Caruthers High is headed back to the state championships for first time since 2019
For the first time since the 2019 high school basketball season, Caruthers is headed back to Sacramento.
The 14th-seeded Blue Raiders held off a late charge by top-seed University-San Francisco to win 58-55 in the CIF Northern California Division III regional championship.
“We played with grit and toughness that we have shown in the second half of the season,” Caruthers coach Anna Almeida said. “Hit some big shots and managed the game pretty well.”
The win sends Caruthers back to the Golden 1 Center for the first time since the 2019 magical season when the Blue Raiders rolled past Ramona 62-38 in the Division V championship.
This time, Caruthers will face SoCal’s No. 5 seed Granada Hills Charter at 2 p.m. Friday.
“Excited to be going back to Golden 1,” Almeida said. “We have a lot of work to do in the next couple days.”
Caruthers led by as many as 12 points in the third quarter before University made a run, but the Blue Raiders countered with their own run to go up by 10 with 6 minutes remaining.
Caruthers freshman Jaylee Moore had a team-high 22 points and grabbed 16 rebounds
Almeida said the key factor was Gizelle Aguirre and Kara Higuchi hitting 3-pointers. Emmi Almeida managed the game plan and “kept us from panicking during their runs.”
Clovis West girls, Bullard boys falls
Clovis West faced an uphill battled from the onset.
The Golden Eagles trailed 16-0 to start the game and never recovered as Mitty won 71-34 in the Northern California Open Division championship.
The Central Section champions ends the season at 31-3.
No. 6 Bullard, meanwhile, also fell, in Division III to No. 1 Santa Cruz, 61-56.
The Knights trailed 58-56 with 1:19 remaining but could never get any closer.
