalo had 26 points and Alison Willie added 12 as No. 18 Rocklin defeated No. 11 Nevada Union 63-39, handing the Miners their first Sierra Foothill League girls basketball loss tonight in Rocklin.
In other games involving The Bee Top 20 girls teams:
• Courtney Brignac's 21 points led No. 5 El Camino to a 66-23 Capital Athletic League win over Whitney. El Camino is 21-4 on the season, 8-0 in league.
Deja Conger had 20 points and Daijah Joe-Smith added 12 points and 16 rebounds as No. 9 Florin defeated No. 8 Kennedy 53-38 in a Metro Conference girls basketball game tonight at Florin.
The win moved third place Florin (19-5, 8-3) to within a game of second place Kennedy (17-7, 9-2).
In other games involving The Bee's Top 20 girls teams:
It was a pleasure to join Mike Finnerty on the latest SureWest Sports Show from last week that airs today, with links to previous shows.
We broke down the significance of National Signing day, anchored by Finnerty one-on-one interviews with Shaq Thompson and Pleasant Grove's Arik Armstead. We also talked about basketball movers and shakers in the region, including the high hopper that is Kyi Thomas as he took on Jesuit in a battle of Bee and SureWest No. 1 vs. No. 2.
Click here for the link.
Nicole Lierly had 14 points and Lauren Mickel 13 as No. 11 Nevada Union defeated Woodcreek 53-47 tonight to remain undefeated in Sierra Foothill League girls basketball.
In other games involving The Bee's Top 20 girls teams:
• Marissa Wimbley had 25 points in No. 2 Pleasant Grove's 54-46 Delta River League win over St. Francis.
• Ericka Magana had 24 points and Riana Byrd 18 in Inderkum's 73-63 nonleague win over Davis.
Pleasant Grove, St. Mary's of Stockton and Sacramento are seeded No. 1 in the top three divisions of the latest Sac-Joaquin Section girls basketball power ratings that were released today.
It's the second of three ratings to be released before the playoff brackets are posted on Sunday, Feb. 19.
In D-I, Pleasant Grove, No. 2 Armijo, No. 3 Kennedy and No. 4 Lincoln of Stockton hold the top spots. Woodcreek is on the bubble at No. 17.
The top 16 teams qualify for the postseason.
Avonna Lee had 16 points, Marissa Wimbley 13 and Jordan Grays 11 as No. 2 Pleasant Grove coasted to a 60-47 Delta River League win over Ponderosa in a girls basketball game tonight.
The win hiked Pleasant Grove's league record to 7-0. The Eagles are 16-7 overall.
In other games involving Bee Top 20 girls teams:
Sophomore Mia Maglinte scored 11 points to lead No. 12 Del Oro to a 29-28 win over No. 19 Rocklin in a Sierra Foothill League girls basketball game tonight in Loomis.
It was the first league game for Del Oro since Nevada Union defeated the Golden Eagles 44-42 on Friday, snapping Del Oro's 63-game win streak in league play.
In other games involving Bee Top 20 girls teams:
Briana Womack had 17 points and Ayanna Edwards 16 as top-ranked Sacramento cruised to a 79-9 Metro Conference win over Burbank in girls basketball tonight.
In other games involving Bee Top 20 teams:
• Lynette Johnson tallied 18 points and Lori Wong 16 as No. 7 Kennedy defeated McClatchy 61-33 in a Metro game.
• Daijah Joe-Smith had 16 points as No. 8 Florin defeated Johnson 59-15 in Metro play.
• Haley Shaner's 25 points helped No. 16 West Campus defeat Mesa Verde 75-41 in a Golden Empire League contest.
Avonna Lee had 18 points and Dejza James 15 as No. 2 Pleasant Grove defeated No. 3 Oak Ridge 56-51 in a Delta River League girls basketball game tonight.
In other games involving Bee Top 20 girls teams:
• MacKenzie Conarro had 16 points to lead No. 6 St. Francis to a 62-42 win over Ponderosa.
• Brianna Burgos had 15 points and Kedina Monroe 14 in No. 10 Sheldon's 65-37 Delta River League win over Folsom.
• Ericka Magana had 25 points and Riana Byrd 18 in No. 13 Inderkum's 71-12 Tri-County Conference win over Pioneer.
Pleasant Grove (Division I), St. Mary's-Stockton (D-II), Sac High (D-III), Colfax (D-IV), Brookside Christian-Stockton (V) and Victory Christian (V-VI) are the top seeds in the first Sac-Joaquin Section girls power ratings released today.
Area teams joining Pleasant Grove among the top 16 are: No. 3 Oak Ridge, No. 4 Kennedy, No. 6 Nevada Union, No. 7 Monterey Trail, No. 8 Grant, No. 10 St. Francis, No. 13 McClatchy and No. 14 Franklin.
Those area teams among the top 16 in D-II are: No. 2 El Camino, No. 4 River City, No. 6 Florin, No. 7 Del Oro, No. 8 Inderkum, No. 9 Rio Americano, No. 11 Del Campo, No. 13 River Valley, No. 14 Rocklin, No. 15 Antelope.
The second power rating will be released on Feb. 6 and the third on Feb. 13. Playoff brackets will be posted on the afternoon of Sunday, Feb. 19.
It had to end sometime.
No. 11 Del Oro's 63-game Sierra Foothill League girls basketball winning streak came to an end tonight with a 44-42 loss to unranked Nevada Union in Loomis.
It was Del Oro's first league loss since a 34-23 defeat to Placer on Jan. 9, 2006, so long ago that the Hillgals now play in a different league.
Sydney Porter led Nevada Union (11-10, 5-0) with 18 points. Brianna Ruiz had 22 for Del Oro (12-9, 4-1).
In other girls games involving Bee Top 20 teams:
Jenna Klein tallied 19 points to lead No. 3 Oak Ridge to a 63-38 win over Ponderosa in a Delta River League girls basketball game tonight in Shingle Springs.
In other girls games involving Bee Top 20 teams:
• Niel Valmores had 16 points and Ishana Burch 13 as No. 10 Christian Brothers defeated Casa Roble 65-29 to remain unbeaten in Capital Valley Conference play.
• Sarah Hagar scored 20 points to lead No. 18 Bear River to a 63-34 Pioneer Valley League win over Center in Lake of the Pines.
The Delta River League has earned this season's top Sac-Joaquin Section boys and girls basketball strength ratings.
The strength ratings, compiled by a section seeding committee based on nonleague games played before Jan. 6, help influence qualifying and positioning for the postseason.
The Delta River boys and girls both received an 8.2 rating.
The Delta River League boys includes The Bee's No. 1 Sheldon, No. 2 Jesuit, No. 3 Pleasant Grove, No. 12 Oak Ridge and No. 15 Folsom.
The Delta River League girls includes No. 2 Pleasant Grove, No. 3 Oak Ridge, No. 6 St. Francis and No. 9 Sheldon.
Briana Womack tallied 19 points as top-ranked Sacramento defeated McClatchy 61-47 in a Metro Conference girls basketball game tonight in Oak Park.
In other games involving Bee Top 20 girls teams:
• Avonna Lee's 23 points helped No. 2 Pleasant Grove defeat No. 6 St. Francis 68-56 in a Delta River League game. MacKenzie Conarro led St. Francis with 25 points.
In front of a packed house and two large and raucous standing rooting sections at Antelope High School for the marquee neighborhood finale of the two-day, 10-game Common Good Classic, the towering duo of Isaiah Ellis and Gabe Bealer helped No. 5 Antelope break open a one-point game at halftime to defeat No. 13 Center 60-46 in a boys basketball game tonight.
The 6-6 Ellis and the 6-5 Bealer, both juniors, dominated the inside in blocking and altering shots, rebounding and combining for 34 points. Jarvis Watkins added 16 points for Antelope (16-1).
Christopher Smith led Center (13-4) with 17 points.
"Our 10 days off really showed early on," said Antelope coach Rob Richards. "We were a little indecisive, little slow, little lethargic. Our guys should have known better. Center is a great ballclub. They're playing well. We can't come out like that. But we woke up at halftime and started to bang inside and got back to our basketball."
In orther Common Good games today:
Del Campo's boys basketball team is every bit a throwback.
The Cougars are a bunch of no-names from the neighborhood who are playing so well these days that 10-year coach Dave Nobis admits to feeling rejuvenated.
No. 10 Del Campo is 15-3 after breaking open a tight game in the fourth quarter and beating defending Sierra Foothill League co-champion and No. 15 Granite Bay 61-49 in today's Common Good Classic at Antelope High School.
Lynette Johnson scored 23 points and Lori Wong added 15 as No. 10 Kennedy defeated No. 5 Florin 53-51 in a Metro Conference girls basketball game tonight.
In other games involving Bee Top 20 girls teams:
• Jehiah Cook had 22 points and Briana Womack 13 to lead top-ranked Sacramento to a 73-41 Metro win over Rosemont.
Katie King scored 20 points to lead No. 8 River City past Liberty Ranch 62-29 tonight in a Sierra Valley Conference girls basketball game in West Sacramento.
River City is now 17-1 overall, 3-0 in league.
Jehiah Cook had 16 points and Casey Williams 15 in top-ranked Sacramento's 71-3 Metro Conference girls basketball win over Hiram Johnson tonight.
It was a tough back-to-back for Hiram Johnson, which lost 105-2 to No. 5 Florin on Thursday.
In other girls games tonight involving Bee Top 20 teams:
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
Michele Massari (left) will welcome the Johnson Warriors and their courageous coach Jeanie Huizar (below, right) with open arms Tuesday night in Oak Park.
Massari is the Sacramento High School girls basketball coach, top-ranked in the region and heavy favorites to cruise to another Metro Conference championship. Huizar coaches Johnson, a school every bit as proud as Sacramento but also a place without a basketball tradition, or a feeder program, or any girls who have played on off-season travel teams, the foundation for elite programs across the country.
Massari is many things - feisty, driven, loud, proud - and she also understands class and empathy. Her deeply talented Dragons face a Warriors team heavy on desire but thin on numbers, height, quickness - and even thinner on basketball experience. Some players are still learning the game - how to play it, how to dribble, drive, shoot, defend. Huizar often coaches solo and practices solo. The elite programs, by contrast, have an army of coaches working with skilled players.
Florin crushed Johnson 105-2 on Thursday, the Warriors' 46th consecutive Metro loss. The Warriors are 1-62 in the last four seasons under three coaches. Huizar is in her second season, determined to teach the game, to show that school and sports can indeed go hand-in-hand.
The big loss Thursday to Florin came two nights after Florin trailed 29-0 to Sac High out of the gates in a battle of Bee Top 4 teams. Sac High won that contest 66-31. So Sacramento could conceivably beat Johnson....even worse than Florin?
No chance. Tuesday's Sac-Johnson affair won't be nearly as bad as the Florin-Johnson outcome, Massari said.
Massari said her team will not score 100 points. After a certain point, the Dragons will not full-court press, will not trap to the point of absolute destruction, will not race to the basket on steals. This isn't to suggest the Dragons won't compete - they always compete - but rather they will attack in different ways.
"We'll definitely run the shot clock down, take outside shots, and we won't score on fastbreak layups," Massari said. "We'll get a maximum offensive effort by passing the ball. We'll play hard but it will be modified and it won't be insulting to Johnson."
Huizar said she has been moved by the support and compassion of Massari, who called her after the Florin loss to offer encouragement. Huizar said she wants teams to compete against her club and that if foes suddenly put their hands down, then it's really an insult.
What's more, the coaches talked about impacting young lives beyond wins and losses. Both coaches have taken their teams to Sacramento State women's games, to expose them to the college view, and they chatted at length.
"I had a great talk with her," Massari said. "Told her that she affecting lives with her effort and attitude more than she can imagine, the lessons she teaches go beyond anything on the floor.
"I know I've been blessed with great coaches here and great talent, but what she's doing is just as important."
Huizar, a championship coach at the lower levels at McClatchy, said Johnson "feels like home" and that her players "feel like family."
"Coach Massari said if I ever wanted to join her staff, I could," Huizar said. "That's so nice. But I can't leave these girls. We're going to learn and get better."
Hometown Report: There's no pity, just admiration for team that loses 105-2
For prep news, scores, story links, updates, fun and flavor, follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: sb_joedavidson
Bryce Pressley had 14 points and Akachi Okugo and Kurt Parker 11 each as top-ranked Jesuit walloped No. 10 Granite Bay 68-29 in a nonleague boys basketball game tonight in Carmichael.
In other boys games involving top 20 teams:
• Darius Graham and De'Von Boyd each scored 15 points and Erik Kinney hit the game-winning three-pointer as No. 4 Sacramento beat No. 5 Burbank 61-59 in a Metro Conference game in Oak Park.
Michael Bryson had 15 points and Kelly Bender 10 points as No. 8 Foothill held off No. 9 Bella Vista 48-46 tonight in a nonleague boys basketball game.
In other boys games involving top 20 teams: Gabe Bealer had 15 points in leading No. 6 Antelope to a 72-37 win over Christian Brothers, and Justin Sevilla had 26 points and Troy Owens 25 as No. 18 Cordova defeated Ponderosa 75-60.
In girls action, top-ranked Sacramento defeated Burbank 72-21; No. 3 Oak Ridge held off No. 14 Inderkum 44-42; No. 4 Florin beat Hiram Johnson 105-2; No. 6 Kennedy topped McClatchy 62-39; and No. 9 Sheldon topped Granite Bay 76-18 behind Brianna Burgos' 26 points.
We're still gathering more details, but in one of the most lopsided high school basketball results we've seen, the No. 4 Florin girls defeated Hiram Johnson 105-2 tonight in a Metro Conference game at Florin.
Daijah Joe-Smith had 29 points and 10 steals and Dalayna Sampton added 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Panthers, who were was hammered 65-31 by top-ranked Sacramento on Tuesday in the Metro season opener, a game that ended with coaches from both teams barking at each other and security having to clear the gym.
In tonight's game, Florin (12-3) led 33-0 after a quarter and 69-0 at the half.
Dajah Harris scored Johnson's points with two free throws in the third quarter.
UC Santa Barbara-bound Michael Bryson scored 34 points, Kelly Bender added 19 and No. 8 Foothill outscored No. 11 Del Campo 33-6 in the first half en route to a 58-45 nonleague win tonight in Fair Oaks.
Foothill climbs to 10-3; Del Campo falls to 12-3.
In other games involving Bee Top 20 ranked girls and boys teams:
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
League play starts this week for area high school girls basketball teams, many of them battle tested after rigorous nonleague schedules.
The key questions: Who is off to the best start, and who might emerge as champions?
The Delta River League features four Bee ranked teams in No. 2 Pleasant Grove, No. 3 Oak Ridge, No. 9 Sheldon and No. 10 St. Francis, the five-time defending league champion with a 48-2 league mark in that span under coach Vic Pitton. St. Francis attacks with waves of players who wear on opponents. Sheldon went 1-9 in league play last season amid a rash of injuries. The Huskies have welcomed back leading scorer Brianna Burgos, a guard.
Monterey Trail, after winning the Cosumnes Oaks tournament on Thursday, has moved into The Bee's girls basketball top 20.
THE BEE'S TOP 20
PR - previous ranking; records through weekend
School Win-Loss PR
1. Sacramento 4-4 (1)
2. Pleasant Grove 5-2 (2)
3. Oak Ridge 7-3 (6)
4. Kennedy 8-1 (3)
5. Florin 10-0 (5)
6. Antelope 7-2 (4)
7. El Camino 10-2 (8)
8. St. Francis 5-4 (7)
9. River City 11-1 (13)
10. Del Oro 7-4 (9)
11. Sheldon 7-3 (10)
12. Bear River 9-4 (14)
13. Woodcreek 9-5 (12)
14. Inderkum 7-3 (15)
15. Valley 6-2 (17)
16. Rio Linda 7-2 (19)
17. Christian Brothers 6-3 (16)
18. Monterey Trail 9-3 (-)
19. Rio Americano 7-4 (18)
20. Bella Vista 5-3 (11)
Oak Ridge is hosting the 19th Lady Trojan Toss-up from Wednesday through Friday with a host of area ranked teams.
No. 8 El Camino and scoring guard Jade Sowell-Hundon open tournament play against No. 11 Bella Vista and wing Teryn Jackson. On the same night, No. 6 Oak Ridge and its leadership trio of Jenna Klein, Lauren Sende and Kaitlyn Lendrum take on emerging Del Campo and 6-4 post Megan Roberson, who has drawn national recruiting interest.
Also Wednesday, No. 3 Kennedy and standout guard Lynette Johnson play Vista del Lago, and No. 12 Woodcreek plays No. 12 Christian Brothers to round out the holiday event.
An all-Antelope neighborhood battle will highlight the 10-game field for the fifth annual Common Good Classic boys and girls basketball showcase event Jan. 14 and 16 at Antelope High School.
