Champions at last: Vista del Lago wins first Sac-Joaquin Section girls basketball banner
The coach is a classic throwback who stresses the value of teamwork and hustle, things you can control and things he mandates.
On Wednesday morning at Golden 1 Center, Marty Benjamin beamed at what he saw, the final product in a season of promise coming together on the biggest stage inside a sparkling NBA venue.
Playing defense and sharing the ball, the top-seeded Vista del Lago Eagles of Folsom beat No. 2 Manteca 68-49 to win the program’s first CIF Sac-Joaquin Section championship, taking Division III honors and looking for more with an 11-game winning streak.
All section semifinalists and finalists advance to next week’s CIF Northern California Regional tournaments. The CIF will release those brackets on Sunday.
“Super excited to get here,” Benjamin said. “We lost a couple of games the game before this in recent years, and to finally achieve it and get it and win it is super exciting. These are memories for these kids for the rest of their lives.”
The coach added: “It starts with defense with this team. I never have to worry about if they’re going to bring it defensively. The effort is always there. It’s hard to coach effort. That’s a decision, not a skill. I told them before the season that we’re going to work hard and play great defense, and from Day 1, the effort has been there.”
Vista (23-8) forced 20 Manteca turnovers and turned that into 26 points. The Eagles outrebounded the Buffaloes (25-7) of San Joaquin County 39-26 and had 18 assists, another example of team-first ball. Manteca was in its first final since winning a championship in 2000.
As she has since Day 1, Ella Skrzyniarz led the Vista charge. The standout 5-foot-9 junior guard scored a game-high 24 points on a variety of jumpers, drives and free throws. She pulled down nine rebounds, six of them on the offensive glass, and made three assists. She is already the all-time career scoring leader for the school, which opened in 2007, with a year to go.
“Ella’s been a coach’s dream since the moment she walked on campus as a freshman,” Benjamin said. “I don’t have to worry about her. Her effort is the same every game. She’s always focused on the moment.”
It was fitting that Skrzyniarz, a beloved teammate and student on campus, had the championship net draped around her neck. She’s the driving force of this program, a stellar student to match her playing prowess.
“It’s amazing, a dream come true,” she said of the moment. “I’m just in disbelief, but I’m really proud of our team.”
Skrzyniarz is the star, but she’s not the only player in the lineup who gives opponents fits. On Wednesday, that included Callie Jacobosky, a 6-foot junior post whose game continues to grow. She had the game of her life, scoring 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting to go with six rebounds and two blocked shots.
“She made a huge jump in her game this summer,” Benjamin said. “She’s getting better by the day. This was coming off a game where she struggled offensively and she was hard on herself. Told her that we believe in you. You’re always in our rotation.”
Vista senior guard Charlize Cai scored 11 points. Senior Ursula Chen and sophomore Kelsey Brooks combined for 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Vista prepared for the 10 a.m. start on a school day by having 10 a.m. practices.
“They had some sleep in their eyes, but it paid off,” Benjamin said.
This story was originally published February 21, 2024 at 12:41 PM.