NorCal basketball upper-division finals include four area teams
The CIF Northern California Regional finals include five area teams, but four will hit the road Saturday morning with the same destination: Santa Clara University’s Leavey Center.
At stake for those road teams – McClatchy and Oak Ridge girls, along with Woodcreek and Sheldon boys – is a much shorter trip to the CIF State Championships at Golden 1 Center next weekend.
In girls Division I, second-seeded McClatchy plays No. 4 Oak Ridge at 2 p.m.
The programs played in 2015 for the NorCal title at Sleep Train Arena, where McClatchy won. Last month, they met in the Sac-Joaquin Section D-I semifinals in Stockton, won by McClatchy 62-54.
McClatchy (30-4) is paced by guards Courtesy Clark, Jordan Cruz and Nia Lowery. Oak Ridge (23-10) is led by forwards Kassidy DeLapp and Marie Olson.
The nightcap is the boys’ Open Division championship at 8 p.m., featuring top-seeded Woodcreek (31-2) and No. 2 Sheldon (30-3). The teams met for the section D-I title on March 4 at UOP in Stockton with Woodcreek winning 69-68 on two free throws by Jordan Brown with a tenth of a second to play.
The schools have gone a combined 4-0 in NorCal Open competition to set up a rematch. Woodcreek, riding an 18-game winning streak, is paced by 6-foot-11 junior Jordan Brown and guards Jackson Hughes and Tyrell Roberts. Sheldon has been led by guards Elishja Duplechan and Drew Cobb and forward LJ Williams.
In Division IV girls, top-seeded West Campus will host No. 2 St. Joseph of Alameda at 6 p.m.
The winning teams advance to the state championships at Golden 1 Center March 24-25.
Joe Davidson: 916-321-1280, @SacBee_JoeD
CIF Northern California Regional Championships
Where: Leavey Center, Santa Clara
Who: McClatchy vs. Oak Ridge in girls Division I, 2 p.m.
Sheldon vs. Woodcreek, boys Open Division, 8 p.m.
This story was originally published March 17, 2017 at 6:53 PM.