Sac-Joaquin Section D-II runner-up No. 7 Antelope will play section D-III runner-up No. 9 Center in the Jan. 16 7 p.m. boys basketball finale, the last game of the two-day event.
No. 11 Oak Ridge boys will face No. 12 Del Oro in the Jan. 14 7 p.m. nightcap, the last of five games that day.
The Sac-Joaquin Section today named Diane Heine of Christian Brothers, Kelly Rhoden of Nevada Union, Mike Takayama of Del Oro and Janice Williams of Galt as 2011-2012 section Model Coach award recipients.
Also named were Vacaville's Mike Papadopoulos and Atwater's Roddy Svendsen.
The awards are given to coaches who are positive role models within their schools and community. They will be honored at a breakfast April 17 in Lodi.
Here's a brief synopsis of the area winners, as provided by Will DeBoard, director of communications for the section.
National signing day at Sacramento High, where basketball is almost a religion, took on the atmosphere of a spiritual revival Wednesday.
There were smiles, hugs and tears as friends, relatives and peers cheered as Darius Graham, Erik Kinney, Jasmine Ware and Jehiah Cook became the latest in a long line of Dragons basketball players to earn college athletic scholarships.
Graham, a 5-foot-10 point guard, will join new coach Jim Les' program at UC Davis. Kinney, a 6-foot-3 forward, will play for Cal State Bakersfield.
Ware, a 5-10 guard, is headed for UC Santa Barbara, while Cook, a 5-5 point guard, is off to UNLV.
They joined dozens of other athletes across the region in putting pen to paper during the NCAA's early signing period that started today and runs through next Wednesday.
Former Del Oro girls basketball standout Emilie Johnson helped the USA to defeat previously unbeaten Mexico 87-58 in the Pan American Games Sunday night in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Johnson, now playing at UC Santa Barbara, had 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.
The United States (1-2) is scheduled to play Jamaica (0-3) today.
NorCalPreps.com has released its Top 40 boys rankings for the Class of 2012 and Class of 2013 and its girls rankings for the Class of 2012.
Among area boys ranked for the Class of 2012 are: Pleasant Grove's Arik Armstead, No. 3; Sheldon's Kyiron Thomas, No. 7; Jesuit's Parker Uu, No. 8; Franklin's Theo Johnson, No. 12; Sacramento's Erik Kinney (CSU Bakersfield), No. 16; Foothill's Michael Bryson, No. 17; Oak Ridge's Byrce Scott, No. 18; Jesuit's Akachi Okugo, No. 21; Center's Chris Smith, No. 26; Sacramento's Darius Graham, No. 28; Antelope's Jarvis Watkins, No. 34; Jesuit's Bryce Pressley, No. 36; Pleasant Grove's Cody Demps, No. 39; and Capital Christian's Matt Donlan, No. 40.
Bishop O'Dowd of Oakland's Richard Longrus is No. 1.
Among area boys Class of 2013 ranked are: Sheldon's Dakarai Allen, No. 7 and D'Erryl Williams, No. 12; Franklin's Darin Johnson, No. 13; Pleasant Grove's Malik Thames, No. 22; Saramento's Aaron Carter, No. 23, James Hadnot, No. 24, and Joe Barnes, No. 25; Antelope's Gabe Bealer, No. 28; and Woodcreek's Tyler Milani, No. 40.
Mitty of San Jose's Aaron Gordon is No. 1.
Among area girls Class of 2012 players ranked are: Vacaville Christian's Amber Cooper, No. 2; Sacramento's Jasmine Ware (UC Santa Barbara), No. 12 and Jehiah Cook (UNLV), No. 15; Pleasant Grove's Marissa Wimbley, No. 19; Inderkum's Riana Byrd, No. 22; Sacramento's Brianna Womack, No. 25; Oak Ridge's Lauren Sende, No. 26; and Sheldon's Brianna Burgos, No. 33.
Carondelet of Concord's Hannah Huffman (Notre Dame) is ranked No. 1.
For the complete lists, go to NorCalPreps.com
http://norcalpreps.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1268296
http://norcalpreps.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1274958
http://norcalpreps.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1265715
Two Sacramento High basketball players have made college verbal commitments.
Senior 5-foot-10 guard-forward Jasmine Ware plans to attend UC Santa Barbara, and senior 6-foot-3 shooting guard Erik Kinney has verbally committed to Cal State Bakersfield.
Ware had an outstanding summer playing for the NorCal Elite Black, co-directed by her Sac High coach Michele Massari. Last winter she helped the Dragons to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III girls championship.
Several area boys and girls basketball players have made NorCalPreps.com 2012 Northern California Top 40 player rankings.
The boys and their ratings are: No. 7 Arik Armstead, Pleasant Grove; No. 10 Theo Johnson, Franklin; No. 11 Kyiron Thomas, Sheldon; No. 13 Parker Uu, Jesuit; No. 25 Akachi Okugo, Jesuit; No. 27 Darius Graham, Sacramneto; No. 30 Erik Kinney, Sacramento and No. 36 Cody Demps, Pleasant Grove.
Bishop O'Dowd of Oakland's Brandon Ashley, a 6-foot-8 power forward, is rated No. 1.
Five area players made the 2012 girls top 40 - No. 17 Jasmine Ware, Sacramento; No. 22 Marissa Wimbley, Pleasant Grove; No. 29 Brianna Womack, Sacramento; No. 35 Brianna Burgos, Sheldon; and No. 38 Alison Ryan, Ponderosa.
Notre Dame verbal commit Hannah Huffman of Carondelet of Concord is listed No. 1.
For more go to NorCalPreps
Here are some more noteworthy highlights from the 2010-2011 high school sport season to complement Joe Davidson's year-in-review story in today's sports section.
• Legally blind athlete Kym Crosby, a distinctive presence on area tracks because of her bright red hair and pale skin, finishes as River Valley's most accomplished track and field athlete. The Chico State scholarship signee sets school records in the 100, 200 and 400 meters and lands Tri-County Conference MVP honors after winning the triple jump and 400 and finishing second in the 200 at the league finals.
• Sheldon, behind Bee Player of the Year Darius Nelson, plays one of the most ambitious boys basketball schedules in area history, competing in major invitationals in Southern California, Kentucky and Louisiana. The Huskies repeat as D-I section champions, but lose by two points to De La Salle of Concord in a physical NorCal D-I semifinal.
• Davis' Wade Allen wins the Sac-Joaquin Section 50- and 100-yard freestyle swim championships to cap an incredible run of 13 individual section titles by the Allen family. Jake Allen, now swimming at Stanford, won six individual titles; Trevor, now playing water polo at UC Davis, won three and Wade, the youngest, finishes with four titles.
• Area baseball and softball players make the dramatic adjustment to two game-changing new rules. More baseball squads gravitate to small ball as hitters adapt to less explosive composite bats while softball gets an injection of offense with the pitcher's circle moved back three feet.
• Despite graduating all their starters and beginning anew under new coach Paul Hayes, there is no rebuilding for Woodcreek boys basketball. The Timberwolves make a return trip to the CIF Northern California Regional Division II championship game at Power Balance Arena, falling to parochial power Archbishop Mitty of San Jose.
• The Davis girls soccer team, ranked No. 1 nationally most of the season, beats St. Francis to end the Troubadours' three-year reign as D-I champions while another nationally ranked team, Rio Americano, finishes an unbeaten season by beating rival Benicia for the D-III championship.
• With high-profile national recruits Vei Moala and Puka Lopa of Grant leading the way, 28 area players sign NCAA football national letters of intent. Cal and coach Jeff Tedford enjoy the the biggest coup in landing both Moala and Lopa. But the Pac-10 plucks six others - Grant's Darryl Paulo, Burbank's T.J. Poloai and Sheldon's Mansel Simmons to Washington State; Grant's James Sample to Washington; and Folsom's Tyler Trosin to Oregon State.
• Bonded by teamwork and a best-friend unity, Del Oro girls basketball enjoys its greatest run in coach Mike Takayama's momentous 25-year career. Only nationally ranked St. Mary's of Stockton can stop the 27-5 Golden Eagles in the postseason.
• The Davis girls basketball team rebounds from the firing of popular coach Jeff Christian (and the reinstatement of twin stars Malika and Khaliya Wilkins who he had booted for "conduct detrimental to the team") to win the Delta Valley Conference under interim coach Dennis Foster, the first-year athletic director.
• UCLA scholarship signee and St. Francis four-year player Zoe Nightingale finishes as one of the area's all-time greats by earning All-American honors. Only one other St. Francis player has done that, Troubadour coach Alynn Wright's daughter, Taryn Wright.
• Multi-talented Davis senior Ian Rock readies for decathlete duties at Duke by beating a loaded field in the rain to win the boys pole vault with a personal best 16 feet, 2 inches at the CIF State Track and Field championships in Clovis.
- Bill Paterson
Categories: Baseball, Boys basketball , Football, Girls basketball , Soccer, Softball, SwimmingAdd category, Track, Volleyball
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
Players, coaches, moments and milestones.
That's the menu Mike Finnerty and I will explore in big-picture form as we talk and debate about the academic year on Saturday's SureWest Sports Radio Show on ESPN1320 from 9-10 a.m.
It's our last program until late August as we take a summer break.
Items of interest include:
* Folsom's fabulous football ride, going 13-1 and winning the CIF Division II bowl game behind Bee Player of the Year Dano Graves, who set state quarterbacking records.
* Del Oro winning a football section title despite some fans in Loomis pleading for the removal of coach Casey Taylor after a 2-4 start. He rallied the team by removing some players, then taking it all in D-III and emerging as The Bee's Coach of the Year.
* Rocklin winning a section title in girls and boys volleyball.
* Jesuit bearing down on an astounding 100 section titles this season, with recent celebrations in soccer and National Coach of the Year Paul Rose.
* The Del Oro basketball team of class and style, headed by Belle Obert and Bee Player of the Year Madeline Campbell.
* Michele Massari willing her Sacramento Dragons to a section D-III title and earning Bee Coach of the Year honors - and SureWest Sports Coach of the Year accolades - despite graduating four starters from last season.
* The Sac High boys basketball team overcoming the sudden and controversial transfer of high profile recruit Josiah Turner at midseason and the role of meddling parents in prep sports in general.
* The rise of Antelope athletics.
* The amazing run of success for small-school Bradshaw Christian.
* The Elk Grove Unified School District power in softball.
*Realignment.
* Transfers
* Mixed messages with recruiting
* Bill Baxter winning his 600th career game as the El Camino girls coach.
* The impact of amazing leaders such as Kris Richardson, Mike Alberghini, Max Miller, Joe Potulny, Guy Anderson and Mary Jo Truesdale.
* Follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: sb_joedavidson
Categories: Baseball, Boys basketball , By the Numbers, Catching Up, Football, Football Player of the Week , Girls basketball , On the Radar, Prep sports history, Recruiting - basketball, Recruiting - football, Soccer, Softball
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
Belle Obert of Del Oro and Kyle Howarth of Granite Bay are the SureWest Sports Show Athletes of the Year, it was announced this week.
Show host Mike Finnerty said he based his selection criteria on impact on multiple sports, grade-point average, leadership and character. In these two, SureWest found gem winners in these seniors rooted in Placer County.
Obert was a Bee All-Metro selection in volleyball and basketball, a force at the net in the fall and a force on the boards and low block in basketball as she helped power both teams into the playoffs.
Obert has a 4.2 GPA and will attend Butler University this fall on a volleyball scholarship.
Howarth, also a 4.2 student, was a first-team All-Sierra Foothill League pick in three sports. He keyed Granite Bay's Sac-Joaquin Section Division II soccer title run. The Grizzlies finished No. 5 nationally. In basketball, his 8.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game helped lead the Grizzlies into the D-I NorCal playoffs.
And in the spring, Howarth led the SLF co-champions. He is off to UC Davis to study medicine.
Both athletes will be interviewed - with highlights of their senior seasons - on the May 24 SureWest Sports Show.
Click here for more information...
http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/357994/f95eac672f/1471000028//
Categories: Boys basketball , Girls basketball , Prep sports history, Soccer, Volleyball
In our coverage of Saturday's Sac-Joaquin Section swim championships in Lodi, we failed to mention that Granite Bay junior Sophie Weber broke a 14-year old record in the girls 200 individual medley.
Weber swam to a winning time of 2:01.15, bettering the standing mark of 2:01.20 set by Rio Americano's Alexis Oakland in 1997.
-Bill Paterson
Several league baseball races, which didn't decide league champions and playoff teams until Tuesday's and Wednesday's final rounds, produced a number of surprises.
Here are the highlights:
• Bella Vista, which appeared headed for the Capital Valley Conference championship last week, had to settle for third place after losing three of its last four, including 3-2 to Del Campo in its final regular-season game on Wednesday. Bella Vista, Del Campo and Casa Roble all finished 9-6 and league tri-champions. But Casa Roble gets the No. 1 playoff seed, Del Campo the No. 2 seed and Bella Vista the No. 3 and a Monday outbracket game against visiting Sacramento. Del Campo won its last four games, including twice against neighboring rival Bella Vista, to make the postseason.
Sheldon's Darius Nelson landed a spot on NorCalPreps.com's All-Northern California boys basketball five-man first team.
Joining Nelson on the first team were Archbishop Mitty of San Jose's Aaron Gordon, Oakland's Jabari Brown, Castro Valley's Roderick Bobbitt and Bishop O'Dowd of Oakland's Brandon Ashley.
Sacramento's Robert Garrett made the second team and Woodcreek's Devin Murphy and Granite Bay's Robert Duncan were selected to the third team.
Del Oro's Madeline Campbell and St. Francis' Briana Charles made the All-NorCal girls second and third teams, respectively.
For the complete list, go to http://norcalpreps.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1213539
-Bill Paterson
Del Oro, St. Francis and Sacramento finished among the top 40 girls basketball teams in Cal-Hi Sports' final state rankings.
Del Oro was No. 22, St. Francis No. 23 and Sacramento No. 38.
Mater Dei of Santa Ana, the CIF Division I champion, finished No. 1.
St. Mary's of Stockton, which beat Del Oro in the Sac-Joaquin Section and CIF Northern California Regional D-II championship games, finished No. 2 after winning its third consecutive state title.
- Bill Paterson
The bonding experience is great. The chance to play with some of the best girls and boys senior basketball players is memorable.
But when it comes right down to it, the winners of the annual Optimist All-Star games come away just a little more satisfied.
Tonight at Center High School, the North girls prevailed over the South 95-90 in a marvelously entertaining game in front of a good crowd considering the charity event was going head-to-head with the NCAA men's basketball Final Four.
We're also not sure if it's a first - the girls put more points on the scoreboard than the boys as the South boys defeated the North 97-87 in the nightcap.
The girls game had a little bit of everything. Rallies and runs. Astute coaching moves. Athletic plays from the renowned and the unsung.
"It was awesome practicing and playing with these girls," said North MVP Crystal Sewell of Del Oro, who led her team with 17 points. "It was a great experience and winning makes it even better."
Said South MVP Briana Charles of St. Francis who had a game-high 26 points: "I wanted to win so bad tonight, but it was a good game. We came back twice, which showed our chemistry."
It twice looked as if the North was going to run the South out of the gym. The North jumped to an early 13-point lead and led throughout the first half until Charles scored on a layup just before the buzzer to put the South ahead 42-41.
The North opened the second half with a 15-0 run as the South missed its first 18 shots.
But the South, behind some sizzling three-point shooting (eight in the second half) rallied to go ahead 66-65 with 9:38 to play on two Jolise Limcaco (St. Francis) free throws.
The teams traded leads until a Jordie Smith (Bradshaw Christian) layup with two minutes to play put the North ahead to stay 88-87. Antelope's Taylor Hawkins then secured the win by hitting three consecutive baskets, a layup on a no-look pass from Rio Linda's Sariah Louden, a putback of a teammate's miss and another layup from a Sewell assist.
The 6-foot-3 Hawkins finished with 14 points and Del Oro's Madeline Campbell added 12 points for the North.
For the South, Vista del Lago's Amara Wainwright added 15 points and Davis' Malika and Khaliya Wilkins combined for 21 points.
After the game, North coach Mike Takayama was inducted into the Optimist Hall of Fame for his 25 years of coaching at Del Oro. This season his Golden Eagles, his best team, went 27-5 and finished as Sac-Joaquin Section and CIF Northern Regional championship runners-up to nationally ranked St. Mary's of Stockton.
Takayama also got to coach is trio of stars - Campbell, Sewell and Belle Obert - for one last time.
"They had to carry me for one more game, and they definitely did their job," Takayama said. "It was a nice way to end the season for us. It was a special year."
Charles, who helped keep her team in the game, especially from the foul line where she made 12 of 15 shots, said playing in the Optimist Game was special.
"You hear about these girls and you read about them in the paper," Charles said. "I just think it's neat that the best of the best are able to get together and test each other's strengths."
