By Damien Barling
MaxPreps.com
Sacramento High school had reason to celebrate Friday night as both the boys and girls basketball programs captured Sac-Joaquin Section Division III titles.
The girls were the first to raise the trophy after defeating third-seed St. Mary's of Stockton, 74-71.
The victory by the Lady Dragons ended a frustrating three-year streak with losses in the title game to Burbank in 2004, St. Mary's in 2005, and El Camino in 2006.
Vicki Baugh, a McDonalds All-American who is headed to the University of Tennessee this summer, scored 26 points and pulled down 20 rebounds. Baugh was instrumental in the Dragons' ability to break a vicious St. Mary's full-court press.
After committing 19 first half turnovers, Sacramento began using Baugh and senior guard Coco Davis as the primary back court ball handlers. The two were able to consistently break a press that had contributed to St. Mary's grabbing a 51-47 lead in the third quarter.
St. Mary's shot 11 of 38 from beyond the three-point arch, with most of those shots coming from behind the purple line on the ARCO Arena floor that marks the NBA's three-point range. The Rams were lead by the dynamic freshman backcourt of Afure Jemeridge (26 points) and Chelsea Gray (15 points).
Once St. Mary's hot three- point shooting went cold, Sacramento was able to capitalize and Baugh's inside presence proved too much for the talented young team from Stockton.
The Dragons went on a 7-0 run to grab a 70-63 lead with 1:10 left, but St. Mary's was able to pull within three with 4.1 seconds left. The Dragons threw a long pass to Baugh who was fouled hard from behind with one second left. The referees ruled the foul was flagrant, and despite Baugh missing both free throws, Sacramento got the ball back and sealed its first section championship.
"Knowing that we lost in the finals the last three times, we knew there was only one thing we could do, and that was to play as a team," Baugh said. "And that's why we were able to win."
Two hours after the Lady Dragons celebrated their first section title, the boys got into the act by defeating seventh seed Weston Ranch, 62-58, capturing their third overall D-III championship and second in three years.
Sacramento trailed 31-25 at halftime but outscored the Cougars 20-11 in the final quarter.
Jhonte Simpson capped off the exciting come-from-behind victory with a baseline dunk as the final buzzer sounded.
"I told them, 'We're going to win this game,'" Sacramento coach Derek Swafford said. "We knew we had the experience. We feel like this is our home. We like this environment."
The Dragons were playing in their third-consecutive section final.
Senior superstar and Baylor-bound Fred Ellis led Sacramento with 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
"We came back with a chip on our shoulders," Ellis said. "We've been down before. We knew we could come back. This feels great."
12th Seed Sheldon Captures D-I Section Title
Sheldon became the lowest seed to ever capture a D-I title after defeating Edison of Stockton, 67-62.
Sheldon's historic run included wins over four of the top five seeds in the Sac-Joaquin D-I Section; No. 5 Lodi, No. 4 Grace Davis, No. 2 Edison, and a spectacular defeat of No. 1 Franklin.
Before Saturday, Sheldon had only been to the D-I final once. In 2004, current Duke star DeMarcus Nelson's top-seeded squad lost to No. 10 Kennedy, 63-61.
Sheldon (19-12) led by 11 at the half, but Edison made a strong run that cut the lead to one. Sheldon was able to build the lead back up to seven at 63-56 until Trey Gross, who signed with Eastern Washington, made two three pointers in a row, bringing the Vikings within two with 15.5 seconds left.
Sheldon was able to hit its free throws and when the buzzer sounded, the school celebrated its first section title.
Jesuit Wins Second-Straight D-II Section Championship
After a hard-fought victory in a long-awaited matchup against Rocklin Thursday, top-seeded Jesuit captured its second-straight Division II section championship by defeating No. 2 Fairfield, 71-61.
The Marauders, now 30-1, were led by senior Chris Blees' 26 points. Blees is averaging 29.2 points per game in the playoffs.
Although Jesuit led comfortably throughout the game, Fairfield closed within eight during the fourth quarter. Blees took matters into his own hands by scoring eight points in under two minutes to seal the win and the championship for Jesuit.
McClatchy Girls Top Kennedy
Trailing 31-25 at halftime, the seventh-seeded McClatchy Lions came back to upset No. 1 Kennedy, 48-37, capturing the Sac-Joaquin D-II Section Championship Saturday.
The Lions hit nine three pointers and backup freshman guard Ariel Thomas scored 11 fourth quarter points in the victory.
McClatchy coach Harvey Tahara became only the second coach in area history to lead a boys and girls program to championship seasons. Tahara won the section title as coach of the McClatchy boys back in 1993.
"Winning this title gives me a great feeling," Tahara said.
