Prep girls’ basketball: Sandra Dell’s big night powers Placer through playoff opener
Sandra Dell couldn’t catch a break.
Last spring, in the first game of her junior basketball season at Placer High School during the spring, she broke her hand during the opening jump ball. Then at the start of her senior season in November, she broke her hand again and missed the entire nonconference schedule.
Dell is back and is better than ever. She had a game-high 20 points as fourth-seeded Placer beat No. 13 Del Campo 66-31 Thursday night in the opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division lll playoffs in Auburn. Narytza Flores had 17 points, Addison Arsenith added nine and Kenzie Liddell scored seven.
When Dell returned to the lineup Jan. 5, Placer became a different team. The Hillmen have won 11 of 12 since that game and are the healthiest they have been all season.
“I broke my hand the second time going for a swipe on the ball,” Dell said. “They said my hand was weak, that’s why I broke it again. It’s awesome to be back (because) I wasn’t expecting to sit again after my first hand injury. It felt good to finally be back. I was already cut short of my season (because of the injury) so it’s nice to have the playoffs.”
She added, “No one expected us to be where we are at because of all the injuries we had at the start of the season. We weren’t playing as a team and now we are playing the best we have ever played.”
When the final buzzer sounded, the Placer team put their arms over each other’s shoulders and sang along to the fight song with the school band. A crowd of fans and students served as a backdrop at Earl Crabbe Gym, one of most historic gyms in the section.
“How do you beat it,” Longtime Placer coach Tony Camillucci said. “I don’t know where else you get this. Our band is amazing. One you coach here, you are spoiled. … We have come a long way since the beginning of the year. Our team is finally healthy. I’m so happy for our kids. We didn’t even practice last season, it was like summer league. It was really hard for a lot of coaches. We never had a full (team) because of the other sports going on.”
He added, “We always start a little slow to the start of the season. This team took a little longer to find their rhythm. We always get better as the season goes on. This group is a lot of fun. They’re always laughing. The bench is always loud and the kids get along. We are so lucky at Placer.”
Putting together a crowd for a game isn’t an easy task. There is a lot of preparation that goes into it. That includes promoting the game with posters and on social media. Flores, who is in leadership class at Placer, helps make it happen.
“It’s a really cool experience,” Flores said on the tradition and preparation of being in leadership. “We make a lot of posters and hang it up all over the walls (on campus).”
In 2019, the Placer girls’ team went 26-4, but lost the final two games of the season after putting together a 22-game win streak. Placer lost to Merced in the section semifinals and fell to Los Gatos in the opening round of the state tournament.
This team is unique and different from the 2019 group, according to Camillucci. Most of the girls don’t play AAU basketball and a handful of the players play other sports. They are in it for the love of the game.
“I love that,” Camillucci said about most of his players only playing high school basketball. “When we go up against the Antelope’s and the Folsom’s that have an all AAU team, we are going to be behind. They’re going to have players that are more experienced. Our girls love high school basketball and are fully committed. They’re not in it to impress a scout, they’re in it to win for their teammates. That’s the kind of kids we get and I’m all for it.”
Placer (17-9) will host No. 5 Kimball on Monday in the second round of the playoffs.
“The next game will be a challenge,” Dell said. “(They) are really big compared to us. We are a smaller team compared to them.”
Del Campo ends the season 12-16. Star senior Paige Krenecki had 11 points in her final prep game. She led her team in points, rebounds, assists and steals this season.
This story was originally published February 18, 2022 at 12:36 AM.