Folsom, Whitney, Vista del Lago win to reach high school girls basketball championships
Only one Sacramento-area team tested the Folsom Bulldogs on the high school girls basketball circuit this season.
That was McClatchy, on Dec. 2, a seven-point Folsom victory in the third game of the campaign. The rematch was Monday night, and it wasn’t close.
Host Folsom rolled the Lions 66-38 in a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinal between The Bee’s top-ranked teams since the start of the season. The Bulldogs utilized balanced scoring and defense — program staples — to advance to the championship game at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Golden 1 Center, where the Bulldogs will face the storied St. Mary’s Rams of Stockton, who beat Oak Ridge 63-49 in the other semifinal.
Guard Sophia Mindermann scored 19 points, forward Kamryn Mafua had 15 and guard Ella Uriarte added 12 as the Bulldogs snapped McClatchy’s 17-game winning streak. Folsom (25-4) moved to 11-0 at home, extending its winning streak to 12 games while remaining unbeaten against section competition.
All section semifinalists will advance to the CIF Northern California regional tournaments, which start next week, meaning McClatchy (24-6) still has life. Forward Nina Cain led McClatchy with 13 points. The CIF will release NorCal brackets on Sunday.
Division I
Monday’s games
Folsom 66, McClatchy 38
St. Mary’s 63, Oak Ridge 49
Wednesday’s championship game
No. 1 Folsom vs. No. 2 St. Mary’s at Golden 1 Center, 6 p.m.
Comment: Folsom won its first section title last season, beating St. Mary’s, which has a section-record 21 banners, eight of them in D-I. St. Mary’s is led by Texas-bound McDonald’s All-American guard Jordan Lee, averaging 26.7 points per game. The Rams (24-5) have a 13-game winning streak and are unbeaten in section play.
Division II
Monday’s games
Whitney 62, Grant 53
Vanden 67, Atwater 54
Wednesday’s championship game
No. 1 Whitney vs. No. 2 Vanden at Golden 1 Center, 2 p.m.
Comment: Defending champion Whitney held Grant to two fourth-quarter points and received strong defensive efforts throughout from Maile Takahashi, Sammy Schuler, Marissa Shihadeh, Kendall Dykstra, Tylie Kitchen and Stanford-bound senior forward Harper Peterson. The skilled 6-foot-3 Peterson had 17 points, six rebounds, six steals, five assists and made all four of her 3-point shots despite sitting out the second quarter with foul trouble. Dykstra had 17 points and Shihadeh 10.
Division III
Monday’s games
Vista del Lago 57, Lincoln 42
Manteca 45, Wood 36
Wednesday’s championship game
No. 1 Vista del Lago vs. No. 2 Manteca at Golden 1 Center, 10 a.m.
Comment: The top two seeds came through, and both seek their first section banners in this sport. As she had all season, junior guard Ella Skrzyniarz led Vista, scoring 21 points. Teammates Kelsey Brooks and Emma Lyons had 10 and seven points, respectively, for the Eagles (22-8), who have a 10-game winning streak.
Junior guard Kalaja Reese led Manteca with 12 points and 6-1 senior forward Izabella Sanchez had 14 rebounds.
▪ For complete brackets and ticket information, visit the Sac-Joaquin Section website.