In the boys game, the test for the North players was how they would deal with the South's 6-11 Robert Garrett of Sacramento High.
It didn't go so well.
The Santa Clara-bound post muscled his way for 21 points, blocked shots and rebounded with authority in earning the South team's MVP honors. Woodcreek's John Peska received the North team's MVP award with a team-high 18 points, including five three-pointers.
The South dominated from the start, although the North did close to 66-64 on two J.T. Adenrele (Oakmont) free throws with 9:42 to play.
But a Garrett dunk and layup sandwiched between a Darrell Polee Jr. layup and free throw ended the North's threat.
Polee, from tiny Global Youth Charter in Antelope, had 14 points and Franklin's Chuks Iroegbu 11 for the South.
Granite Bay's Robert Duncan and Jonathan Davis had 16 and 12 points, respectively, for the North.
- Bill Paterson
Here is The Bee's final girls basketball top 20 poll:
1. Del Oro (27-5; previous poll: 1)
2. St. Francis (26-7; previous poll: 2)
3. Sacramento (28-6; previous poll: 3)
4. Oak Ridge (21-11; previous poll: 4)
5. El Camino (29-3; previous poll: 5)
6. Bella Vista (23-7; previous poll: 8)
7. El Dorado (24-5; previous poll: 7)
8. Pleasant Grove (18-11; previous poll: 6)
9. Inderkum (26-3; previous poll: 9)
10. Bear River (25-6; previous poll: 12)
11. Bradshaw Christian (24-10; previous poll: 20)
12. Valley (20-9; previous poll: 11)
13. Florin (23-6; previous poll: 13)
14. Christian Bros. (21-10; previous poll: 16)
15. Kennedy (17-12; previous poll: 17)
16. Colfax (23-8; previous poll: 14)
17. Rocklin (18-11; previous poll: 19)
18. Antelope (20-7; previous poll: 10)
19. Galt (22-8; previous poll: unranked)
20. Davis (21-7; previous poll: 18)
Dropped out: Ponderosa
- Bill Paterson
This from the Associated Press:
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scored 33 points as Mater Dei of Santa Ana lived up to its No. 1 in the nation ranking by outlasting Berkeley, 59-47, to win the girls Division I state championship at Power Balance Pavilion this evening.
Kiki Alofaituli added 11 points for the Monarchs (34-1), who won their third CIF state title.
But the UConn-bound Mosqueda-Lewis made every big shot, and her three-pointer with 48 seconds left was the end of a valiant Yellowjacket comeback.
Elisha Davis led Berkeley (31-2) with 16 points, and sparked a fourth-quarter rally from a 46-30 deficit.
The Yellowjackets cut the margin to three with 2:50 left, but Mosqueda-Lewis then buried two free throws and later added the three-pointer that decided the game.
Here are recaps from today's first three CIF state basketball championship games at Power Balance Arena, provided by The Associated Press.
Division III Girls: St. Joseph 53, Bishop O'Dowd 42
Alyson Beebe scored 21 points as the Southern California Regional champions from Santa Maria defeated the Dragons from Oakland.
Brianna Bognuda added 15 points and Kelsi English 11 for the Knights (29-6), who won their second state title.
Oderah Chidom led Bishop O'Dowd (24-8) with 17 points and 10 rebounds, but the Dragons shot less than 30 percent from the field and missed 10 free throws.
The game was close until the middle of the third quarter when St. Joseph went on a 16-3 run to build a 13-point lead. Beebe had 11 points in the period, and the Knights then coasted to their first state title since 1991, despite losing starter Tatiana Dunlap to an injury early in the first quarter.
Here are recaps provided by Clay Kallam of the Associated Press of tonight's CIF state boys and girls basketball championship games at Power Balance Arena.
Division II Girls: St. Mary's (Stockton) 64, Rialto 48
Courtney Range had 17 points as St. Mary's of Stockton won its third straight state championship and seventh overall by defeating Rialto.
Ali Gibson and Onome Jemerigbe each had 12 for the Rams (29-2), who have now won seven state championships. Kendall Kenyon added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Brittani Walker led Rialto (33-4) with 17 points, and Denae Williams added 13. Janae Sharpe, who was averaging 22.9 points a game, was held to just eight.
The game was close for the first quarter, but St. Mary's continual pressure wore down the Knights, who committed 33 turnovers in their first appearance in a state championship game.
Division V Boys: St. Joseph Notre Dame 47, St. Bernard 44
Jacari Whitfield had 15 points and the game-winning three-pointer as the Pilots defeated St. Bernard of Playa del Rey. It was the Pilots fourth state title since 1991.
Brendan Keane had 10 points for the Pilots (27-8) and Garret Rich had 14 rebounds.
Brandon Randolph had 14 points for the Vikings (26-9), and Thurman Thomas had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
St. Bernard was just 4-23 in 2009-10, but new coach Reggie Morris turned the program around in a hurry.
No team led by more than five, and it was a one-point game going into the fourth quarter, with St. Bernard holding a 36-35 lead.
With 58 seconds left and the score tied at 42, Whitfield hit his fifth three-pointer, and after surviving some anxious moments down the stretch, St. Joseph Notre Dame hung on for the win.
A look at the CalHiSports.com high school girls basketball rankings heading into this weekend's CIF State Championships at Power Balance Pavilion. Special thanks to Cal-Hi editor Mark Tennis, one of the giants in this business who has ranked teams across the state for more than 30 years. Go to the CalHiSports.com site for more news and notes on prep sports.
Sacramento-area teams are in bold. Last week's rankings in parenthesis
Division I
1. (1) Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 33-1
2. (2) Berkeley 29-1*
3. (4) Brea Olinda (Brea) 31-2
4. (5) Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) 25-3
5. (3) Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley) 30-4
6. (6) Carondelet (Concord) 28-5
7. (7) Cajon (San Bernardino) 29-2
8. (8) Narbonne (Harbor City) 31-5
9. (9) Edison (Huntington Beach) 28-4
10. (10) Troy (Fullerton) 29-5
11. (11) Santiago (Corona) 27-3
12. (12) Etiwanda 24-4
13. (13) Santa Monica 23-10
14. (14) St. Francis (Sacramento) 26-7
15. (15) Rancho Cucamonga 20-5
Division II
1. (1) St. Mary's (Stockton) 31-2
2. (3) Rialto 32-3
3. (4) Dougherty Valley (San Ramon) 28-3
4. (2) Del Oro (Loomis) 27-5
5. (5) Buena (Ventura) 27-8
6. (6) Presentation (San Jose) 24-7
7. (7) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 24-9
8. (8) Canyon (Canyon Country) 27-6
9. (9) Westview (San Diego) 26-8
10. (10) Canyon (Anaheim) 24-9
Division III
1. (1) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 25-7
2. (4) St. Joseph (Santa Maria) 28-6
3. (2) Serra (Gardena) 27-6
4. (5) Lutheran (Orange) 26-7
5. (3) Sacramento 28-6
6. (6) Bonita (La Verne) 30-4
7. (7) Campolindo (Moraga) 25-7
8. (8) Vanden (Travis AFB) 26-5
9. (9) Chaminade (West Hills) 26-5
10. (10) Bellarmine-Jefferson (Burbank) 23-8
Division IV
1. (1) St. Mary's (Berkeley) 30-4
2. (3) Windward (Los Angeles) 29-4
3. (2) La Jolla Country Day 27-5
4. (6) St. Anthony (Long Beach) 20-12
5. (7) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) 23-11
6. (5) Laces (Los Angeles) 27-10
7. (8) Bishop's (La Jolla) 18-12
8. (4) Modesto Christian 25-9
9. (9) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 18-11
10. (10) Piedmont 20-13
Division V
1. (1) Pinewood (Los Altos Hills) 27-5
2. (3) St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda) 25-5
3. (4) Eastside Prep (East Palo Alto) 22-8
4. (5) St. Bernard (Playa del Rey) 23-14
5. (2) Santa Clara (Oxnard) 28-7
6. (6) View Park (Los Angeles) 29-7
7. (7) Central Valley Christian (Visalia) 25-3
8. (8) Rincon Valley Christian (Santa Rosa) 30-4
9. (9) Poly (Pasadena) 26-3
10. (10) Bradshaw Christian (Sacramento) 24-10
By Joe Davidson
and Bill Paterson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
Some odds and ends to ponder and consider as state basketball hoops concludes the season...
* Eight of the 10 NorCal and SoCal regional boys winners got here despite not winning a section championship, benefactors of an expanded tournament.
The only section winners were Salesian and Mitty in D-II.
* All 10 SoCal champions are from the massive, 600-school Southern Section, a first. The Southern Section has more schools than some states have high schools.
* The St. Mary's girls came into the weekend with the longest winning streak of any of the title contenders, either gender, with 26.
CAPITAL ATHLETIC LEAGUE
Most Valuable Player: Laurel Donnenwirth, El Camino
First team: Deanna Baron, Taylor Hawkins, Ashley Hawkins, Antelope; Morgan Green, Kristin Ladas, Alex Rodriguez, Whitney; Benissa Bulaya, Jade Sowell-Hundon, El Camino; Elizabeth Moulton, Rio Americano; Victoria Odufuwa, Cordova.
CAPITAL VALLEY CONFERENCE
Most Valuable Player: Leah Parrish, Bella Vista
First team: Marlesha Ayers, Amber Huffhines, Sariah Loudon, Rio Linda; Briana Baer, Casa Roble; Lynette Sandoval, Jazmin Bembry, Ishiana Burch, Christian Brothers; Jennifer Gong, Shelby Kelch, Oakmont; Amora Harding, Del Campo; Kelly Logue, Bella Vista.
Still leading, still winning, still a scholar.
Cydni Matsuoka of Kennedy High School was named by D3hoops.com as the National Rookie of the Year for Division III women's basketball.
As a freshman, Matsuoka helped steer Vassar College, located in the heart of the Hudson Valley in New York, to a series of firsts - Liberty League champions for the first time since 2000, Vassar's first trip to the NCAA D-III postseason.
Berkeley used balanced scoring in overcoming a 30-point performance by Carondelet of Concord's Hannah Huffman to win the CIF Northern California Regional Division I girls basketball championship tonight at Power Balance Pavilion.
Cal-bound Brittany Boyd had 17 points, Chairese Culberson 15 points and 12 rebounds and Elisha Davis 10 points for the Yellowjackets (27-1).
Huffman made 11 of 24 shots from the field and seven of eight from the foul line. Natalie Romeo added 13 points but was one of only four to score for the Cougars (28-5).
Berkeley will play on Saturday for the state championship against Mater Dei-Santa Ana, a 59-44 winner over Canyon Springs-Moreno Valley in today's Southern California Regional.
It was Berkeley's 10th NorCal title in 14 appearances.
-Bill Paterson
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
There was a telling moment late this afternoon, with Madeline Campbell's team too far behind to close the gap and precious time running out.
Campbell (right) - the spirit of the Del Oro Golden Eagles - had fouled out of this bruising affair with St. Mary's and took the long walk to the bench. The backdrop was an appreciative, roaring rooting section, and seemingly most of the town of Loomis, all decked in black and gold colors. They applauded the senior and her team's effort.
View a photo gallery
So Campbell applauded right back - for the followers, her pals and herself for a season and career well done.
Earning the rematch it so badly wanted but not able to capitalize, No. 2-seeded Del Oro fell 56-48 to the top-seeded and nationally ranked No. 6 Rams of Stockton in the Northern California Division II finals at Power Balance Pavilion.
Pedigree wise, all factors pointed to St. Mary's as the Rams claimed their ninth NorCal title a year after finishing No. 1 in the country. Del Oro, as public school as public school can get, was in its first such title round since 1999. This season's outfit happened to be the best team in coach Mike Takayama's 26 seasons, and no one on his bench was intimidated by the Rams.
The Golden Eagles (27-5) came in as a close-knit, highly skilled bunch, and they departed closer than ever to take on the junior prom, heads held high.
"The toughest part," Campbell explained later, after scoring 18 points with nine rebounds, "was knowing that this was our last game for the seniors, knowing that the community and students were there to support us. We're the best of friends, and it's so hard to have it end. But it was an amazing experience."
Like they had in the first meeting between these clubs in the Sac-Joaquin Section D-II finals, the Golden Eagles led at the half. And like the last time, St. Mary's clamped down on defense in the second half and played with poise to salt it away.
Del Oro had 31 turnovers in the 70-65 setback to the Rams (28-2) at Power Balance and cut those miscues to 16 this time, but it was rebounding that really hurt the Golden Eagles. St. Mary's had 56, including a NorCal title game record 20 by Kendall Kenyon, whose team was paced by Ali Gibson's 15 points.
"They owned the glass," Takayama said. "They took over momentum in the third quarter and we had a hard time getting that back. We didn't have a lot of answers."
Takayama did have an answer when asked how special this group was. The core group is headed by Campbell, the senior class president, and fellow seniors Belle Obert, Becky Duncan, Taylor Donnot and Crystal Sewell, the heart of the club. Obert had 10 rebounds, and Sewell had 16 points and 10 rebounds and was awarded the Pursuing Victory with Honor Sportsmanship award.
St. Mary's coach Tom Gonsalves admitted that winning these titles never gets old. He called this one "as rewarding as any we've had" given the opponent.
Del Oro, as all great programs do, will make another run next season. Impressive sophomore Brianna Ruiz, she of the wide-open game and incredible upside, heads the returners. The departing seniors are all honors students and campus leaders.
"We've never had scholar-athletes with such enormous talent like this, and what a blessing to coach and work such great human beings," Takayama said. "I'll remember this team....forever."
Follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: sb_joedavidson
Photo by Bryan Patrick/bpatrick@sacbee.com
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
Michele Massari can normally talk up a storm, her passions including family and hoops, especially when it all rolls into one.
This afternoon, the Sacramento Dragons coach couldn't find the precise words to describe the inspired efforts of her gritty, never-bland young team. So she said nothing. Finally, she spoke of pride.
View a photo gallery
Second-seeded Sacramento succumbed to the size and skill of top-seeded Bishop O'Dowd of Oakland in the second half and fell 57-46 in the Northern California Division III championship game at Power Balance Pavilion in a sobering end to what had been a refreshing upstart season.
That the Dragons of Oak Park were here was testament to the program Massari has maintained as she plugged in four new starters to replace graduated ones and steered them right back to the NorCal finals.
"I've never been more proud of a team," Massari said, trying to maintain composure. She added later, "this is crazy to think about. Unlike Del Oro, unlike St. Francis, unlike El Camino, this is a fresh group of starters we have this year. It's unique because we graduated 90-percent of our scoring, 90-percent of our rebounding and defense - and here we are.
"There's no other team that can do that, and I'm so proud of these girls."
Leading the way, as she has all season, was Fantasia Hilliard (above), the dynamic 5-foot-3 point guard who scored 15 points and yanked down five rebounds among a lineup of trees in her prep finale. Fittingly, the senior was presented with the CIF Pursuing Victory with Honor Sportsmanship Award, befitting of her leadership and class.
"She is amazing," Massari said of the Sacramento State-bound Hilliard. "You can't match her energy, her hustle, leadership. She's become our heart and soul, and I'll miss her."
Jasmine Ware, one of a host of impressive returning players for Sacramento, had 18 points and seven rebounds as the junior wing attacked from all angles. Also returning for Sacramento next season will be freshman post Ayanna Edwards, whose defensive presence and poise helped key Sacramento to a 20-15 halftime lead.
The 6-4 Edwards, whom Massari said could barely dribble the ball last summer, had four blocked shots and six rebounds. She had four points as her offensive game continues to develop, but she clearly held her own against the 3-headed inside forces of O'Dowd's K.C. Waters, Breanna Brown and Oderah Chidom.
Those three undercrlassmen, all 6-2 or taller, combined for 33 points and 29 rebounds. Add in point guard Ariell Bostick's second-half floor leadership and six assists and one can understand how complete of a unit O'Dowd is. O'Dowd (24-7) won its first NorCal title and seems primed for more title runs. So is Sacramento with the return and expected growth of Ware, Edwards, Najah Queenland, Allie Green, Jehiah Cook and Dalayna Tyler-Scott, among others.
"There's some unbelievable talent coming back, and we'll get better and we can get right back here," Massari said.
Edwards agreed, saying, "We can grow from this and improve."
Now, maybe, Massari can finally exhale for a season well done. She wasn't sure if she could capably replace the graduated stars, but did with the combined efforts Hilliard, fellow guard and co-team captain Breana Williams and reserve post Unique Mikel.
They helped direct the Dragons to an unbeaten run in the Metro League, a Sac-Joaquin Section championship, two NorCal playoff wins and a 28-6 showing. The one void for these Dragons on Saturday was any semblance of a student-body following.
With Sacramento in the midst of a two-week spring break, there was no campus momentum, no rallied or rooter buses. But Massari will remember the effort.
