photo by Charlie McDonald (charlie.mcdonald@surewestsports.com)
by Mike Finnerty (mike.finnerty@surewestsports.com)
The CIF Sac-Joaquin Section announced its boys and girls basketball playoff brackets and as expected Pleasant Grove (DI), St. Mary's (DII), Sacramento (DIII), and Brookside Christian (DV) were all selected as No. 1 seeds for their respective divisions.
SureWest Sports breaks down each of the playoff brackets and provides its predictions with playoff games set to tip off on Tuesday.
Division I:
This was a break out year for No. 1 seed Pleasant Grove. The once youthful Lady Eagles came of age this season thanks to a brutal schedule and the talent to thrive under the leadership of head coach James McKeever. The three-headed monster of Dejza James, Avonna Lee, and Marissa Wimbley is as good as it gets. Pleasant Grove has No. 4 Kennedy and No. 12 St. Francis on its side of the bracket, but neither can match the depth of Pleasant Grove. The other half of the bracket is a toss up with No. 3 Lincoln of Stockton, No. 6 Oak Ridge, and No. 7 Sheldon. Despite Armijo being the No. 2 seed, they will not make it to the semi-finals.
Watch out for: No. 6 Oak Ridge
Prediction: Pleasant Grove over Sheldon
Round 1 - February 21
(16) Pitman or Chavez at (1) Pleasant Grove
(9) Nevada Union at (8) Bethel
(12) St. Francis at (5) Monterey Trail
(13) Napa at (4) Kennedy
(14) Tokay at (3) Lincoln of Stockton
(11) Grant at (6) Oak Ridge
(10) Beyer at (7) Sheldon
(15) Franklin at (2) Armijo
Division II:
It almost seems unfair to have No. 1 St. Mary's of Stockton in any bracket, let alone the Division II bracket. The Lady Rams are not only defending Division II State champions, and before that the defending Division III back-to-back State champion, but they are annual national powers. It would be disrespectful to not discuss the rest of the field, so we will, but make no mistake about it, anything other than a St. Mary's sweep through the playoffs would be a stunning upset. With that said, an interesting round two match up could be No. 5 Del Oro at No. 4 Florin. Del Oro has one of the area's best players in junior guard Brianna Ruiz, and Florin is tough and deep with Deja Conger and Deja Joe-Smith. McNair is probably the favorite to meet up in the title game with St. Mary's, but don't sleep on No. 2 El Camino, No. 7 River City or No. 10 Rocklin.
Watch out for: No. 10 Rocklin
Prediction: St. Mary's over McNair
Round 1 - February 21
(16) Vacaville or Buchach Colony at (1) St. Mary's
(9) Del Campo at (8) Inderkum
(12) Rio Americano at (5) Del Oro
(13) Kimball at (4) Florin
(14) Central Valley at (3) McNair
(11) Antelope at (6) Grace Davis
(10) Rocklin at (7) River City
(15) River Valley at (2) El Camino
Division III:
Much like St. Mary's in Division II, the Sac High Dragons are in a similar position in Division III. Sac High has been the No. 1 ranked team in the Sacramento area from the tipoff of the opening game this season and nothing has changed. The Lady Dragons are also the defending DIII champion and this year's team is every bit as good as last year's group. 6'4"sophomore center Ayanna Edwards is a much more polished player this season and now a true force in the middle, and Sac High has one of the best players in the area in guard Jasmine Ware (signed with UC Santa Barbara). Add in talented guards like Jehiah Cook (signed with UNLV) and Briana Womack and this team is ready to make it back-to-back titles, and you know head coach Michele Massari will accept nothing less. Question is who Sac High will play in title game and that could be either No. 3 Modesto Christian or No. 2 Christian Brothers. We like Modesto Christian to make it, and keep in mind that the Crusaders only lost by four (56-52) in their only match up with Sac High this year.
Watch out for: No. 2 Christian Brothers
Prediction: Sac High over Modesto Christian
Round 1 - February 1
(16) Casa Roble at (1) Sacramento
(9) Weston Ranch at (8) El Dorado
(12) Dixon at (5) East Union
(13) Oakmont at (4) Vanden
(14) Los Banos at (3) Modesto Christian
(11) Patterson at (6) Manteca
(10) Foothill at (7) Benicia
(15) Valley at (2) Christian Brothers
Division IV:
The No. 1 seed this year is Calaveras, a team that lost to the D-IV championship to Modesto Christian a year ago, so with the Crusaders now competing in Division III it could be Calaveras' title to win. Watch out for Bear River in the top half of the bracket, but in the bottom half of the bracket it could be Colfax that makes it all the way. Colfax got better as the season progressed and with that the Lady Falcons captured the PVL title.
Watch out for: No. 9 San Juan
Prediction: Calaveras over Colfax
Round 1 - February 21
(16) Mariposa at (1) Calaveras
(9) San Juan at (8) Liberty Ranch
(12) Sonora at (5) Ripon
(13) Hughson at (4) Bear River
(14) Linden at (3) West Campus
(11) Bret Harte at (6) Riverbank
(10) Bradshaw Christian at (7) Argonaut
(15) Venture Academy at (2) Colfax
Division V:
No. 1 Brookside Christian should be the runaway winner in Division V and they are led by one of the area's best in 5'6" sophomore guard Tiara Tucker who averages 25.8 points per game. As a matter of fact, if Brookside Christian was in Division I they would compete deep into the playoffs. This year, Brookside Christian has picked up wins over some of Sacramento's best teams in the likes of El Camino, St. Francis, and Monterey Trail, and they came up one point short against Sheldon.
Watch out for: Sac Waldorf
Prediction: Brookside Christian over Turlock Christian
Round 1 - February 21
(9) Big Valley Christian at (8) Vacaville Christian (winner players Brookside)
(12) Stone Ridge Christian at (5) Sac Waldorf (winner players No. 4 Cap Christ.)
(11) Denair at (6) Foresthill (winner players No. 3 Ripon Christian)
(10) Central Catholic at (7) Elliot Christian (winner plays at No. 2 Turlock Christ.)
Division VI:
Victory Christian is the No. 1 seed in what is a new division this year. They are 17-6 overall this season with some impressive performances against playoff teams from other brackets. They lost by only 10 and 3 in two games to D-IV San Juan. They also have wins over DV playoff teams like Foresthill, Elliot Christian, and Sac Waldorf. Laura Neville (12.9 pts/game) and Molly Huffman (11.0 pts/game) are go-to players for the Lady Vikings.
Watch out for: No. 3 Trinity Prep
Prediction: Victory Christian over Wilton Christian
Round 1 - Feb 21
(8) Valley Christian at (1) Victory Christian
(5) New Life Christian at (4) Faith Christian
(6) Sac Adventist at (3) Trinity Prep
(7) Lodi Academy at (2) Wilton Christian