SACRAMENTO — The free-throw shooting during Friday’s Division I girls’ basketball state final at Golden 1 Center told the story of Sage Hill’s 51-48 loss to Carondelet.
The Lightning made just four of 14 free throws.
“It’s abnormal for us,” coach Kerwin Walters said.
Despite the calamity at the line, Sage Hill (23-12), a young team that started two freshmen, rallied behind the play of junior guard Amalia Holguin. Her two threes in the final 2 minutes 9 seconds, one past the NBA line, pulled Sage Hill within a point. Then her assist to Kamdyn Klamberg gave Sage Hill a 47-46 lead with 1:03 left. But Carondelet converted four free throws, then survived a Sage Hill three-point attempt to win.
Holguin, a junior, finished with 21 points. She used to play on a club team created by Kobe Bryant. “He always wanted us to look into the mirror,” she said after the loss. And she insisted the future is bright for Sage Hill.
Carondelet (30-6), which has one of the best coaches in the state in Kelly Sopak, had eight players score with a balanced attack led by Celeste Alvarez, who had 11 points and 14 rebounds.
“It was a tough game,” Walters said. “I thought we had great effort. A lot of credit to Carondelet. They hit some timely shots.”
Division V
Woodland Christian 47, Rosamond 41: Taking advantage of a 50-28 edge in rebounds, Woodland Christian held on for the first of 12 championships to be won this weekend. Teagan Hayes scored 18 points, Siena Sorbello had 17 rebounds and Bailee Broward has 12 rebounds. Ariel Cain led Rosamond with 14 points.