"The seniors, the whole team, they were unbelievable this year," Massari said, also heaping credit to her assistant coaches that include former Johnson High hoops leaders Damond Edwards and Lloyd Hillman and former Burbank great Alex Van Dyke.
Follow Joe Davidson on Twitter: sb_joedavidson
Photo by Bryan Patrick/bpatrick@sacbee.com
Here's the latest SureWest Sports Show program with Mike Finnerty that includes a NorCal basketball week breakdown with yours truly.
Great highlights, insight, flavor and fun.
Categories: Boys basketball , Girls basketball , Prep sports history, Recruiting - basketball
Senior leader Fantasia Hilliard dominated first-half scoring and emerging sophomore Allie Green took over in the second half to lead Sacramento High School past Campolindo of Moraga 58-54 in tonight's CIF Regional Northern California Division III girls basketball semifinal at Sacramento High.
The win moves second-seeded Sacramento into next Saturday morning's D-III NorCal championship game against top-seeded Bishop O'Dowd of Oakland at Power Balance Arena. Bishop O'Dowd, which lost to Sacramento High in last season's NorCal semifinals, defeated St. Ignatius of San Francisco 48-39 tonight.
Campolindo (25-7) closed to within two points, 56-54, on Amanda Forshay's layup with 14.6 seconds. But Sacramento's Jehiah Cook was fouled with 2.5 seconds and made both free throws.
It was Sacramento High's 66th-consecutive homecourt win.
Hilliard scored a game-high 19 points (on 9 of 18 shooting), including 13 in the first half, and despite standing just 5-foot-3, was a force on the boards for the Dragons (28-5) against the taller Cougars.
The Sacramento State bound-senior did struggle from the foul line in making one of 10 shots.
She missed five free throws in the fourth quarter, including the front end of three one-and-ones, a reason Campolindo rallied from nine points down in the final two minutes to close within two.
Green, a slick-shooting sophomore, added 16 points, 12 coming in the second half.
"Today Allie Green took a huge step growing up," said Sacramento coach Michele Massari. "This is the first time all year where she said give me the ball, get out of my way."
Massari also was pleased with junior forward Jasmine Ware, who added 12 points, played strong defense and rebounded well.
"I love this group," Massari said. "Nobody thought we could do this when we lost (Brittany) Shine and (Kyra) Dunn. I think what makes us so good is that from one to 10, everyone knows they can play. If one person is off, then another person is on. Everybody does something to help us."
Sacramento will return to the NorCal championship game for the second straight year. Last year the Dragons lost to St. Mary's of Stockton, which finished as USA Today's No. 1 team.
St. Mary's is now in Division II.
O'Dowd (24-7), featuring tall and athletic sophomores Kendall Waters and Oderah Chidom, will be another formidable test as the Sacramento girls try to win their second NorCal title and first since 2006.
"They're going to be tough," Massari said of the school that also shares the same Dragons mascot. "They're very post-oriented. So we are going to have to do a lot of work with our bigs. Thank God we've got a week to figure it out."
O'Dowd beat Campolindo 66-65 in two overtimes in the North Coast Section D-III title game.
Bill Paterson
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
Now we find out who has the staying power, the poise and the free throw accuracy late.
Sacramento-area basketball teams bound into NorCal semifinal games Saturday night expecting victory but preparing for anything.
A reminder that I will join Mike Finnerty on Saturday (and every Saturday) to break the teams down on the SureWest Sports Radio Show on ESPN1320 from 9-10 a.m. A link to the show will be posted later in the day. Guests include Woodcreek coach Paul Hayes and Antelope coach Rob Richards.
For score updates, insight, on these games, follow us on Twitter at sb_joedavidson
A closer look at the matchups.
Girls Division I
St. Francis (26-6) vs. Carondelet (27-4) at St. Mary's College
Outlook: The Troubadours ramped up their schedule, the program's toughest, to prepare for this. St. Francis has lost only in recent months to Berkeley, the top seed in this playoff, and national power and D-II favorite St. Mary's of Stockton. St. Francis is superbly coached by Vic Pitton, who unleashes guards Jolise Limcaco and Briana Charles, in addition to versatile senior Beth Balbierz, Nicole Lau, Kristn Anderson, Ellie Earley and a host of others. Carondelet of Concord earned the No. 2 seed after three physical, emotional and down-to-the-wire encounters with Berkeley, including a victory.
Boys Division I
Sheldon (24-7) vs. De La Salle (25-5) at St. Mary's College
Outlook: This one will likely leave a lot of folks with bruises, cuts, welts and abrasions. That's the norm when you take on De La Salle, the terrific defensive dynamos from Concord. Sheldon offers a pretty sound defense, too, and an offense that averages 69 a game. The last loss for Sheldon was 13 games ago, to De La Salle, 48-45, when Darius Nelson was off target. He's eager for another shot, as is Sheldon to shed any perception that the Sacramento big schools cannot stand up to the large-school lads in the Bay Area. You know Nelson will score, as will Ramon Eaton, but it will come down to attacking that DLS defense, which yields next to nothing and put the clamps on Granite Bay on Thursday a week after Sheldon needed a buzzer-beating putback by Nelson to beat those same Grizzlies. How support crew members Kyiron Thomas, D'erryl Williams, Dakarai Allen, Ryan Manning, Mansel Simmons and others fare is paramount for Sheldon.
Girls Division II
Del Oro (26-4) at Presentation (24-6)
Outlook: Veteran Golden Eagles coach Mike Takayama says this is his best team in Loomis, and it's clear why: cohesion, skill, smarts, toughness. Del Oro has terrific well-rounded athletes in Becky Duncan, Madeline Campbell, Belle Obert, Crystal Sewell, Stephanie Geyer and Brianna Ruiz. Stinging from a 5-point loss to national power St. Mary's of Stockton in the section finals at Power Balance, Campbell said afterward, "I feel sorry for the next team we play." That was Chico, which absorbed a 68-37 beating on Thursday. In San Jose and Presentation, the Golden Eagles will encounter strength, speed and size, with post players and scholarship guards who have mowed teams all season, including a 29-2 El Camino bunch 75-50.
Boys Division II
Woodcreek (27-5) at Antelope (27-6)
Outlook: Eleven days ago, Antelope stunned Woodcreek in a Sac-Joaquin Section semifinal at Power Balance on a late play by Jarvis Watkins, then held its collective breath when a halfcourt shot just missed at the buzzer for the defending section champion Timberwolves. Now here they are again, this time in the cozy confines of Antelope's sparkling new gym that will include the rowdy rooting section named the Red Zone, to match wits with Woodcreek's spirited Black Mob. On the court, it'll be even more intense as Woodcreek leaders Jamie Geyer, Devin Murphy and John Preska seek redemption against Watkins, John Winters, Caleb King, Devin Campbell, Kendall Martin, Isaiah Ellis, Kei'shaun Sinclair, Dom Mullane and others. Antelope and Woodcreek have survived last-minute wins in the NorCals, twice each. For two schools mere miles away from each other and both members of the Roseville Joint Union School District, this really is about bragging rights.
Girls Division III
Campolindo (25-6) at Sacramento (27-5)
Outlook: The host Dragons realize the playoffs intensify greatly now as an established program that is battle tested from a rigorous schedule comes in and will not be awed in the least by Sacramento's 65-game home winning streak. Campo of Moraga is coached by one of the good guys - and great coaches - in the business in Clay Kallam. His team features a scoring trio in Annelise Ito, Amanda Forshay and Annie Ward, each 5-foot-10 or taller. Sacramento will counter with swift guards and wings of skill in Fantasia Hilliard, Allie Green, Breana Williams, Jasmine Ware, Najah Queenland. And there is emerging post Ayanna Edwards. Coach Michele Massari has been masterful in crafting this team, molding it, motivating it. The Dragons are one tough hurdle away from a repeat trip to the finals.
Boys Division III
El Cerrito (24-7) at Sacramento (27-5)
Outlook: The Dragons vowed to make a NorCal run after the crash and burn experience with Josiah Turner, who took his talents not to South Beach but to North Carolina. This team remains motivated - and dangerously fast and athletic, anchored inside by the 6-foot-11 Robert Garrett, whom coach Derek Swafford calls "the best big man in Northern California." The support crew is superb, too, with Aaron Cameron, Erik Kinney, Darius Graham and De'von Boyd. El Cerrito beat Sacramento on Dec. 9 - ancient history - with a fourth-quarter surge as Jamontee Condor scored 22. Turner had 24 for Sacramento, so the Dragons have to make up for that loss. El Cerrito has one local loss, to Franklin-Elk Grove 55-35, but don't read too much into that. The Dragons certainly won't.
Girls Division V
Bradshaw Christian (24-9) at Pinewood (26-5)
Outlook: The Pride have experienced Pinewood of Los Altos Hills before, with unpleasant results, falling to the small-school power 53-47 in the NorCal semifinals a year ago and in a NorCal second-round game in 2009 by a brutal 79-35 score. This time, Bradshaw vows to produce better results with a senior-dominated team that has four section titles to its credit and badly wants a NorCal banner. Captains Lauren Beyer, Fernandi Espinosa and Jordie Smith lead the way for coach Mike Ruble, who has scouted Pinewood this season and came away with this thought: still great, though beatable.
Boys Division V
Vacaville Christian (27-6) at St. Joseph (25-8)
Outlook: Vacaville Christian scored 90 to win the section title at Power Balance, and made it look easy. It then put up 84 and 81 in subsequent games, so scoring is the theme here, and defense is what St. Joseph's specializes in. St. Joseph's is a storied program, where Jason Kidd led the Pilots to state title glory in the early 1990s.
It's what the Sacramento High boys and girls basketball teams look forward to all year - the opportunity to play in the postseason in their venerable Dave Hotell Pavilion.
It's a huge, concrete monstrosity, unlike most of the cozy area gyms. Backdrops are far from the basket. The ceilings are high. The lighting dim.
Announcer Sean Boyd's thunderous voice adds to the raucous atmosphere as the pulsating sounds of cheers reverberate off the walls.
So with a huge crowd tonight for a rare doubleheader, the old barn was rocking. The Dragons, top-seeded in the boys and No. 2 in the girls, opened their CIF Northern California Regional Division III playoff run with a sweep.
The Sacramento girls (27-5) put together a late run and used a balanced offensive attack to defeat tenacious Miramonte (23-7) of Orinda 51-43 in the opener. Then the Sacramento boys (26-6), behind 6-foot-11 Robert Garrett's 20 points and dominating defensive presence, defeated an equally determined Foothill (22-7) of Palo Cedro 66-62 in the nightcap.
Into the house of horrors will come two more out-of-area teams for Saturday's semifinals. The girls will play Campolindo of Moraga, a 63-57 winner over Cathedral of San Franciso. The boys will face El Cerrito, which beat Burlingame 46-43.
"We have a unique, old gym," said Sacramento High athletic director Justin Gatling. "So it can be intimidating for visiting teams, especially when we fill the place."
It's almost an impossible place for visitors to win. By beating Miramonte, the girls extended their home-court winning streak to 65 games over five years. The boys are 72-6 during the same period.
"It's why we play all those tough games in the preseason," said Sac High boys coach Derek Swafford. "It prepares us for the playoffs. Getting to do it at home in front of our fans is a huge advantage and a treat for our kids."
Said Sacramento girls coach Michele Massari: "What an amazing crowd tonight. It really helped us."
Senior guard Fantasia Hilliard relishes the postseason atmosphere.
"I love big crowds," said the 5-3 Hilliard, who played every minute and scored 11 points. "During the regular season we don't play as tough of teams, and there may be five people in the stands. This fires us up."
It helps that both talented teams play entertaining, unselfish basketball. Against Miramonte, three Dragons were in double figures, led by Jasmine Ware with 12 points.
"That's what's great about our team," Hilliard said. "Someone is always going to be on so we don't have to be stars."
While Garrett continues to be a force since star Josiah Turner left the team in midseason, he didn't do it alone against a scrappy Foothill bunch motivated by an active student rooting section of its own.
De'von Boyd had 15 points, Darius Graham 13 and Erik Kinney came up with a huge block at the basket with 3.5 seconds left that prevented Foothill from possibly tying the score.
Bill Paterson
By Joe Davidson
Jdavidson@sacbee.com
The St. Francis Troubadours are dabbling in the Division I field for the first time after years of good living in Divisions II and III. New level, new opponents, same results.
Top-seeded and battle tested from a brutal nonconference schedule, the Troubadours pulled away late from Lincoln of Stockton 57-49 in the Sac-Joaquin Section large-school finals at Power Balance Pavilion tonight.
It's the eighth title for the storied program that features scholars and ballers and the Troubadours now head to the NorCals for the 11th time.
As they have all season, senior guards Jolise Limcaco and Briana Charles led the charge, scoring 12 points each and combining for 13 rebounds and a defensive presence that kept the Trojans of Stockton gassed and guessing.
Veteran coach Vic Pitton was also masterful in having waves of players come in and out - all the better for fresh bodies to defend inbounds plays, to run the break, to scrap for loose balls on the floor.
Ellie Earley scored eight with nine rebounds, Beth Balbierz seven and seven and Kristin Anderson had seven and six.
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
Not at all awed by the opponent or the setting, the Del Oro Golden Eagles didn't just give national power St. Mary's a game today at Power Balance Pavilion.
It nearly dumped them on their backside in a wildly entertaining and exhausting Sac-Joaquin Section Division II title game.
Top-seeded St. Mary's, benefitting from superb defense, cool foul shooting and some hard-to-argue tradition, pulled away from No. 2 Del Oro for a 70-65 triumph, the program's fourth consecutive title and a record 12th overall.
Del Oro didn't lose for any lack of skill or effort. Far from it. Foul trouble and 31 turnovers against the trademark Rams defense tipped the favor to the Stockton school that finished as the MaxPreps No. 1 team last season, graduated some stars and ushered in new ones in never missing a beat in moving up from Division III.
In defeat, the Golden Eagles to a player and coach - and the community that clearly quadrupled that of St. Mary's - owed to roar back in next week's NorCal Regional tournament. St. Mary's will likely gain the No. 1 seed, meaning home games with wins.
Del Oro could draw a high seed, perhaps No. 4, as it seeks a rematch, this time in the NorCal Finals, also at Power Balance.
"We played as well as we could, but today wasn't our day; tomorrow will be," said senior leader Madeline Campbell, who had 23 points. "We want to play them again."
Campbell and her mates started hot but finished cold. Del Oro made 8 of 12 shots in the first quarter and 9 of 12 in the second but made 8 of 19 in the second. St. Mary's made eight three-pointers and was led by Ali Gibson with 25 points and Onome Jemerigbe with 23, including 14 of 19 on the free-throw line.
Crystal Sewell scored 23 with eight rebounds for Del Oro, Stephanie Geyer had eight and Brianna Ruiz seven. Foul trouble to key senior leader Belle Obert hurt Del Oro as a tightly called game resulted in three Golden Eagles fouling out.
For more, check Sunday's Bee in print and on-line for a featurized game story and photo gallery.
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
Dominating from start to finish much like it has most of the season and much of the recent past, the Modesto Christian Crusaders belted the Calaveras Redskins 71-52 for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship today at Power Balance Pavilion.
It's the fifth championship in nine title appearances for the Crusaders and third in a row for coach Robb Spencer.
And the future looks bright, too, with Modesto Christian's best player - Charise Holloway just a freshman. She scored 16 points and yanked down 22 rebounds. Four teammates also had double-figure scoring in Danielle Thompson (12), Vanessa Cagle (11), Mariah Brown) 11 and Alexus Tillman (11).
Nikki Gleason had 21 for Calaveras, winners of one section title, in 1975.
Both teams advance to next week's NorCal Regional tournament.
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
At long last, a title.
In their eighth consecutive trip to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship, the Sacramento Dragons rejoiced in a blue-banner hoisting party, just their second, downing Vanden l63-50 at Power Balance Pavilion.
With fiery and proud coach Michele Massari imploring her girls to compete and reminding, "if you don't sacrifice, you can take a seat with me," the Dragons pulled away from a team that stunned them in December with a buzzer beater. Massari insisted her team had come leaps and bounds since then, and she was right.
With graduated stars Brittany Shine and Kyra Dunn checking in via social media while on scholarship across the country, new-era leader Fantasia Hilliard led the charge with a complete-game showing that thrusts her into Bee Player of the Year conversations.
Hilliard, a senior guard bound for Sacramento State via scholarship, had 26 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists. She guarded the post - at 5-foot-1 - and set the tempo on offense and defense.
Allie Green had 13 and Jasmine Ware 10 and Najah Queenland 9.
Both teams advance to next week's NorCal Regional tournament.
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
Some interesting, amazing, thought-provoking items of interest on the Sac-Joaquin Section basketball playoffs at Power Balance (long live Arco). Items provided by the guru informant of necessary information John Williams of the section office.
