A once-in-a-lifetime experience.
That's the way a smiling Trinity Washington described Roosevelt High's basketball season after the top-seeded Rough Riders pulled out a 63-56 victory over No. 4 Golden Valley to advance to the Central Section Division III final Saturday at Selland Arena.
Roosevelt will be making its first appearance in a section final when it plays No. 2 Porterville at 2 p.m.
"We've worked so hard and accomplished so much," said Washington, a junior guard.
Roosevelt takes a 27-2 record and 15-game winning streak into the final. The Rough Riders went 10-0 in the North Yosemite League, then beat No. 9 Arvin 75-55 in the quarterfinals.
"It's nice for the kids to raise the school up and have people say, 'Wow, Roosevelt's amazing,' " Roosevelt coach Mark Gradoville said.
It wasn't that long ago - just seven years - that Roosevelt experienced a 42-game losing streak. Gradoville inherited a 26-game losing streak when he took over in 2002.
"This is a great bunch of kids who understand their roles and do what they do for the team," Gradoville said. "We're quick and we play really hard. Teams stay with us for a while but we tend to wear them down."
The Rough Riders' starting five are solid, with senior guard Lashari Clayborne scoring a team-leading 23 points per game. Senior post Jonae Theus (14 ppg), Washington (9.0 assists per game), senior Vanessa Gomez (who plays all five positions and scored 24 in the semifinal win) and freshman guard Mahogany May (4.0 steals per game) round out the starters.
Porterville (28-1) beat No. 3 Hanford West 57-53 in the semis and No. 7 Tulare Western 57-34 in the quarterfinals. Senior forward Alex Shew leads the team with 18 points per game.
"I think we match up pretty good with them," Porterville coach Brian Hill said. "The kids are excited. It's good to be back. We're not really a bunch of stars. Everyone knows their role and they play as a team and that's about all that you can ask them to do."
Division I
No. 1 CLOVIS WEST (23-5) vs. No. 2 STOCKDALE (25-4), 6 p.m. Saturday
Recent playoff history: Golden Eagles - two-year reigning section champions. Mustangs - runner-up to Clovis West each of the past two seasons.
How they got here: Golden Eagles - ranked No. 11 in the state and No. 3 in Division I, went 10-0 to win the Tri-River Athletic Conference; beat No. 4 Bakersfield 69-44 in the semifinals and No. 8 Centennial 59-27 in the quarterfinals. Mustangs - went 12-0 to win the Southwest Yosemite League and have won 21 straight; beat No. 3 Edison 70-55 in the semis and No. 7 Bullard 60-26 in the quarters.
She will take last shot: Golden Eagles - Janae Coffee (18 ppg), Brianna Orlich (16 ppg) or Morgan Hatten (15 ppg). Mustangs - Jalei Kinder (15.4 ppg) or Melissa Sweat (12.6 ppg).
Division II
No. 1 HANFORD (24-4) vs. No. 2 GARCES (29-1), 6 p.m. today
Recent playoff history: Bullpups - making fourth straight final appearance; beat Yosemite for last year's title after losing to the Badgers in the previous two. Rams - beat Exeter in the Division IV final last year and lost in the second round of state; lost to Kingsburg in the D-IV semis two seasons ago.
How they got here: Bullpups - ranked No. 8 in the state and No. 3 in Division II, went 12-0 to win the West Yosemite League; beat No. 4 Yosemite 72-39 in the semifinals and No. 9 Sunnyside 65-22 in the quarterfinals. Rams - went 12-0 to win the Southeast Yosemite League and take a 25-game winning streak into the final; beat No. 3 Sanger 69-45 in the semis and No. 10 El Diamante 56-42 in the quarterfinals.
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