SACRAMENTO — Arco Arena is an intimidating environment for any teenager. The bright lights, the thousands of seats available and the fact that NBA players regularly step onto the polished floor all make for a unique experience.
Try playing there.
The Turlock Christian High girls basketball team got that privilege Friday afternoon, when the Eagles faced top-seeded Bradshaw Christian High — which makes annual visits to the arena — in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V championship game and found themselves stumbling for most of the 32 minutes with many turnovers and missed opportunities in a 67-25 thumping. It was the first time the Eagles made such a trip.
“In the beginning, we had major nerves,” Turlock Christian guard Molly Farrar said. “I know I was nervous.”
Bradshaw Christian, now the three-time Section champion, started off slow and had a 14-8 lead after the first quarter. But then, the buckets came almost automatically with the BC Pride ahead 36-11 at halftime after a bevy of 3-pointers, three-point plays and second-chance points.
Three players reached double figures for Bradshaw Christian (22-8), with freshman Ashlee Jones leading all scorers with 20 points. Cheyenne Williams — headed to San Diego next season — contributed with 11 points, followed by a 10-point night from Jordie Smith for a dominant showcase.
But the game should have an asterisk next to it, considering the Eagles were without Halie Bergman, the freshman guard who averaged nearly Turlock Christian’s total on Friday before she went down with a season-ending injury early in the regular season. The freshman was healthy when the Eagles suffered a close 56-47 loss to the BC Pride in the West Coast Jamboree, a tournament that draws the best teams in the state.
Bergman was on the sidelines, wearing the Turlock Christian warm-ups and knowing she was unable to help her teammates because of a torn ACL. She watched the Eagles struggle, as they compiled 28 turnovers to BC Pride’s 17 and shot 8-for-47 from the field. Farrar, who said she and her teammates calmed their nerves after the opening minutes, led Turlock Christian with nine points with the second-best scorers finishing with three points apiece (Amy Wright and Rebekah Muller).
Everyone played except for Bergman.
“We worked real hard to get here,” Eagles coach Edwin Santiago said. “It’s just icing on the cake. It was the accumulation of a long season. It wasn’t the only game we played this year. To be able to say we played at Arco, it’s very satisfying. We didn’t come here to lose. I’m not saying that.
“We just got beat by a very good team.”
The Eagles (26-5) have at least one more game left, as they will play in the NorCal Championships starting Tuesday night. The seedings and brackets are scheduled to be released Sunday.
To contact Chhun Sun, e-mail csun@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2041.