* There are no first-time guaranteed winners, though five teams could hoist banners for the first time with the boys from Antelope and Vacaville Christian and the girls from Lincoln and Vanden (Brookside girls already lost to Bradshaw Christian this weekend).
* Champions who return for another chase in boys (Sheldon, Sacramento) and in girls (St, Mary's and Bradshaw, which won today for a four-peat).
* League rival title matchups with Sheldon-Jesuit in D-I and the Delta River, Vacaville Christian and Brookside in D-V.
* Seven No. 1 seeds are in the finals, with five No. 2s, four No. 3s and three No. 4s and Antelope the lowest seed at No. 7 in boys D-II.
* Darius Nelson of Sheldon already had 92 points and could join select company of stars from season's past if he passes 100 for a repeat playoff season (he has scored in double figures in all four playoff varsity seasons). Brother DeMarcus Nelson is the section's playoff scoring leader - and the state's all-time scorer. With 302 career playoff section points, he joins his brother, Adrian Oliver, Chase Tapley and Gerald Madkins.
* St. Mary's coach Tom Gonsalves of St. Mary's seeks his ninth title, a record. Duwaine Ganskie won eight with Bear River.
* Ray Gagnon of Center is attempting to join select company in winning a section title with both genders at the same school. Paul Gonzalez did it with Roseville, Harvey Tahara with McClatchy, Mike Ruble with Bradshaw and Joey Rollings with Sheldon. Center plays two-time defending D-III champion Sacramento on Friday night.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Behind senior leaders and four-year varsity starters Lauren Beyer, Jordie Smith and Fernandi Espinosa, top-seeded Bradshaw Christian defeated second-seeded Brookside Christian 44-32 tonight at Power Balance Pavilion to win its fourth consecutive Sac-Joaquin Section Division V girls championship.
Smith scored 17 points and had 11 rebounds, Beyer added 14 points and 13 rebounds and Espinosa was all over the floor in helping the South Sacramento school clamp down on a Stockton team that was averaging 70.5 points a game, sixth best in California.
Pride sophomore Ashlee Jones also played outstanding defense in holding section scoring leader Tiara Tucker to 11 points. She made just three of 15 shots from the field.
The freshman, No. 2 in California and No. 8 nationally, came in averaging 31.6 points.
It was Bradshaw Christian's 16th consecutive section playoff win, fourth longest in section history.
Bradshaw Christian (22-9) and Brookside Christian (25-6) will advance to next week's CIF Northern California Regional playoffs. Teams will be determined Sunday.
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
A breakdown of today's Sac-Joaquin Section girls championship games at Power Balane Pavilion. Yes, Arco of yesteryear. Special thanks to our good friends from the section office - John Williams, Will DeBoard, Pete Saco - for statistical breakdowns that show just how remarkable these programs have been.
We will have Twitter updates and Sacbee Facebook updates throughout tonight's action and tomorrow. Twitter: sb_joedavidson
Division I
No. 1 St. Francis vs. No. 2 Lincoln-Stockton, 6:30 p.m.
Outlook: St. Francis beat the Trojans by 21 in a nonleague contest last month, but that's ancient history and means nothing now, Troubadours coach Vic Pitton assures his top-seeded bunch. St. Francis seeks its eight section title and first at the large-school level after the move up in division this season.
Anchor senior leaders Jolise Limcaco, Briana Charles, Nicole Lau and Beth Balbierz are a skilled, unselfish, defensive-minded lot. St. Francis has won 21 of 23 games, losing only to national powers Berkeley and St. Mary's of Stockton in tough games that served to season the team. St. Francis ran the table in the tough Delta River League, including two wins over Oak Ridge, Pleasant Grove and Sheldon.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Bradshaw Christian High School seniors Lauren Beyer, Jordie Smith and Fernandi Espinosa can accomplish a rare feat tonight.
The four-year varsity starters can win a fourth consecutive Sac-Joaquin Section Division V girls basketball championship when the top-seeded Pride plays against second-seeded Brookside Christian of Stockton in the 4 p.m. title game at Power Balance Arena.
If it wins, Bradshaw Christian will become the first area girls team to win four straight titles since Bear River won six consecutive championships in two divisions from 1993 to 1998.
The Pride (21-9) went undefeated in the Sierra Delta League after playing an ambitious nonleague schedule against big-school powers nationally ranked St. Mary's of Stockton, Berkeley and Highlands Ranch of Colorado.
The 6-foot-2 Beyer and 5-11 Smith are scholarship recruits headed to UC Davis and Vanguard University of Costa Mesa, respectively.
Ruble expects Espinosa, the Pride's 5-2 point guard, will play at the next level, too, though likely at a community college first.
Sophomore Ashlee Jones already is considered one of the top underclass players in the state and is getting lots of looks from major colleges, Versatile 5-6 sophomore Briana Barnes, a Pleasant Grove transfer, has given the Pride an all-around spark.
The Pride faces an intriguing Brookside Christian (25-5) team.
Despite having only six players and being young (three freshmen), the Knights are high-energy, quick and have the state's No. 2 scorer (31.6 points per game) in freshman Tiara Tucker.
Tucker is No. 8 nationally and No. 2 in California in girls scoring, according to Maxpreps.com.
Meanwhile the Bradshaw Christian boys also hope to win a section championship tonight. The second-seeded Pride (21-7) play Sierra Delta League rival and fourth-seeded Vacaville Christian (24-6) in the 6 p.m. boys D-V final.
A win would give Bradshaw Christian a double in the division for the second time in three years. The Pride boys and girls won D-V championships in 2009.
Both teams are coached by Mike Ruble, also the school's athletic director.
Bradshaw Christian, a 230-student school in only its sixth season of varsity sports, has quickly established itself as a sports power.
The Pride won football section titles in 2008 and 2009 and were runners-up to Brookside Christian this past fall. The baseball team won a section championship last spring.
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
STOCKTON - With deadly precision, suffocating defense and a lot of that championship pride that has made it a national super power in recent years, St. Mary's of Stockton crushed good Bella Vista team 76-32 in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinal at Pacific.
We say "good" Bella Vista team, and that may be an understatement since the Broncos have had moments of excellence this season. But St. Mary's has a habit of making good team look rather ordinary with depth and skill.
A 23-1 third-quarter showing prompted a running clock in the fourth quarter and the Rams were on their way to their 16th section title game, having won 11.
Ali Gibson scored 22 and Regina Camera 15 for the Rams. Bella Vista was led by senior leaders Kelly Logue (9 points) and Leah Parrish (7 points, 10 rebounds.
Both teams advance to next week's NorCal Regional tournament, though Bella Vista will be a lower seed on the road.
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
STOCKTON - Oak Ridge cannot defend its Sac-Joaquin Section Division I girls championship but it is still a group capable of making a run for a NorCal D-I title.
Even in falling to No. 2-seeded Lincoln of Stockton 58-45 in a semifinal tonight at Pacific, the No. 3 Trojans still qualify for the NorCal Regional tournament next week, albeit as a road team headed to a very high seed.
Lincoln was superb in breaking the press, sharing the ball and defending in reaching a section final for just the second time.
Nyre Harris and Devyn Weymouth scored 22 and 19 points, respectively, for Lincoln, which has local losses to Del Oro and St. Francis.
Carly Bettencourt had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Oak Ridge, and Haley Anderson had nine points and six rebounds.
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
STOCKTON - For a team used to being the buzzsaw enforcer, El Camino found out how it feels to absorb a titanic team.
Del Oro, top-ranked by The Bee much of the season, rolled the Eagles 66-37 in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinal at the University of the Pacific.
Del Oro, seeded second, advances to Saturday's title game - the program's fifth overall - and has the makings of a NorCal run, too. The Golden Eagles of Loomis were on full display here - size, skill, teamwork, chemistry - in taking apart an El Camino bunch that came in 28-1 and had not lost in the new year.
It a meeting of coaching giants and good friends, El Camino's Bill Baxter conceded his club was beaten by "a much better team tonight."
"Mike's got 11 seniors and he has bigs who can go inside and out, and that's a hard matchup," Baxter continued. "They did whatever they wanted to do. I'm playing 5-foot-2 to 5-8 girls and he has 5-8 to 6-foot, and guess who is getting the blocked shots? So then you hope maybe they're not well coached, and guess what? He's a great coach. My life's rough!"
Baxter and Takayama have combined to win more than 1,110 games with 15 total trips to the section finals and 44 total playoff teams.
In 1994, El Camino steamed past all comers in going 36-0 and winning a state championship, taking down Del Oro in the process. Now, Del Oro has a monster team that has Baxter wondering it isn't state-title material.
Takayama wonders, too. He has a core group of leaders in Madeline Campbell (19 points, nine rebounds, five assists) and Belle Obert (12 points, 12 rebounds, nine blocked shots and three of her team's 10 made three-pointers) and Crystal Sewell (eight points, seven boards, seven assists).
"El Camino's definitely a great team and we jumped on them early with all cylinders running," Takayama said. "The girls share the ball so well. We trust each other so much."
Courtney Brignac led El Camino with 14 points. The Eagles still advance to the NorCal Regional tournament that starts next week, though they will be a road team.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
At 5-foot-1, Sacramento High's Breana Williams almost always is the smallest player on the court.
But with a huge heart, blinding speed and a deft shooting touch, the senior guard is one of the leaders of a Dragons team that will play Vanden 7:30 p.m. on Friday for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship at Power Balance Pavilion. It will be the Dragons' seventh consecutive D-III title appearance.
Williams scored 21 points, including three 3-pointers, and was all over the floor tonight in breaking up passes and pestering taller players with her quick hands in leading the top-seeded Dragons past fourth-seeded Christian Brothers 77-53.
Williams' backcourt mate Fantasia Hilliard added 12 points as did Allie Green. Jasmine Ware had 11. Sophomore Ishiana Burch led Christian Brothers (21-9) with 17 points.
The win earns Sacramento (25-5) a rematch with Vanden, which beat the Dragons 62-60 in a December tournament in Arizona. Vanden is Northern California's top-ranked D-III team by NorCalPreps.com.
The victory also gives Sacramento a shot at winning its first section title since 2007 after finishing as runners-up to national power St. Mary's of Stockton the last three years. St. Mary's is now in D-II.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
At 5-foot-1, Sacramento High's Breana Williams almost always is the smallest player on the court.
But with a huge heart, blinding speed and a deft shooting touch, the senior guard is one of the leaders of a Dragons team that will play Vanden 7:30 p.m. on Friday for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship at Power Balance Pavilion. It will be the Dragons' seventh consecutive D-III title appearance.
Williams scored 21 points, including three 3-pointers, and was all over the floor tonight in breaking up passes and pestering taller players with her quick hands in leading the top-seeded Dragons past fourth-seeded Christian Brothers 77-53.
Williams' backcourt mate Fantasia Hilliard added 12 points as did Allie Green. Jasmine Ware had 11. Sophomore Ishiana Burch led Christian Brothers (21-9) with 17 points.
The win earns Sacramento (25-5) a rematch with Vanden, which beat the Dragons 62-60 in a December tournament in Arizona. Vanden is Northern California's top-ranked D-III team by NorCalPreps.com.
The victory also gives Sacramento a shot at winning its first section title since 2007 after finishing as runners-up to national power St. Mary's of Stockton the last three years. St. Mary's is now in D-II.
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
STOCKTON - Thirteen St. Francis players scored in as thorough a team effort as one can imagine in throttling Armijo 83-40 in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinal game at the University of the Pacific tonight.
Passing to shooters or finding cutters inside, on the break and defending with purpose, the top-seeded Troubadours shattered Armijo's 16-game winning streak. The Indians of Fairfield came in relishing the chance to take on more pressure defense, but they clearly hadn't experienced a team quite like St. Francis, which rolled into its 10th section title game.
As they have all season, senior guards and good pals Briana Charles and Jolise Limcaco led the charge for the Troubadours, in the D-I field for the first time this season and making it look remarkably simple. Charles and Limcaco are superb ball handlers and defenders, hard to slow down or evade when they apply pressure.
Charles had 14 points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals and Limcaco had five points and three steals and some added kudos from her teammates for taking a nasty spill into the baseline seats and shaking it off. Armijo, unbeaten winners of the Monticello Empire League, had 31 turnovers and shot 24 percent. St. Francis made seven three-pointers and had 48 rebounds, 13 by Kristin Anderson. MacKenzie Conarro had nine points and Nicole Lau and Beth Balbierz had 11 each.
St. Francis plays the winner of tonight's Lincoln-Oak Ridge winner for the D-II title Saturday at Power Balance Pavilion. St. Francis beat Oak Ridge twice during an unbeaten Delta River League run and it beat Lincoln by 21 on Feb. 12.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Behind the dominating inside play of 6-foot-1 senior post Erimma Amarikwa and the outside shooting of junior guard Lindsay Littlejohn, third-seeded Vanden coasted to a 56-36 win tonight in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III girls semifinals at Cosumnes River College.
Amarikwa, headed to San Diego State on scholarship, scored 20 points and added 19 rebounds and Littlejohn tallied 19 points, including five 3-pointers, as the third-seeded Vikings (26-4) advanced to Friday's 7:30 p.m. final against the winner of the Sacramento-Christian Brothers game now underway.
Samantha Reeder led second-seeded El Dorado (24-4) with 20 points and Sarah Mackey added 12.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
With the Sac-Joaquin Section boys and girls basketball playoffs in the final week - the championships are Friday and Saturday at Power Balance Arena - here are some notes of interest provided by Will DeBoard, the section's director of communications.
• Darius Nelson (Sheldon) has moved into fifth place on the all-time career playoff scoring list with 265 points. He needs just 10 to tie Chuck Hayes of Modesto Christian fame, 54 to tie third place Reeves Nelson (no relation) of Modesto Christian. Reaching second (360 points) or first (377) seem unrealistic, as he would need 105 and 122 to tie those spots with just one or two games remaining. Nelson's older brother DeMarcus sits atop the career points list with 377.
• Freshman scoring sensation Tiara Tucker of Brookside Christian has scored 34 and 35 points in her first two games. A couple more similar efforts would allow her to join elite company (Kellie Cook, Jacki Gemelos, Ashley Moore and Danielle Viglione) of players that have scored 100 points in a single playoff season. The girls single season record is 149 held by Cook of Nevada Union in 1991.
• Twelve coaches with multiple titles to their credit have teams still playing. They include Modesto Christian's Gary Porter (13), St. Mary's Tom Gonsalves (8), El Camino's Bill Baxter (5), Sacramento's Derek Swafford (4), Bradshaw Christian's Mike Ruble (4 - one boys and three girls), Oak Ridge's Steve White (3), Del Oro's Mike Takayama (2), St. Francis' Victor Pitton (2), Sheldon's Joey Rollings (2 - one boys and one girls), Jesuit's Greg Harcos (2) and Foothill's Drew Hibbs (2).
• Center's Ray Gagnon is trying to join a short list of coaches who have guided both boys and girls teams to section titles. Paul Gonzalez did it at Roseville, Harvey Tahara at McClatchy, Mike Ruble at Bradshaw Christian and Joey Rollings at Sheldon.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
With the Sac-Joaquin Section boys and girls basketball playoffs in the final week - the championships are Friday and Saturday at Power Balance Arena - here are some notes of interest provided by Will DeBoard, the section's director of communications.
• 89.2 percent (nearly 9 out of 10) of the higher seeded teams have been victorious, which is well above the norm. Here are the winning percentages of the higher seeds for the past several years: 2010 - 83.4; 2009 - 80.2; 2008 - 78.1; 2007 - 76.8; 2006 - 75.3.
• The boys have been slightly more predictable with the higher seeds winning 90.2 percent of the time, while the girls higher seeds have won 88.3 percent of the time.
• Two brackets have seen the top seeds win all of their games (D4 boys and girls), and five divisions have seen the top seeds lose only once (D1 boys, D5 boys, D1 girls, D3 girls and D5 girls).
• Division I girls higher seeds have struggled so far, winning only 8 of 12 games (66.7 percent), while the other nine brackets have gone 99-9, 91.7 percent.
• The No. 1 seed is still alive in all 10 divisions, while seeds 2, 3 and 4 are alive in nine divisions each.
• Eight of last year's champions remain alive in the tournament. On the boys side, Sheldon (D-1), Woodcreek (D-2), Sacramento (D-3) and Modesto Christian (D-4) are still playing. On the girls side, Oak Ridge (D-1), St. Mary's (D-3 champ playing in D-2 this year), Modesto Christian (D-4) and Bradshaw Christian (D-5) are still playing.
• Six different schools have both their boys and girls teams still playing. They are Sacramento, St. Mary's, Colfax, Modesto Christian, Bradshaw Christian and Vacaville Christian. Fourteen times boys and girls teams from the same school have won titles in the same year, last accomplished by Modesto Christian last year.
