The Sports Informant

By Patrick Ibarra
Editor

In 2005, Oak Ridge High School’s Sara James watched her older brother’s high school basketball team bring home a state championship. Tomorrow, she has the opportunity to do the same.

James, an All-American and the senior leader for the Oak Ridge High School varsity girls basketball team, will march into Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield on March 27 for the 2010 CIF State Girls Division I Basketball Championships Presented by Farmers with the state championship on the line. It’s a dream she’s had since watching her sibling do the same, and in just a day, it could come true.

“It gives us motivation,” James said of her brother Kevin’s similar road to glory. “We’re in the same situation. They were supposed to lose badly to a nationally-ranked team. We have confidence and we’re motivated.”

Senior Sara James fires from the outside in the NorCal Regional Final last week. (Photo courtesy Greg Ashman)

This year’s Trojans will be facing Southern California champion Poly of Long Beach, ranked No. 5 in the nation by MaxPreps.com, which came into the tournament the No. 1 seed from the South with a 27-2 record. Oak Ridge was the North’s No. 2 seed.

The Trojans know what they have stacked against them is a tall task, but it’s nothing new. All season long Oak Ridge has found ways to win when picked to lose, and the Trojans expect nothing different on Saturday.

“We have to go out harder than our opponent,” head coach Steve White said. “We’ve been underdogs all the way through the playoffs. We just have work hard and play smart.”

Work hard and play smart. It’s the perfect description of James’ individual game. The Stanford-bound, 5-foot-10-inch guard has used physical prowess, hard work and intellectual play all season long en route to becoming an All-American, and now, on the highest of high school stages, she has one more shot to prove herself to the world.

“It would be awesome (to win),” she said. “My senior year could not end better. We’ve improved my four years. We’ve been making history the last two years and now we have to top it off.”

The term “me” never emerges in James’ quotes. An ultimate teammate, she talks about the success stemming from her colleagues, other players on the court putting in just as much work as she is. Ultimately, it’s that mentality that has made the team so successful.

“It’s almost a necessity (to have other players step up),” James said. “No team is successful with one person. Caitlin (Welsch) is playing awesome; Carly (Bettencourt) is awesome. Everyone is peaking at the same time. We play well together in the big game. It’s not a one-person team.”

Oak Ridge hopes it can rush the court again Saturday to celebrate the state championship this time. (Photo courtesy Greg Ashman)

“We’re gonna have to play a complete basketball game,” White said. “If Sara has to score 40 (points) I’m not going to like our chances. If everyone gets their average and people step up (I do).”

Their opponent is daunting, coming into the matchup on a 23-game winning streak, not having lost a game in 2010.

“They are big, fast, athletic, deep and physical,” White said of their opponents.

Still, you won’t see Oak Ridge shaking in its boots.

“I expect to win every game we’re in,” White said. “We expected to get here. It was our goal all along. There’s always points in the season where I’m wondering if we’re going to make it happen, but the girls did a great job refocusing after the section semis and we’re playing good basketball right now.”

For Oak Ridge, the game feels like destiny, and no one can get in the way of that.

“At the end of the year, when we lost the last game (last season), we vowed to get back here and to make it all the way to the state championship,” White said. “We had a banner and poster made prior to the season to keep us focused.”

After a journey through to the Sac-Joaquin Section title and eventually the Northern California Regional title, there’s only one title left to claim.

“I was really excited that we got here last week, but we made a point of not being satisfied with how far we’ve gotten,” James said. “We’re not gonna be happy with losing.”

Slideshow from NorCal Regional Final

Photos courtesy of Greg Ashman