Prep girls’ basketball: Laguna Creek wins first section title in 18 years

There was a time when Ahrray Young contemplated quitting basketball.

It was at the end of her sophomore season. Young, who is now the star senior on the Laguna Creek High School girls’ basketball roster, questioned if she wanted to keep playing. Then she fell back in love with playing the game.

It’s a good thing.

Two short years later on the biggest stage at Golden 1 Center, fans gave her MVP chants at the end of Friday’s Sac-Joaquin Section championship game as No. 2 seed Laguna Creek outlasted defending D-ll champion Antelope, 60-49.

“I didn’t even want to play basketball at the end of my sophomore year,” Young said. “I thought basketball wasn’t really my thing. Then COVID hit and then I fell in love with my element and started working on my game. I believe (the reason I wanted to quit) was a confidence issue. Two years ago, me being in foul trouble (like I was tonight) I would’ve checked myself out immediately. (As) you grow up, you realize basketball is a game of runs and mistakes.”

Young added, “I could cry right now. I love these girls. Getting the MVP chants (felt) pretty good. … We have put in so much time and sacrifice and it means so much to do it with these girls. These girls push me on and off the court. Being in this arena and winning it for our coach, school and community because girls’ basketball isn’t really glorified in Elk Grove, (is why) it means a lot.”

It’s been a full-circle turnaround not just for Young but for the entire Cardinals’ program. During the 2017-18 season before Young, Zoe Tillery and the rest of the current senior class stepped on campus as freshmen, Laguna Creek went 3-24.

The duo holds almost every program record in school history. They left their impression all over the court at Golden 1 Center. Young had a team-high 16 and Tillery added 14. Alica Enriquez, another senior, finished with 10 and hit two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter that blew the game open.

The last time Laguna Creek won a section championship in girls’ basketball, most of the current players weren’t born. The Cardinals won back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004. This marked the third blue banner in school history and first under head coach Cody Norman, who started his coaching career at the school as a boys’ varsity assistant in the late 1990s.

He had high praise for his senior group.

“These girls came in as freshmen with the basketball IQ,” Norman said. “They stepped in and they were good freshman leaders. They stepped in and demanded the most out of their older teammates. They bought into it. … You can go into probably every static category and they’re at the top. They’re everything you want in a player.”

He added, “This group has been waiting for me to cry. I tell them I’m not going to cry but eventually, it will happen. They deserve every tear that will end up falling.”

Then there’s Jon Ussery. The Laguna Creek athletic director has been in awe watching his school grow from losing in the second round of the playoffs in 2019 and in the semifinals in 2020 to winning it all in 2022.

“Facing Del Oro in the semifinals was a big test because it shows that we’re getting over that hump,” Ussery said. “We got over (the hump). It’s done. Now we move on to NorCal’s. … The culture changed when the senior class came in. This is a great campus to be on. It’s a hidden gem in Elk Grove.”

Young showed respect after the game to Antelope star junior Mary Carter who finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. They used to play on the same AAU team.

“Mary is going to be something else,” Young said of Carter. “She has so much potential. ... She’s such a cool girl off the court. It goes deeper than basketball. Great girl and a great player.”

Laguna Creek (25-2) has a season with legs left. The Cardinals will likely draw a high seed in the CIF Northern California regionals that start next week.

As for Antelope (23-6), its season also isn’t over. They will be in the regional championship tournament and could also draw a top seed.

This story was originally published February 26, 2022 at 4:13 AM.