• Sixteen of the 42 remaining teams have never won a section title in basketball. They are: boys - Granite Bay, Franklin-EG, Antelope, Weston Ranch, Ripon, Capital Christian, Summerville, Vacaville Christian and Valley Christian; girls - Armijo, Lincoln-S, Vanden, Vacaville Christian, Turlock Christian and Brookside Christian.
• Seven of the remaining teams have never made an appearance in the finals. They are: boys - Granite Bay, Antelope, Vacaville Christian and Valley Christian. Girls - Armijo, Vacaville Christian and Brookside Christian.
• The Sheldon boys are looking for their third championship in five year. They and Jesuit have history on their side as well: A team from the Delta River League has won the D1 boys championship each of the last four years. Franklin-EG is looking to make its third straight appearance in the championship game.
• Woodcreek is looking to defend the championship it won last year, when the boys team stopped Oakmont. Facing it in the semis is Antelope, a school that will graduate its first senior class this year. Cordova is looking to make its first finals appearance since the Lancers won the D1 championship in 1984.
• The Sacramento boys are gunning for their third D3 championship in a row, their fourth in five years and their seventh straight finals appearance. They face Weston Ranch in a rematch of the 2007 championship (Sac won 62-58). And the other semifinal, Center-Foothill, is a rematch of the 2004 Section championship (won by Center, 53-52).
• Modesto Christian's boys have won 11 Section titles in a row, including the last three in D4.
• Ripon Christian's boys had quite the run in the mid 1990s. The Knights took six championships in a row from 1991-96, and appear to be drawing from their glory days this year. Their opponent, Vacaville Christian, has scored 177 points in its first two wins.
• The St. Francis girls won two titles and made three finals in D2 over the last four years. Now, the Troubadours are in D1 and face an Armijo program that has never made the finals. It's the same type of matchup in the other semifinal, as a seasoned Oak Ridge team that won the D1 state championship last year faces a Lincoln-S team that is looking for its first finals appearance since 1981.
• The top-seeded St. Mary's girls are in D2 after winning the last three D3 championships. They face a Bella Vista program looking for its first finals appearance since 1993. El Camino coach Bill Baxter just won his 600th career game and he's got a one-loss team facing Del Oro in what should be an outstanding semifinal.
• The top-seeded Sacramento girls have made it to the finals for seven straight years; they're facing off against a Christian Brothers team that won the D4 title in 2008. The other semifinal features teams that mark most of their success in the deep past. El Dorado won the D2 title in 1979, and haven't been back to the finals since. Vanden was a section runner-up in 1980 and 1988.
• The Modesto Christian girls are looking for their sixth section title in seven years. They face a Colfax team that was a Section runner-up in 2006. Calaveras won the 1975 D2 title, but hasn't been back to the finals since 1986; the Redskins' opponent Bear River was the 2006 and 2007 D4 champ.
• The top-seeded Bradshaw Christian girls have won the last three championships, and face a Vacaville Christian team that has never made the finals. Turlock Christian lost to Bradshaw Christian in last year's final, while the Eagles' opponent - Brookside Christian - is looking for its first trip to Power Balance Pavilion.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
With the Sac-Joaquin Section girls and boys basketball playoffs in the final week - championship games are set for Friday and Saturday at Power Balance Arena - here are some notes of interest provided by Will DeBoard, the section's director of communications.
• The longest streak of consecutive playoff appearances for girls teams ended last year at 30 when Bret Harte failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1980. One year later, the Colfax girls have tied that mark with consecutive appearances from 1982 to 2011.
• Modesto Christian boys have extended their incredible record of consecutive playoff wins to 46, 25 ahead of second place Ripon Christian.
• St. Mary's and Bradshaw Christian girls have extended active playoff winning streaks to 14 apiece. That's a tie for sixth on the all-time list, 16 behind the St. Mary's streak of 30 from 1999-2006.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Here are tonight's Sac-Joaquin Section quarterfinal girls basketball results, as reported by Will DeBoard, the section's director of communications.
DIVISION 1
St. Francis 75, McNair 28
Armijo 67, Turlock 43
Oak Ridge 58, Pleasant Grove 51
Lincoln-S 54, Kennedy 33
Semifinals/Wednesday at UOP (Times TBD)
#5 Armijo vs. #1 St. Francis
#3 Oak Ridge vs. #2 Lincoln-S
DIVISION 2
St. Mary's 77, Florin 32
Bella Vista 72, Benicia 64
El Camino 73, Rocklin 56
Del Oro 74, Inderkum 42
Semifinals/Wednesday at UOP (Times TBD)
#4 Bella Vista vs. #1 St. Mary's
#3 El Camino vs. #2 Del Oro
DIVISION 3
Sacramento 79, Galt 42
Christian Brothers 70, Manteca 60
Vanden 57, Valley 38
El Dorado 50, East Union 41
Semifinals/Wednesday at Cosumnes River College (Times TBD)
#4 Christian Brothers vs. #1 Sacramento
#3 Vanden vs. #2 El Dorado
DIVISION 4
Modesto Christian 90, Linden 44
Colfax 59, West Campus 24
Calaveras 56, Capital Christian 36
Bear River 53, Argonaut 32
Semifinals/Wednesday at Tokay HS (Times TBD)
#4 Colfax vs. #1 Modesto Christian
#3 Calaveras vs. #2 Bear River
DIVISION 5
Foresthill at Bradshaw Christian, PPD (Sat., 6 p.m.)
Vacaville Christian 85, Ripon Christian 54
Turlock Christian 64, Wilton Christian 35
Brookside Christian 82, Valley Christian 45
Semifinals/Tuesday at Galt HS (Times TBD)
#4 Vacaville Christian vs. Foresthill/Bradshaw Christian
#3 Turlock Christian vs. #2 Brookside Christian
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Amid fans waving a sea of green commemorative towels marking the occasion, El Camino girls basketball coach Bill Baxter celebrated his 600th win tonight when the Eagles (28-1) defeated visiting Rocklin 73-56 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II quarterfinals.
"It wasn't easy - I guess 600 shouldn't be easy," said Baxter, moments after being serenaded to chants of "Baxter, Baxter, Baxter" by a huge throng of students, parents and alumni. "But it was great to see everyone here - my college roommates, half the parents of the kids I coached and some kids I coached who are 40 years old now. You can't ask for better support."
Baxter is the section's victory leader.
"All season we wanted this for him and we wanted it for us," said Laurel Donnenwirth, who led all scorers with 26 points. "It's an awesome feeling to be a part of helping him get 600 wins."
The win moves El Camino into Wednesday's semifinals against second-seeded Del Oro at UOP.
Rocklin (18-11), a resurgent program under first-year coach Rob Ferraro, came in as the No. 6 seed and the second place finishers in the Sierra Foothill League.
The Thunder gave the Eagles all they could handle through the first two quarters in trailing 44-39 at halftime.
But El Camino went on an 11-0 run to open the third quarter and Rocklin could never cut the lead to single digits.
"It was good to coach in a stressful game and have another degree in my players come out that needed to come out," Baxter said. "Rocklin was tremendous tonight.... As you know we don't have too many close games, and we haven't in quite awhile. So basically now that we've won, it's a good thing because now we are going to be the underdog."
But there is nothing underdog about Donnenwirth, the Eagles' sturdy 5-foot-8 senior post. She was a whirlwind of dominance, grabbing rebounds, swatting shots, playing punishing defense and scoring on a variety of inside spin moves against pressure.
"For 5-8 she's ridiculous," Baxter said. "She rebounds. She scores with either hand. She'll kill herself to win. Several colleges are interested in her even though she is undersized. But she's just a beast. She's very hard to guard."
Jade Sowell Hundon added 12 points and Courtney Brignac 11 for the Eagles. Joie Camalo topped Rocklin with 12 points. Erin Dean added 11 and Alison Willie had 10.
As the game wound down to the final minutes, El Camino JV coach Cici Downing Robinson, a leader for Baxter's CIF state champion 36-0 team in 1994, passed out green towels to many in the bleachers.
The towel read in white letters "Coach Baxter, 600 wins, ECHS, 2-24-11." Baxter was presented with the towel enclosed in a glass frame.
"We've got a great group," Baxter said of his players. "All parts fit together, and it's got us to where we are. They are a fun group, but they know how to work hard and have fun. So it's made my whole year tremendous. I couldn't celebrate this with a better group of kids."
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
El Camino's Bill Baxter, the section's career victory leader, goes after win No. 600 tonight at 7 o'clock when the third-seeded Eagles (27-1) play host to No. 6 Rocklin (18-10) in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II girls basketball playoffs.
Baxter, who has won five section and three CIF Northern California championships, earned win No. 599 on Tuesday when the Eagles walloped Rio Linda 84-41.
Rocklin, a resurgent program under first-year coach Rob Ferraro, defeated Vacaville 67-61.
In other girls contests of note tonight:
• No. 11 Pleasant Grove (18-10) plays at No. 3 Oak Ridge (19-9) in a D-I quarterfinal and will try to beat the Trojans for the first time this season after losing to the defending CIF D-I state champions in the Oak Ridge Shootout Dec. 11 and twice in the Delta River League.
• No. 7 Inderkum puts its impressive 26-2 record on the line at No. 2 Del Oro (23-3), The Bee's top-ranked team, in a D-II game.
• Two of the section's most athletic teams clash as No. 6 Valley (20-8) plays at No. 3 Vanden (24-4) in a D-III quarterfinal.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Because of concerns about snow and rain, the Sac-Joaquin Section has announced the rescheduling of several high school basketball playoff games.
• Tonight's Division IV West Campus at Colfax and Argonaut at Bear River girls start times have been moved up an hour to 6 p.m.
• Tonight's originally scheduled D-V Foresthill at Bradshaw Christian girls game has been moved to 6 p.m. Saturday.
• The D-IV Capital Christian at Summerville and Ripon at Colfax boys games have been moved from Friday to Monday at 7 and 6 p.m., respectively.
Will DeBoard, the section's director of communications, anticipates more schedule changes.
"It's up to the schools to make the call," DeBoard said in an e-mail.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
As expected, there were a number of one-sided victories in tonight's opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Section girls basketball playoffs.
The biggest area upset: No. 12 Benicia beating No. 5 Antelope 61-55 in Division II
Here are the highlights by division:
DIVISION I
No. 1 St. Francis 68, No. 16 Bear Creek 29 in Sacramento - Jolise Limcaco with 18 points and MacKenzie Conarro with 12 points led 11 Troubadours (22-6) in the scoring column against the Bruins (12-15).
No. 11 Pleasant Grove 65, No. 6 Davis 51 in Davis - Avonna Lee had 18 points and Marissa Wimbley and Dezja James 14 each as the Eagles (18-10) defeated the Blue Devils (21-7).
No. 10 Kennedy 51, No. 7 Modesto 34 in Modesto - Tashira Gray had 15 points to lead the Cougars (17-11) past the Panthers (19-7).
Other scores
McNair 64, Pitman 51
Armijo 71, Merced 34
Turlock 54, Franklin-EG 40
Oak Ridge 60, Lodi 34
Lincoln-S 64, Grace Davis 24
Quarterfinals/Thursday
#9 McNair at #1 St. Francis
#5 Armijo at #4 Turlock
#11 Pleasant Grove at #3 Oak Ridge
#10 Kennedy at #2 Lincoln-S
DIVISION II
No. 2 Del Oro 66, No. 15 River City 20 in Loomis - Madeline Campbell had 21 points and Briana Ruiz 14 as the Golden Eagles (23-3) defeated the Raiders (18-10).
No. 3 El Camino 84, No. 14 Rio Linda 41 at El Camino - Jade Sowell Hundon and Laurel Donnenwirth led five players in double figures with 22 points and 16, respectively, in the Eagles (27-1) win over the Knights (17-11).
No. 4 Bella Vista 64, Central Valley 32 in Fair Oaks - Kelly Logue tallied 31 points to lead the Broncos (22-5) past the Hawks (14-8).
No. 12 Benicia 61, No. 5 Antelope 55 in Antelope - Despite 22 points by Taylor Hawkins and 16 from her sister Ashley Hawkins, the Titans (20-7) were upset by the Panthers (18-10).
No. 6 Rocklin 67, No. 11 Vacaville 61 in Rocklin - Lydia Summers had 18 points, Joie Camalo 11 and Erin Dean 10 to lead the Thunder (18-10) past the Bulldogs (13-13).
No. 7 Inderkum 75, No. 10 Bethel 55 in Natomas - Sakara Brewer had 28 points and Riana Byrd added 17 to lead the Tigers (26-2) past the Jaguars (18-8).
No. 8 Florin 43, No. 9 Woodcreek 42 in South Sacramento - The Panthers held off a torrid Timberwolves fourth-quarter rally to prevail. Deja Conjer topped Florin (23-5) with 11 points. Joleen Chanco led Woodcreek (17-11) with 12.
Other scores:
St. Mary's 97, Los Banos 21
Quarterfinals/Thursday
#8 Florin at #1 St. Mary's
#12 Benicia at #4 Bella Vista
#6 Rocklin at #3 El Camino
#7 Inderkum at #2 Del Oro
DIVISION III
No. 1 Sacramento 77, No. 16 Sierra 32 at Sac High - Fantasia Hilliard had 19 points and Allie Green and Ayanna Edwards 10 each to lead the Dragons (23-5) past the Timberwolves (15-11).
No. 2 El Dorado 51, No. 15 Whitney 48 in Placerville - Samantha Reeder had 20 points and Sarah Mackey 17 as the Cougars (23-3) held off the upset-minded Wildcats (13-15). Morgan Green had 20 points and Alex Rodriguez 18 for Whitney.
No. 4 Christian Brothers 70, No. 13 Placer 42 in Sacramento - Lynette Sandoval had 18 points and Jenny Lysaght 14 to lead the Falcons (20-8) past the Hillgals (13-15).
Other scores:
Galt 66, Weston Ranch 51
Manteca 63, Natomas 46
Vanden 82, Vista del Lago 56
Valley 73, Sonora 38
East Union 58, Dixon 48
Quarterfinals/Thursday
#9 Galt at #1 Sacramento
#5 Manteca at #4 Christian Brothers
#6 Valley at #3 Vanden
#7 East Union at #2 El Dorado
DIVISION IV
No. 2 Bear River 65, No. 15 Highlands 19 in Lake of the Pines - Jenn Meylor tallied 20 points to lead the Bruins (24-4) past the Scots (11-14).
No. 4 Colfax 67, No. 13 Liberty Ranch 32 in Colfax - April Littlejohn had 19 points and Michelle Walker 15 to lead the Falcons (22-6) over the Hawks (10-18), a first-year varsity team.
No. 5 West Campus 60, No. 12 Waterford 30 in Sacramento - Haley Shaner scored 29 points to lead the Warriors (18-8) past the Wildcats (16-10).
No. 6 Capital Christian 58, No. 11 Hilmar 18 in Sacramento - Haleigh Filer had 15 points and five steals and Coryn Galloway 13 points, 12 rebounds and six steals to lead the Cougars (20-8) past the Yellowjackets (15-10).
Other scores:
Modesto Christian 94, Bret Harte 50
Linden 77, Ripon 68
Calaveras d. Mariposa
Argonaut 58, Hughson 24
Quarterfinals/Thursday
#8 Linden at #1 Modesto Christian
#5 West Campus at #4 Colfax
#6 Capital Christian at #3 Calaveras
#7 Argonaut at #2 Bear River
DIVISION V
No. 1 Bradshaw Christian 65, No. 16 Big Valley Christian 22 in Sacramento - Ashlee Jones had 22 points and Jordie Smith added 17 as the Pride (20-9) coasted past the Lions (13-14).
No. 7 Valley Christian 42, No. 10 Sacramento Waldorf 34 in Roseville - Carly Gish had 28 points to lead the Lions (23-4) past the Waves (17-10).
Other scores:
Foresthill 53, Trinity Prep 8
Ripon Christian 46, Victory Christian 37
Vacaville Christian 73, Woodland Christian 38
Turlock Christian 78, Elliot Christian 30
Wilton Christian 44, Lodi Academy 26
Brookside Christian 89, North Hills Christian 25
Quarterfinals/Thursday
#8 Foresthill at #1 Bradshaw Christian
#5 Ripon Christian at #4 Vacaville Christian
#11 Wilton Christian at #3 Turlock Christian
#7 Valley Christian vs. #2 Brookside Christian
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
The opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Section basketball playoffs start tonight with 40 girls games and two boys outbracket games.
Del Oro, The Bee's top-ranked team, plays host to River City in a D-II game. Del Oro is the No. 2 seed in D-II behind nationally ranked St. Mary's of Stockton.
St. Francis, The Bee's No. 2 girls team, will host No. 16 Bear Creek of Stockton in D-I. St. Francis is the No. 1 seed in the division; Bear Creek No. 16.
Oak Ridge, the defending CIF D-I state champ, is playing at home against Lodi in another D-I game. Oak Ridge is a No. 3 seed; Lodi No. 14.
All games start at 7 p.m.
