Rematches highlight section basketball semifinals
Nothing revs up a high school basketball showdown quite like a rematch.
On Tuesday night at Pacific, McClatchy plays Oak Ridge in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division I girls semifinal featuring longtime successful programs. These are the only area Division I teams to win CIF state championships, Oak Ridge in 2010 and McClatchy in 2015.
Last season, Oak Ridge beat the Lions 40-33 in a section quarterfinal. In December, McClatchy defeated the Trojans 59-43 to win the Oak Ridge Trojan Toss-Up.
On Thursday, Marie Olson scored 18 points and Kassidy DeLapp 15 to power Oak Ridge past defending NorCal D-I champion St. Francis 65-48 in a quarterfinal.
McClatchy has been paced by the balanced scoring of Courtesy Clark, Jordan Cruz, Kamryn Hall and Richelle Turney.
More rematches – In D-II girls, Elk Grove meets defending champion Vanden in another rematch Tuesday at Pacific. Vanden beat Elk Grove 84-64 in the semifinals last season. Since all section semifinalists advance to the NorCal tournament, the Thundering Herd avenged the loss 69-63 and won the NorCal championship at the buzzer against Sacramento.
Elk Grove is led by 2016 Sacramento Bee Player of the Year Mira Shulman.
Falcons fly – After a 1-10 start caused by injuries and illnesses, the Christian Brothers girls are the hottest sub-.500 team anywhere. The Falcons (12-17) upset D-III top seed Rio Linda 56-51 on Thursday in a rematch of the 2016 section final, won by the Knights.
On Thursday, Chance Sims had three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, and Kalani Mark sank two clinching free throws for Christian Brothers. The Falcons play Kimball of Tracy on Tuesday at Galt.
West risers – Top-seeded West Campus has sailed through the first two rounds in D-IV girls play, beating Orestimba 73-11 and Central Catholic of Modesto 93-61. The Warriors face Union Mine in a semifinal Tuesday at Tokay.
West Campus has relied on balanced scoring and defense. Namiko Adams is averaging 12.4 points, Kiara Jefferson 10.6 and sisters Nia Johnson and Nadia Johnson 10.3 and 9.1 respectively.
Christian Brothers hire – Christian Brothers named Tyler Almond its new football coach to replace 2016 Bee Coach of the Year Dan Carmazzi, who retired. Almond, a Christian Brothers graduate, was an assistant coach at Sacramento State the past six seasons.
Wrestling – Vacaville won its 17th section title on the strength of three first-place finishers Saturday in Stockton. The Bulldogs scored 206 points, edging Del Oro (193.5).
Vacaville champions were Matt Hruby (113 pounds), Lawrence Saenz (138) and Jake Levengood (285). Other area champions were Folsom’s Angelo Martinoni (120), Granite Bay’s Jack Ramalia (145), Folsom’s Jeff Skyrud (152), Inderkum’s Nemo Chapman (195) and Casa Roble’s Dylan Amos (220).
The top six finishers in each weight class advanced to the CIF State Championships in Bakersfield on Friday and Saturday.
▪ Alex Hedrick of Bella Vista repeated as the girls state champion, going 5-0 in the 121-pound division in Visalia.
Alexis Young of River Valley also went 5-0 to win the 150-pound crown.
Softball – Sheldon debuted at No. 4 in the Cal-Hi Sports preseason state rankings and No. 1 in Northern California. The Huskies, under longtime coach Mary Jo Truesdale, went 30-2 last season and repeated as section D-I champs. Bee Co-Player of the Year Maci Fines, an infielder, is back after batting 518 last season, and ace Taliyah Miles returns after going 23-2.
Joe Davidson: 916-321-1280, @SacBee_JoeD
This story was originally published February 27, 2017 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Rematches highlight section basketball semifinals."