GIRLS DIVISION I STATE FINAL: CARONDELET VS. SAGE HILL-NEWPORT BEACH

Records: Carondelet 29-6, Sage Hill 23-11

Tipoff: Friday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, 6 p.m. 

Storylines: After coming within a last-second shot by Bishop O’Dowd last season from making it to Sacramento, Carondelet broke through and will be playing at the Golden 1 Center after defeating St. Mary’s-Stockton on Tuesday. … The Concord school is appearing in its fifth state title game and its first since former coach Margaret Gartner led the Cougars to four finals in the 2000s. … Carondelet’s only win was in 2004 against Troy-Fullerton in D-II. … Sage Hill won the D-II state title in 2022. … Carondelet is the seventh consecutive Bay Area team to reach the D-I final. … The Cougars’ top player is versatile 6-foot-2 forward Layla Dixon, who can defend any position while passing, scoring and shooting at a high level. … Complementing her in the Cougar backcourt is guard Sophia Ross, a high-volume shooter who is also capable of breaking down a defense off the dribble.  Forward Niylah Christopher has established herself as a reliable scoring option and inside presence despite being a 5-9 freshman. … Celeste Alvarez and Olivia Smith bring more athleticism and hard-nosed defense to Carondelet’s front line. ..  Carondelet was seeded No. 3 in the NorCal Division I bracket and avenged its loss to O’Dowd in the quarterfinals before eliminating Cardinal Newman and St. Mary’s. … Sage Hill took its licks against SoCal’s powerhouses. But the Newport Beach school capitalized on being seeded second in the SoCal Division I regional and beat Windward in the final. … Sage Hill is led by sophomore guard Amalia Holguin, who is the last of the “Mamba 5,” a group of Sage Hill players trained by the late Kobe Bryant. The other four are now playing college basketball.

– Joseph Dycus

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