By Joe Davidson
jdavidson@sacbee.com
Breaking down the girls playoff fields with list of schedules, outlook, favorites, etc....
Schedule
Division I
Openers: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Bear Creek at No. 1 St. Francis
No. 9 McNair at No. 8 Pitman
No. 12 Merced at No. 5 Armijo
No. 13 Franklin-Elk Grove at No. 4 Turlock
No. 14 Lodi at No. 3 Oak Ridge
No. 11 Pleasant Grove at No. 6 Davis
No. 10 Kennedy at No. 7 Modesto
No. 15 Grace Davis at No. 2 Lincoln
Second round: Thursday, home sites, 7 p.m.
Semifinals: March 2, Pacific, TBA
Finals: Saturday, Power Balance Pavilion, 6:30 p.m.
Outlook: The overwhelming favorite is St. Francis, battle tested from the toughest schedule in school history.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
On Wednesday night, St. Francis solidified its position as the team to beat in the upcoming Sac-Joaquin Section Division I girls basketball playoffs.
The Troubadours gave nationally ranked St. Mary's a battle, leading by as many as eight points in the third quarter, before falling 75-67 in their non-league game in Stockton.
St. Mary's, ranked No. 7 nationally by ESPN RISE and used to blowing teams out on its home court, couldn't shake the Troubadours (20-6) until the final quarter.
Seniors Kendall Kenyon and Ali Gibson led the way for St. Mary's (20-2), . Kenyon had 22 points and 16 rebounds; Gibson added 19 points.
Briana Charles topped St. Francis with 19 points and Ellie Earley added 16. MacKenzie Conarro and Kristin Anderson each had 11 points for the Troubadours, ranked No. 2 by The Bee.
St. Francis finishes the regular season with a Delta River League game Friday at No. 6 Pleasant Grove.
The Rams finish their regular season tonight against Tokay. The reigning two-time CIF D-III state champions will compete in the D-II playoffs this season.
Former McClatchy star Ariel Thomas is making an impression as a freshman at Oregon.
Because of an injury to starter Nia Jackson, Thomas has started the past three games for the Ducks. She was held to five points in a 75-48 loss to UCLA last Thursday but bounced back with a team-high 16 points in an 85-63 loss to USC two days later. In her first start, Thomas scored 19 points and had six assists in a 96-90 loss to Washington State. She made 6 of 10 shots from the field, including 2 of 4 from three-point range.
"I could not have asked for or gotten a better start from a freshman," Oregon coach Paul Westhead told the Register-Guard in Eugene. "Especially a point guard."
Next week, Thomas and the Ducks will visit Northern California. They play at Cal on Thursday. On Saturday, they visit Stanford and former Oak Ridge star Sara James.
Last spring, Thomas was a first-team All-Metro pick and became the first scholarship girls basketball player in McClatchy history. She led the Sac-Joaquin Section in scoring (25.9 points per game) and was the Lions' leader in rebounds (7.7), assists (4.6) and steals (3.3).
- Jeff Caraska
Photo caption: Ariel Thomas is finding success as a freshman at Oregon. She was a first-team All-Metro pick last season. (Andy Alfaro/aalfaro@sacbee.com)
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Sophomore Haley Shaner scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds in leading West Campus to a 38-34 Golden Empire League win over visiting Capital Christian Tuesday night.
Freshman Erianna Williams added six points and eight rebounds before fouling out for the Warriors on Senior Night.
Haleigh Filer and Brea Faulk each scored 10 points and Coryn Galloway had 11 rebounds and five steals for Capital Christian (18-8, 6-3).
The win secured at least a league co-championship for West Campus (16-8, 8-1). The Warriors can win the title banner outright by beating last place Mesa Verde (3-19, 1-8) on Friday in Citrus Heights in the regular-season finale.
Second-place Dixon (16-9, 7-2) beat Mesa Verde 48-13 Tuesday.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
With the regular season concluding this week, today's third Sac-Joaquin Section boys and girls basketball power ratings offer up a few surprises.
Showing the competitiveness of the Division I boys field, a 13-9 Laguna Creek team is on the outside looking in at No. 17. Only the top 16 teams advance to the playoffs.
But the Cardinals, hurt by their mediocre 4-4 record in the Delta Valley Conference, face a tough challenge in trying to qualify. They end the regular season this week with home league games Wednesday against Monterey Trail (17-7, 5-3) and Friday against Franklin (20-5, 8-0).
Nine of The Bee's top 20 teams are in Division I.
Here are those teams' latest power ratings: No. 1 Sheldon, No. 2 Franklin, No. 3 Granite Bay, No. 6 Burbank, No. 8 McClatchy, No. 9 Kennedy, No. 11 Jesuit, No. 13 Monterey Trail, No. 14 Pleasant Grove and No. 15 Oak Ridge. Grant (unranked by The Bee) is at No. 16.
Here are the the top four seeds by division, plus area teams on the bubble.
Boys
D-II - 1. Woodcreek, 2. Cordova, 3. Bella Vista, 4. Del Campo.
D-III - 1. Sacramento. 2. Center, 3. El Dorado, 4. Weston Ranch. Bubble teams: Vista del Lago, No. 17; Whitney, No. 18.
D-IV - 1. Modesto Christian, 2. Summerville, 3. Colfax, 4. Amador.
D-V - 1. Ripon Christian, 2. Bradshaw Christian, 3. Vacaville Christian, 4. Valley Christian.
Girls
D-I - 1. St. Francis, 2. Lincoln-Stockton, 3. Turlock, 4. Armijo. Bubble teams: Nevada Union, No. 17; Grant, No. 18.
D-II - 1. Del Oro, 2. Bella Vista, 3. El Camino, 4. St. Mary's-Stockton.
D-III - 1. Sacramento, 2. El Dorado, 3. Christian Brothers, 4. Vanden. Bubble team: Center, No. 17.
D-IV - 1. Colfax, 2. Bear River, 3. Calaveras, 4. Modesto Christian.
D-V - 1. Bradshaw Christian, 2. Brookside Christian, 3. Vacaville Christian, 4. Turlock Christian. Bubble team: Sacramento Adventist, No. 17.
For more go to:
http://cifsjs.org/sports/winter/basketball/boysbb/powerratingboys-3.pdf and http://cifsjs.org/sports/winter/basketball/girlsbb/powerratinggirls-3.pdf
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
St. Francis senior middle blocker Zoe Nightingale has been named a 2010 PrepVolleyball.com High School All-American.
The award goes to the top 150 players in the nation.
The 6-foot-3 Nightingale, headed to UCLA on scholarship, was the The Bee Player of the Year this past season. During her four years the school, St. Francis went 127-37, won four Delta River League and two Sac-Joaquin Section titles.
• Golden Sierra junior outside hitter Kaitlynn Christner made PrepVolleyball.com's 130-player "Special Mention" list. She was a Bee All-Metro first team selection last fall.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
The Sac-Joaquin Section has released the league strength ratings for boys and girls basketball. These influence playoff qualification and seeding.
BOYS
Delta River League 8.2
Sierra Foothill League 7.6
Delta Valley Conference 7.4
Metro Conference 7.3
Capital Athletic League 7.2
Central California Conference 6.9
Tri-City Athletic League 6.9
Capital Valley Conference 6.6
Monticello Empire League 6.3
Pioneer Valley League 6.3
Solano County Athletic Conference 6.0
Sierra Valley Conference 5.8
Modesto Metro Conference 5.5
San Joaquin Athletic Association 5.5
Valley Oak League 5.5
Golden Empire League 5.5
Western Athletic Conference 5.0
Mother Lode League 4.8
Trans Valley League 4.6
Tri-County Conference 4.5
Sierra Delta League 4.2
Southern League 4.0
Sacramento Metro Athletic League 3.6
Central Valley Christian League 3.4
Mountain Valley League 3.0
Northern Pacific Athletic Conference 3.0
Girls
Delta River League 8.2
Capital Valley Conference 7.8
Sierra Foothill League 7.6
Metro Conference 7.4
Central California Conference 7.2
Capital Athletic League 6.9
San Joaquin Athletic Association 6.9
Pioneer Valley League 6.7
Tri-City Athletic League 6.6
Delta Valley Conference 6.5
Monticello Empire League 6.4
Sierra Valley Conference 6.3
Modesto Metro Conference 6.2
Solano County Athletic Conference 6.1
Valley Oak League 6.0
Golden Empire League 5.6
Mother Lode League 5.2
Western Athletic Conference 5.2
Tri-County Conference 5.0
Trans Valley League 4.6
Sierra Delta League 4.2
Southern League 3.8
Sacramento Metro Athletic League 3.6
Central Valley Christian League 3.4
Mountain Valley League 3.4
Northern Pacific Athletic Conference 3.0
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
The Sierra College women's basketball team's colors will be cardinal, white and pink when they play Cosumnes River College tonight in Rocklin.
The Wolverines are teaming up up with the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Pink Zone to fight breast cancer.
Ticket sales and donations from the 8 p.m. Big 8 Conference game will benefit the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Fans will be able to participate in shooting contests, raffles and free prize give-aways.
The game is part of a WBCA initiative that in four years has raised more than $3 million.
The Kay Yow Cancer Fund (www.kayyow.com) was established in honor of the late Kay Yow, who died in 2009 after coaching the North Carolina State Wolfpack for 32 years. She was a founding member of the WCBA and is a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
On the court, Sierra (13-8 overall, 5-1 Big 8) features a balanced offense led by sophomore Tori Carroll's 11.4 points per game and sophomore Kristen Huffman's 11.2 points. Carroll played at Casa Roble; Huffman at El Camino.
Sierra freshman Victoria Turner from River City leads the Wolverines in steals and points off turnovers.
Sophomore Kelsi Meier leads Cosumnes River College (11-8, 3-3) in averaing 16.6 points and former Mira Loma player Natalia Gibson is averaging 10.2 points.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Area teams are well represented on NorCalPreps.com's latest Northern California Top 20 boys and girls basketball polls.
Area boys teams ranked are: Sheldon (13-7) at No. 4, Oak Ridge (19-0) at No. 5, Sacramento (15-4) at No. 10, Woodcreek (117-3) at No. 11 and Granite Bay (17-3) at No. 13. De La Salle (15-2) of Concord is ranked No. 1.
Area girls teams ranked are: Del Oro (15-3) at No. 7, St. Francis (13-4) at No. 10; Sacramento (14-4) at No. 15 and El Camino (20-1) at No. 17. Berkeley (17-1) is ranked No. 1.
Berkeley will play host to St. Francis in a nonleague game Saturday.
For the complete rankings go to, http://norcalpreps.rivals.com/viewrankhs.asp?ra_key=274
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
The Sac-Joaquin Section has sent three proposals to its member schools that could have a profound impact on some.
During a Board of Managers meeting on Wednesday in Stockton, section officials proposed a "three strikes" section championship rule, a new football playoff seeding formula - some bill it as the "Del Oro Rule" - and a new format for the Division IV football playoffs.
Some highlights of the proposals, scheduled to be voted on in April:
• Schools that win three consecutive section championships would be forced to move up a division. Among area teams the new rule could affect are the Sacramento boys basketball team in Division III and the Bradshaw Christian girls basketball team in DV should they three-peat as section champions this March.
• Division IV football playoffs, currently divided into two eight-team brackets based on enrollment, would be one 16-playoff bracket with pairings based only on playoff criteria, not enrollment. It will give the section greater flexibility when pairing teams.
• Football teams that are the league's No. 1 seed would be guaranteed a first-round home playoff game. Last season Del Oro finished as co-champions of the Sierra Foothill League but because the Golden Eagles had a 6-4 regular-season record, they were forced to travel to East Union (7-3 during the regular season) in Manteca, the fourth place team in the Valley Oak League, for the D-III playoff opener. Del Oro, the No. 11 seed, went on to win the section championship.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Here are some of tonight's highlights from The Bee's top-ranked boys and girls basketball teams:
Boys
• Dakarai Allen led five players in double figures with 17 points in top-ranked Sheldon's 76-41 win over Folsom in a Delta River League game.
• Bryce Scott had 36 points in No. 2 Oak Ridge's 76-67 Delta River League win at Ponderosa. Oak Ridge is now 19-0.
• Robert Garrett had 27 points in No. 3 Sacramento's 78-66 Metro Conference win at No. 13 Kennedy.
• Arik Armstead had 16 points in leading No. 11 Pleasant Grove past No. 8 Jesuit in a Delta River League game.
Girls
• Madeline Campbell had 21 points in top-ranked Del Oro's 66-24 win over Roseville.
• Beth Balbierz tallied 18 points to lead No. 2 St. Francis to a 73-54 win over No. 5 Pleasant Grove in a Delta River League game.
• Haley Anderson had 13 points in No. 4 Oak Ridge's 58-39 Delta River League win over No. 15 Ponderosa.
Here's The Bee's latest Top 20 rankings for girls basketball.
Team / Rec. / Last
1. Del Oro / 11-2 / 1
2. Sacramento / 10-3 / 2
3. St. Francis / 7-4 / 3
4. Oak Ridge / 9-6 / 4
5. Pleasant Grove / 9-5 / 5
6. El Camino / 15-1 / 6
7. Valley / 12-3 / 7
8. Florin / 14-1 / 8
9. El Dorado / 12-3 / 9
10. Inderkum / 12-2 / 10
11. Bella Vista / 10-3 / 15
12. Christian Brothers / 11-5 / 12
13. Bear River / 14-3 / 16
14. Ponderosa / 14-3 / 11
15. Rocklin / 10-7 / 14
16. Antelope / 11-4 / 13
17. Sheldon / 10-7 / 17
18. Capital Christian / 11-5 / 18
19. Kennedy / 7-5 / 19
20. Colfax / 11-5 / -
Dropped out: Bradshaw Christian
- Bill Paterson
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Playing its first home game since Dec. 14, No. 3 St. Francis coasted to an easy 75-51 win over Davis tonight in a nonleague girls basketball game.
Ten Troubadours (5-4) scored as coach Vic Pitton liberally used his bench against the overmatched Blue Devils. Senior forward Ellie Earley led St. Francis with 15 points. Jolise Limcaco added 10.
Twins Khaliya and Malika Wilkins combined for 33 points for the Blue Devils (9-6).
St. Francis plays host to No. 12 Christian Brothers Friday at 7 p.m.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Former Bee Players of the Year Brittany Shine and Sara James are wasting little time making impacts on their respective college women's basketball teams.
Tonight James, a true freshman from Oak Ridge High School, had 14 points in leading No. 8 Stanford (7-2) past the University of San Francisco 100-45. That helped Stanford's Tara VanDerveer become the sixth women's coach to reach the elite 800 wins mark.
James, The Bee Player of the Year in 2008-2009, played 24 minutes against USF and made four of five three pointers.
Coming into the USF game, the 5-foot-10 guard had appeared in seven of Stanford's eight games, averaging 8.7 minutes and 2.6 points.
On Tuesday, the 5-10 Shine, last season's Bee Player of the Year from Sacramento High School, was named the MVP of the Gator Holiday Classic.
After captain Jordan Jones was lost to a concussion, Shine made her first start on Monday and scored 28 points in a 95-38 win against Alabama State.
She had 19 points as Florida (10-3) defeated Robert Morris 70-50 Tuesday to help the Gators take home the title of their own two-day tourney.
Shine is averaging 16.5 minutes and 8.5 points.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
The top-ranked Sacramento High Dragons girls basketball team will make its season debut Thursday at 8 p.m. against Fairfield in the St. Hope Classic Tournament at Sac High.
The Dragons, coming off Sac-Joaquin Section and CIF Northern California D-III runners-up finishes last season, will be led by senior returners Fantasia Hilliard and Bre'ana Williams and junior Jasmine Ware.
Thursday's game also will mark the debut of freshmen standouts Ayanna Edwards, a 6-foot-4 post, and Najah Queenland, a 5-10 shooting guard, as well as Sheldon transfer Allie Green, a 5-11 sophomore shooting guard.
In other St. Hope openers, West Campus plays Bradshaw Christian (3:30 p.m.); Deer Valley of Antioch faces Laguna Creek (5 p.m.) and Galt plays Sheldon (6:30 p.m).
The tournament continues Friday and concludes Saturday with the 7 p.m. final.
Here are other area tournaments scheduled Thursday through Saturday:
Girls:
Dorothy Speck Invitational, Davis High School
Oak Ridge Shoot Out, Oak Ridge
Claude Brock Invitational, Center
Varsity Rotary Tournament, Oakmont
River City Invitational, River City
Valley Christian Tournament, Valley Christian
Woodland Tournament, Woodland
Boys:
Titan Holiday Hoop Classic, Antelope
Mark Macres Tournament, Monterey Trail
Del Oro Invitational, Del Oro
Folsom Invitational, Folsom
Galt Warrior Classic, Galt
Bradshaw Christian Tournament, Bradshaw Christian.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Sacramento is No. 19 and St. Francis No. 25 in Cal-Hi Sports preseason girls baseketball state top 25.
