COLFAX, Calif. — The 11th-seeded Sierra Pacific girls basketball team continued its impressive run through the Division-IV state playoffs, with a 52-39 win at No. 1 Colfax on Tuesday night, in the Division-IV NorCal regional final.
History seems to be repeating itself for Sierra Pacific.
Two years ago in 2018, the Lady Bears lost in the Division-IV Central Section title game to San Joaquin Memorial, and then let that disappointment fuel them in the state playoffs, on their way to winning a Division-V state title in Sacramento two weeks later.
This season, Sierra Pacific dropped a hard-fought battle to Caruthers for the Central Section’s Division-IV title, but ten days later, the Lady Bears have again punched their ticket to a state championship game.
They will play the SoCal regional champion, SoCal top-seed Lancaster, at 10 a.m. in Saturday’s Division-IV state championship game at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Against Colfax, the Sierra Pacific seniors led the way. They got 12 points each from seniors Annabelle Saavedra and Alana Roberts, and a team-high 14 points from senior Celeste Lewis, as the Bears pulled away from the Falcons in the second half.
The only other team from our viewing area still alive in the state playoffs headed into Tuesday night, the Clovis High girls, were not as lucky as Sierra Pacific.
The Cougars fell in the Division-II NorCal regional final to No. 1 seed Oakland Tech, 57-41.
