Gabriel supplied the team’s early offense and finished with 18 points and a team-high seven rebounds in Brookside Christian’s 69-64 victory over Mission Prep-San Luis Obispo in the Division V Girls CIF State Basketball Championship at Power Balance Pavilion on Saturday. The Knights’ forward provided made 8-of-12 shots.
Gabriel supplied the team’s early offense and finished with 18 points and a team-high seven rebounds in Brookside Christian’s 69-64 victory over Mission Prep-San Luis Obispo in the Division V Girls CIF State Basketball Championship at Power Balance Pavilion on Saturday. The Knights’ forward provided made 8-of-12 shots.
SportStars: Did you expect to be as big a part of the offense in the state title game?
Ra’kyra Gabriel: Not really. We don’t plan for specific people to take more shots in a game. Everyone on the team looks for each other, and they happened to find me and got me the ball.
SSM: Did you imagine that you would be a state champion when the season began?
RG: From the beginning of the season, the whole team felt that if we worked hard we could do anything. We set high goals, but I never imagined that we would be here at the start of the season.
SSM: With a very young team and more talented players coming into the program next year, do you think that Brookside Christian can add more state titles in the future?
RG: I think that we can do it. Even though we won, we are all still thirsty. We still want the same thing and will work just as hard to get back here.
HONORABLE MENTION
Brianna Luna — The River City-West Sacramento senior runner set a school-record in the 800 meters at the Luther Burbank Invitational meet. She recorded a personal- and school-best 2:24.84 for her third entry in the River City record book.
Ben Ritchey — The Capital Christian-Sacramento junior pitcher tossed a five-inning no-hitter to shut out Lindhurst 10-0. The right-hander improved to 3-0 on the season and lowered his ERA to 0.47.
Kayla Fields — Roseville’s junior pitcher improved to 4-1 on the season with wins over area powers Woodcreek-Roseville and Del Oro-Loomis. Fields has a 1.31 ERA and has struck out 27 batters in her five starts.