It was a frantic last couple of weeks for local high school basketball teams. On Sunday afternoon, a half-dozen of them made it all worthwhile after the Sac-Joaquin Section announced its playoff brackets for all five divisions.
Turlock boys and girls, Pitman boys and girls, Hilmar boys and Turlock Christian girls all made the cut.
But it was the Turlock girls who had the most surprising move of all by locking the No. 8 position — the final spot to open a first-round game, which will take place Thursday — in Division I. The Bulldogs will play No. 9 Sheldon, a dangerous team that has won eight of the last nine games.
All first-round contests will start at 7 p.m.
Coach Salinda Mabie and her Turlock squad are looking to end their bad luck in the playoffs, as the Bulldogs have faltered in the first round of the past two seasons. It was believed that they were going to open on the road until McClatchy — a top eight seed before Sunday — lost Friday night to give the Bulldogs a home playoff game.
The Turlock girls’ counterparts had always been in position to open the postseason at Bulldog Arena. Now, it’s official. The No. 4 Turlock boys will welcome No. 13 Vintage on Friday.
The Pitman boys were one of the teams that had a frantic end to their season, losing four of their last six games. But the Pride managed to secure the No. 12 seed in Division II and will play at Jesuit in Carmichael on Wednesday. The final local boys team to qualify for the playoffs is Hilmar, which came up just short of a Western Athletic Conference title but owns the No. 7 seed in Division IV and will host Highlands on Wednesday.
As for the other girls teams, there was at least one unexpected switch. That was in Division V, where Turlock Christian slipped to No. 2 after holding down the top spot for three weeks and will play No. 15 Luthern at Calvary Baptist Gym on Tuesday. Two-time defending Section champion Bradshaw Christian is No. 1, meaning there’s a chance that the BC Pride and TC Eagles could meet at Arco Arena in Sacramento for the championship game.
Then there’s Pitman, the No. 12 seed in D-II and will travel to No. 5 Roseville on Tuesday to face No. 5 Woodcreek.
The regular season is done, but there seems to be more craziness left in the coming weeks.
To contact Chhun Sun, e-mail csun@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2041.