Girls Basketball Playoffs: El Camino Stunned By River City

With about 30 seconds left in their girls second-round CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoff game and tied at 48, it came down to one possession for and River City.

The Raiders had possession and got the ball to junior power forward Katie King who took a desperation three-point attempt with two seconds left but drew a foul on the Eagles defense.

King then made two clutch free throws and El Camino came up short after a Hail Mary pass downcourt as River City (27-2), the No. 7 seed in Division II, shocked the No. 2 Eagles (24-5) on their home court 50-48.

"We had a great season but that last foul call on us was a killer," El Camino coach Rich Drawbert said as some of his players cried in disbelief. "I felt that (King) flopped but that was a killer shot (attempt)."

King, who finished with 24 points after scoring 11 of River City's 12 points in the first quarter, was a force all night long.

"We have the utmost respect for (El Camino's) program," said Raiders coach Jamie King, who is Katie's father and coached for two seasons at EC under Eagles legend Bill Baxter. "Our kids knew how good they are but we showed a lot of heart and we continued to fight."

It was the biggest win for girls basketball in River City's history, as it was only the second playoff win ever for the West Sacramento school. The first came Tuesday.

On Thursday, El Camino controlled the first half, in which both teams played sloppy. After missing layups to start the second half, River City became more agressive, holding the Eagles to six points in the third quarter.

The Raiders were tenacious on their inbound defense against El Camino and the final minute was the most thrilling.

Eagles senior Alexis Haffner (11 points) made a three-point shot to put her team up by as many with just over a minute to play. Then Raiders sophomore guard Carmen Garcia (9) made a free throw following a foul on a made shot to tie it at 48 with 47 seconds left.

El Camino then gave it back to River City for the final winning possession.

Senior Jade Sowell-Hundon led the Eagles with 13 points.

In other Carmichael-area girls playoff action Thursday, earned a spot in the Division VI championship with a 53-29 win over Faith Christian of Yuba City, thanks to junior guard-forward Molly Huffman's 28 points.

The Vikings will face Wilton Christian on Thursday in Galt after the Patriots beat 52-35.

In local tonight, hosts Kennedy in Division I and in D-VI hosts Brookside Christian of Stockton and Sacramento Adventist welcomes in Lodi Academy.

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GIRLS BASKETBALL SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION PLAYOFFS SECOND ROUND
DIVISION II
RIVER CITY 50, EL CAMINO 48
River City 12 9 12 17 – 50
El Camino 16 11 6 15 – 48
... RC–Ligons 1, Garcia 9, Tyler 3, Brantley 3, Torres 7, Greer 1, Kumar 2, King 24. EC–Brignac 7, Price 4, Bernardo 2, Haffner 11, Sowell-Hundon 13, Beard 3, Sheppard 8.
DIVISION VI
VICTORY CHRISTIAN 53, FAITH CHRISTIAN 29
Faith Christian 10 7 7 5 – 29
Victory Christian 8 14 14 17 – 53
FC–Helm 2, Jimenez 9, Arnold 5, Taylor 6, Hendricks 7. VC–Huffman 28, Furtado 7, Potts 2, Nolan 2, Frentzen 4, Neville 10.
WILTON CHRISTIAN 52, SACRAMENTO ADVENTIST 35
Wilton Christian 12 20 10 10 – 52
Sacramento Adventist 4 9 13 9 – 35
WC–Jeffcott 27, Jones 2, Brown 10, Welch 8, Meister 5. SA–Oliver 19, Then 8, Harrington 2, Jewett 4, Cartwright 2.
THURSDAY'S FINAL
DIVISION VI At Galt High School, 6 p.m.
No. 1 Victory Christian vs. No. 2 Wilton Christian