The Sports Informant

By Patrick Ibarra
Editor

The Sac-Joaquin Section girls basketball playoffs are deep in each division’s bracket, where only a few teams remain with hopes of securing a section title and a berth to the state championship bracket.

Division I

Division I play began on Feb. 25 at the home sites of the better-seeded teams coming into the tournament.

In Round 1 play, No. 1 Oak Ridge beat No. 16 Nevada Union, 77-27. No. 2 Napa beat No. 15 Tokay, 60-30. No. 3 Kennedy beat No. 14 Edison, 78-37. No. 4 Franklin of Elk Grove beat No. 13 Rodriguez, 60-50. No. 5 Pleasant Grove beat No. 12 Enochs, 81-43. No. 6 McNair beat No. 11 Modesto, 63-62. No. 7 Lincoln of Stockton lost to No. 10 McClatchy, 60-55. No. 8 Turlock lost to No. 9 Sheldon, 64-50.

In Round 2, teams that advanced faced off against one another at Galt High School on Feb. 27. Oak Ridge beat Sheldon, 60-30. Franklin beat Pleasant Grove, 53-50. Kennedy beat McNair, 71-41. McClatchy shocked Napa, 61-47.

The first two rounds set up semifinal play with the final four teams, which will begin tonight at the University of Pacific. Oak Ridge will face Franklin at 9 p.m., while Kennedy will play McClatchy at 7:30 p.m. Winners advance to the finals on Saturday at Arco Arena at 6:30 p.m.

Division II

Division II play began on Feb. 23 at the home sites of the better-seeded teams with Round 1 matchups. Results for Round 1 can be found here.

Round 2 saw some tighter battles on Feb. 25, though, as No. 1 St. Francis edged out an upset bid by Valley with a 67-63 win in overtime. Meanwhile, No. 2 Bella Vista beat No. 7 Inderkum, 53-26. No. 3 Vallejo beat No. 6 Granite Bay, 67-55. No. 4 Fairfield lost to No. 5 Woodcreek, 67-61.

Winners advanced to the semifinals at the University of Pacific, which take place tonight. St. Francis will face Woodcreek at 5:30 p.m., while Bella Vista will meet Vallejo at 4 p.m.

Division III

Division III play began on Feb. 23 with the first round. Round 1 results can be found here.

In Round 2, which had better-seeded teams hosting the matchups at their home sites on Feb. 25, No. 1 St. Mary’s beat No. 8 Natomas, 93-47. No. 2 Del Oro beat No. 7 East Union, 66-33. No. 3 Sacramento beat No. 6 El Dorado, 70-42. No. 4 Vanden beat No. 5 El Camino, 68-57.

That set up the semifinals, which are to be played tonight at Cosumnes River College. St. Mary’s will face Vanden at 4 p.m., while Del Oro will face Sacramento at 7:30 p.m. Winners will meet in the finals at Arco Arena on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Division IV

In Division IV play, winners of first-round games faced off at home sites of better-seeded teams for a shot at the semifinals. Round 1 results can be found here.

In Round 2, No. 1 Modesto Christian beat No. 8 Linden, 83-52. No. 2 Argonaut beat No. 7 Capital Christian, 56-36. No. 3 Colfax beat No. 6 West Campus, 57-38. No. 4 Christian Brothers beat No. 5 Bear River, 56-55.

The semifinals are set and will be played tonight at Tokay High School. Modesto Christian will face Christian Brothers at 7:30 p.m., while Argonaut will play Colfax at 4 p.m.

Division V

The Division V bracket wrapped up the semifinals last night, and the finals will be held Friday at Arco Arena at 4 p.m.

In Round 2, No. 1 Bradshaw Christian beat No. 9 Valley Christian, 75-27. No. 2 Turlock Christian beat No. 7 Sacramento Adventist, 70-18. No. 3 Wilton Christian lost to No. 11 Ripon Christian at Elk Grove High School in overtime, 51-43. No. 5 Sacramento Waldorf beat No. 13 Foresthill, 57-55.

In the semifinals on March 2 at Galt High School, it was more of the same, as Bradshaw Christian beat Sacramento Waldorf, 75-21, and Turlock Christian beat Ripon Christian, 55-45. No. 1 and No. 2 will now meet in the championship Friday.

Round 1 results from the Division V bracket can be found here.