Del Oro and defending CIF state division I champion Oak Ridge are listed as bubble teams.
Defending D-II state champion Mater Dei of Santa Ana is ranked No. 1, and Brea Olinda of Brea is No. 2. Brea Olinda lost to Mater Dei in last year's Southern Section championship game.
Long Beach Poly, which fell to Oak Ridge 55-42 in last year's D-1 state finale, is ranked No. 3.
The top Northern California teams are No. 4 Berkeley, No. 6 Carondelet of Concord, No. 8 Bishop O'Dowd of Oakland (losers to Sac High in last season's NorCal playoffs) and No. 9 St. Mary's of Stockton, the defending D-III state champs.
For more, go to http://rise.espn.go.com/girls-basketball/articles/2010/11/27-CA-Preseason-State-Rankings.aspx
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
One of the area's smallest schools had one of the area's largest college signing hauls today.
Five Bradshaw Christian athletes signed letters of intent to play at the next level.
Leading the way is three-sport standout Brady Dragmire, who will attend Nevada on a baseball scholarship. Dragmire also plays football and basketball for the Pride.
Others to sign full-ride letters, according to Bradshaw Christian Athletic Director Mike Ruble:
• Lauren Beyer, women's basketball, UC Davis.
• Lynn Tay, swimming, Wagner College in New York.
• Macy Chase, softball, Felician College, a Division II school in Lodi, N.J.
• Jordie Smith, women's basketball, Vanguard University, an NAIA school in Costa Mesa.
The school of 225 students plans a celebration rally for them on Friday.
"I think this is tremendous for any school let alone a small school who has been able to compete at a high level and has been very successful over the past several years and with such a young history," Ruble wrote in an e-mail announcing the signings. "We also have at least five more kids that will sign in the late period, one being our quarterback (senior Daniel Lewis) who is on the short list for Notre Dame, Arizona, UCLA, Air Force Academy, among a few others..."
Categories: Football, Girls basketball , Recruiting - basketball, Recruiting - football
Editor's Note: Parents or coaches that have an athlete who will sign an NCAA letter of intent this week, please e-mail bpaterson@sacbee.com with the details by 1 p.m. Wednesday.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Area boys and girls are well represented on NorCalPreps.com's All-Northern California basketball teams.
For the boys, Sacramento junior Josiah Turner joined sophomore Brandon Ashley of Bishop O'Dowd-Oakland and seniors John McAurther of De La Salle-Concord; Chris McNealy of San Ramon Valley; and Khion Sankey of Newark Memorial on the first team.
Sheldon's Darius Nelson made the second team and Yuba City's Zach Nelson, Vista del Lago's Hayden Lescault, Oakmont's Tony Gill and Woodcreek's Nik Milani made the third team.
For the girls, Oak Ridge's Sara James and Sacramento's Brittany Shine join St. Mary's of Stockton's Chelsea Gray and Afure Jemerigbe, all seniors, along with Carondelet of Concord junior Erica Payne on the first team. James also was selected the NorCal Division I Player of the Year.
McClatchy's Ariel Thomas made the second team.
Here's the complete list:
GIRLS
First team - Chelsea Gray, St. Mary's-Stockton, Sr.; Sara James, Oak Ridge, Sr.; Brittany Shine, Sacramento, Sr.; Afure Jemerigbe, St. Mary's-Stockton, Sr.; Erica Payne, Carondelet-Concord, Jr.
Second team - Brittany Boyd, Berkeley, Jr.; Ariel Thomas, McClatchy, Sr.; Ricki Radanovich, Carondelet, Sr.; Sage Romberg, McKinleyville, Sr.; Danielle Mauldin, St. Mary's-Berkeley, Sr.
Third team - Robie Mayberry, Bishop O'Dowd-Oakland, Sr.; Brandi Henton, Modesto Christian, Sr.; Rayven Brooks, Dougherty Valley-San Ramon, Jr.; Elisabeth Gordon, Archbishop Mitty-San Jose, Sr.; Stephanie Golden, Miramonte-Orinda, Sr.
BOYS
First team - Josiah Turner, Sacramento, Jr.; Chris McNealy, San Ramon Valley, Sr.; Brandon Ashley, Bishop O'Dowd, So.; Khion Sankey, Newark Memorial, Sr.; John McArthur, De La Salle-Concord, Sr.
Second team - Tyler Johnson, St. Francis-Mountain View, Sr.; Roderick Bobbitt, Castro Valley, Jr.; Darius Nelson, Sheldon, Jr.; Dominique Lee, St. Mary's-Berkeley, Sr.; Desmond Simmons, Salesian-Richmond, Sr.
Third team - Hayden Lescault, Vista del Lago, Sr.; Nik, Woodcreek, Sr.; Jordan Barton, Bishop O'Dowd, Sr.; Zach Nelson, Yuba City, Sr.; Tony Gill, Oakmont, Sr.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Area high schools are well-represented in NorCalPreps.com's final boys and girls Northern California Top 20 basketball polls.
The Oak Ridge (32-3) girls, upset winners over Long Beach Poly in the CIF state Division I championship game, finish second behind St. Mary's (34-1) of Stockton, the D-III state champions and Maxpreps.com's national No. 1 team.
Berkeley (27-4) is No. 3, Sacramento (27-7) No. 4 and St. Mary's (31-4) of Berkeley No. 5. Kennedy (30-4) is No. 12 and McClatchy (24-9) No. 14.
In the boys poll, Sacramento (26-7) is ranked No. 6, Sheldon (28-6) No. 9, Woodcreek (28-6) No. 10, Oakmont (23-8) No. 16, Vista del Lago (28-4) No. 18 and Center (28-4) No. 20.
Bishop O'Dowd (30-4) of Oakland, which beat Sac High for the D-III NorCal championship, finishes as the No. 1 team.
Newark Memorial (30-5) is No. 2, St. Francis (30-4) of Mountain View No. 3, De La Salle (29-3) of Concord No. 4 and San Ramon Valley (28-4) of Danville No. 5.
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Brittany Shine's brilliant performance Saturday night in Sacramento's 50-48 win over visiting Bishop O'Dowd in the CIF Northern California D-III regional semifinals is even more impressive when one considers she played every minute.
Yet the 5-foot-10 senior guard never seemed to lose any energy. She scored 15 first-half points. And even after O'Dowd's athletic defense, featuring three Division I college recruits, tried to tighten the screws on her, she produced.
Shine had 10 fourth-quarter points, including the spectacular winning three-point shot with 46 seconds.
But she also was all over the boards, forcing turnovers, making assists and getting defensive stops.
"We had to leave everything on the floor," Shine said. "That's what conditioning is for, why I work on my stamina all year long."
Said Massari: "I think Brittany Shine proved why she should be the Player of the Year."
Shine, who will play next season at Florida on scholarship, had to carry the team offensively because O'Dowd's athletic defenders wouldn't allow long-range shooter Katrina Salinas to get any decent looks. The senior guard shot just three times, making a three-pointer.
Kyra Dunn, Sacramento's 6-3 shot blocker, chipped in 11 points on four-of-five shooting but sat for nearly seven minutes in the second half because of foul trouble.
"Kyra was awesome, Kyra came to play," Massari said.
The defensive effort was a collective affair with Shine, Dunn, Salinas, Krashawna Douglas, Fantasia Hilliard, Jasmine Ware and 5-1 Bre'ana Williams constantly flying toward O'Dowd ballhandlers and shooters. No doubt the energy from a huge crowd, the Sacramento High boys counterparts looking on before playing Center in the D-III boys semifinals and that none of the girls have ever lost on their home court, added some emotional fuel.
"Without my teammates, we wouldn't have gotten it done," Shine said. "Kyra was huge on getting rebounds and coach Michele coached her butt off."
Sacramento forced O'Dowd into 16 first-half turnovers, then made the Oakland bunch earn their shots in the second half by allowing nothing easy.
O'Dowd was 15 of 45 from the field (33 percent) and 15 of 26 from the foul line. Sac High, with Shine making 11 of 18, shot an impressive 20 of 38 (53 percent) and five of nine from the foul line.
"That's what is great about this team," Massari said between hugs from players and fans. "It's not just one person. A lot of people thought that at the beginning of the season, when we lost a player (Arizona State-bound Erica Barnes, who suddenly transferred to Rosemont High School), we wouldn't get here. I'm so proud of these girls."
Even though the first two games were one-sided, Sacramento wants one more shot at St. Mary's of Stockton, its D-III, dribble, drive section rivals who are ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today.
The two will play Saturday morning at Arco Arena.
"We've got to get it done," Shine said. "It's our last chance."
By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Senior guard Ashley Moore scored 32 points, including the winning free throw with 40.8 seconds, to lead third-seeded Vallejo (25-6) past St. Francis (22-8) 67-64 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II girls championship game today at Arco Arena.
The athletic and emotional Moore finished the four-game section playoffs with 116 points, only the fourth female in history to accomplish the feat of scoring 100 or more points in a playoff season.
St. Francis, trying to win its third D-II championship in four years, trailed 34-27 at halftime but opened the third quarter with a 12-0 run to take a 39-34 lead.
Vallejo fought back as the game was tied seven times in the second half.
St. Francis' 5-6 junior guard Jolise Limcaco, who led the the Troubadours with 23 points and nine rebounds, gave her team a 64-61 lead with 2:44 to play when she hit her fifth three-pointer.
But Vallejo scored the last six points and St. Francis missed its last four shots.
Briana Charles added 12 points and Aurora Singh, one of only two seniors on St. Francis' 19-player roster, had 11.
This one was over at the half.
The Argonaut High School girls basketball team, owner of a 30-0 record entering Saturday's Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship game, was simply over-matched in its first-ever championship game against mighty Modesto Christian.
"We came here to win," said Argonaut senior forward Lauren Godde, who led the team in scoring with 18 points on Saturday. "We knew it would take our best game ... but we thought we could."
Those dreams evaporated quickly when the Crusaders led 18-3 after one quarter and showed no signs of slowing. Modesto Christian went on to win its fourth section title 64-39.
Argonaut players were still in high spirits though as the Mustangs will make their first appearance in the California Interscholastic Federation NorCal playoffs on Tuesday
While Modesto Christian is one of three private schools in town and seven overall, Argonaut may as well have been wearing "Jackson" across the front its jerseys as it was playing for something more than a title -- town pride.
And so in the final seconds, after the Mustangs battled and scraped for 32 minutes hundreds of green and gold clad Argonaut backers rose and gave their team a standing ovation worthy of a champion.
"I think that was pretty cool," Godde said. "That's half our town out there.
"They've been with us every step of the way."
Here's a nice read about Bradshaw Christian from one of our colleagues in the south area of the section
By Richard T. Estrada
estrada@modbee.com
SACRAMENTO -- There's a new dynasty dominating Division 5 girls' basketball in the Sac-Joaquin Section, and Turlock Christian ran into it.
When the section promoted Modesto Christian's potent program to D-4 two years ago, it felt the move would make the postseason more competitive for the smallest schools.
A nice idea, had it worked.
Bradshaw Christian, replicating the template MC used earlier this decade, has filled that power vacuum and become just as overwhelming.
"They're quick, their inside game is strong and they shoot well," said Molly Farrar, noting just a few of Bradshaw's strengths. "I think we got a little psyched out by them."
Bradshaw had plenty to do with that, using a 22-3 second-quarter on its way to a 67-25 victory over TC in Friday's D-5 title game at Arco Arena.
It was Bradshaw's third consecutive title (MC won two in a row before going D-4 to face larger schools) and completed an impressive playoff run.
Pressure "D," 3-point shooting and Cheyenne Williams -- a 6-1 transfer off to the University of San Diego -- put the Pride ahead of the pack.
Bradshaw (22-8) had beaten its first three playoff foes by an average score of 80-20, so No. seed TC (26-5) came closer than anyone to an upset.
Perhaps that's why the Eagles are eager for a rematch in next year's section final.
"We have four starters back and good kids are coming up from Sally Wright's JV team, so we're heading in the right direction," said TC coach Edwin Santiago, whose school's last section final was in 1988.
Farrar, a 5-foot-9 swing player, should be joined again by 6-2 Marly Burton, 6-foot Kaisa Spycher and 5-9 Halie Bergman -- a freshman averaging 24 points a game before tearing an ACL in early January.
The good news for TC is its season isn't over. The Eagles are in the NorCal playoffs with Bradshaw Christian.
Pairings and home sites are going to be announced Sunday.
It's going to take a dedicated offseason for the Eagles to approach Bradshaw's caliber -- and Santiago says it all begins in April with travel ball.
"We had 27 games last year and we hope to play at least as many this year," said Santiago, who will take the team to tournaments in the Bay Area and Lake Tahoe. "We're going to work hard on defending off the screen, and I think by doing that, we'll become a better team at using screens."
That was a struggle against Bradshaw, as the Eagles rarely got an open look at the basket. The Pride was more than quick enough to stay with the shooters, and the screens did not provide much of an obstacle for an aggressive defense.
That's part of the reason TC shot 17 percent (8 of 47) and scored a season-low 25 points.
Only once had TC been held under 48 -- a 35-point effort in a loss to Le Grand. It had won eight in a row after that loss, a streak that ended Friday.
While Spycher and Burton work on their inside games in travel ball, TC's guards need to get accustomed to the trey and improve their accuracy from the 14- to 17-foot range.
TC was good for 64 points a game despite shooting just 38 percent from the floor, giving Santiago and his girls motivation to get busy in the gym.
The return of Bergman also will help. She provides another scorer, ballhandler and defender -- and a level of confidence that can't be replaced.
She would have made it closer, but Bradshaw's Williams (nine points, nine boards) and Ashlee Jones (20 points, eight boards) were just too fast and talented for TC to contain.
Sacramento remained at No. 10 and Oak Ridge at No. 20 in Cal-Hi Sports' state top 20 girls basketball rankings released today.
St. Mary's of Stockton remains No. 1.
The rest of the top 10:
2. Brea Olinda; 3. Mater Dei-Santa Ana; 4. Long Beach Poly; 5. Harvard Westlake-North Hollywood; 6. Bishop O'Dowd-Oakland; 7. Santiago-Corona; 8. Hanford; 9. Berkeley; 10. Sacramento.
St. Francis and Bear River jumped from No. 3 to No. 1 while Oak Ridge and Del Oro held their respective top spots in the latest Sac-Joaquin Section girls basketball divisional power ratings released today.
St. Francis moved to No. 1 in Division II and Bear River to No. 1 in D-IV. Oak Ridge remained No. 1 in D-I and Del Oro No. 1 in D-III.
These will be the last power ratings the section will release to the public. Section officials will seed the playoff field this weekend and hope to release playoff pairings by 3 p.m. Sunday.
The top 16 teams in each division qualify for postseason play.
Here are the current top 16, plus bubble teams:
D-I - 1. Oak Ridge; 2. Napa; 3. Kennedy; 4. Pleasant Groves; 5. Franklin-Elk Grove; 6. McClatchy; 7. McNair; 8. Lincoln-Stockton; 9. Turlock; 10. Sheldon; 11. Enochs; 12. Modesto; 13. Rodriguez; 14. Nevada Union; 15. Tokay; 16. Chavez.
D-II - 1. St. Francis; 2. Bella Vista; 3. Vallejo; 4. Woodcreek; 5. Fairfield; 6. Granite Bay; 7. Valley; 8. Inderkum; 9. Vacaville; 10. Ponderosa; 11. River City; 12. Rio Linda; 13. Pitman; 14. Rosemont; 15. Casa Roble; 16. Folsom. On the bubble: No. 17 Del Campo.
D-III - 1. Del Oro; 2. St. Mary's; 3. Vanden; 4. Sacramento; 5. El Dorado; 6. East Union; 7. El Camino; 8. Natomas; 9. Vista del Lago; 10. Galt; 11. Oakdale; 12. Rio Americano; 13. Manteca; 14. Patterson; 15. Sonora; 16. Livingston. On the bubble: No. 17 Dixon.
D-IV - 1. Bear River; 2. Argonaut; 3. Modesto Christian; 4. West Campus; 5. Christian Brothers; 6. Colfax; 7. Capital Christian; 8. Vacaville Christian; 9. Linden; 10. Ripon; 11. Calaveras; 12. LeGrand; 13. Orestimba; 14. Bret Harte; 15. San Juan; 16. Hughson.
D-V - 1. Turlock Christian; 2. Bradshaw Christian; 3. Big Valley Christian; 4. Wilton Christian; 5. Sacramento Waldorf; 6. Trinity Prep; 7. Sacramento Adventist; 8. Valley Christian; 9. Jim Elliot Christian; 10. Forest Lake Christian; 11. Ripon Christian; 12. Faith Christian; 13. Foresthill; 14. Victory Christian; 15. Lodi Academy; 16. Lutheran.
For the complete power ratings, go to www.cifsjs.org.
