Caruthers makes history with state title
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Caruthers High School girl’s basketball program made a little history on Friday afternoon, as the Blue Raiders beat Granada Hills Charter, 54-48, in the Division III state championship game at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
The NorCal 14th-seeded Blue Raiders were already the lowest-seeded girl’s team to ever make it to Sacramento, and with the win, they also became the lowest-seeded girl’s team to ever win a state title.
Caruthers had to win every state game away from home, in order to win the program’s second-ever state title. They also won the Division V title in 2019.
After losing in the quarterfinal round of the Division I Central Section tournament to No. 2 seed St. Joseph (the top 8 in the Division I bracket of the Central Section got bids to state), the Blue Raiders won at NorCal No. 3 seed Christopher (Gilroy), 85-52, in the first round, at No. 11 seed Heritage (Brentwood), 44-40, in the second round, at No. 2 Central, 36-34, in the regional semifinal, at No. 1 seed University (San Francisco) in the regional final on Tuesday, before capping off their run with the win against SoCal No. 5 seed Granada Hills Charter.
Caruthers sophomore guard Emmi Almeida was the star of the state championship game.
She finished with a game-high 21 points, 15 of which came in the second half.
Emmi is the daughter of Caruthers head coach Anna Almeida.
Caruthers has won five Central Section championships (2015, ’16, ’19, ’20, ’22) in the last ten years, and this is the third time they have been to the state Final Four in the last six years.
The program, which has an enrollment of only 672 students, has also been absolutely dominant in its league over the last 11 years, having won 111 consecutive league games, and 11 consecutive league titles.
