Faith Christian sophomore guard Presley Berry (21) blocks a shot from Sacramento Adventist sophomore guard Gwen Rosich (3) in the Lady Lions 54-49 defeat in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI final at UC Davis on Friday, February 23. Photo by Steven Bryla

DAVIS, CA (MPG) - The third time ended up being the charm for the Sacramento Adventist Lady Capitals as they defeated the Faith Christian Lady Lions 54-49 in the Division VI final of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs on Friday, February 23.

This was the second consecutive trip to the SJS D-VI final for Faith Christian after they came into the final on a nine-game winning streak that began with a victory over the Lady Capitals on Jan. 23.

The Lady Lions have a young 1-2 punch of sophomore guards in Lauren Harris and Presley Berry and they are the captains of the team. 

Faith Christian sophomore guard Lauren Harris (5) stretches out for a rebound in the Lady Lions loss to Sacramento Adventist on Friday, February 23, at UC Davis for the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI final. Photo by Chris Pedigo

With playing a Sacramento Metropolitan Athletic League opponent for the third time this season, the two teams knew the strengths and weaknesses of each another, and the victor was going to be the team that executed better.

Following the Faith Christian 73-38 victory over Stone Ridge Christian in the semifinal on Tuesday, February 20, Harris and Berry expressed to the Dispatch that they needed to clean up on boxing-out for rebounding but mainly to leave it all out on the floor in the final.

Faith Christian sophomore guard Lauren Harris (5) attempts a three-pointer in the Lady Lions 54-49 loss to Sacramento Adventist on Friday, February 23, in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI final at UC Davis. Photo by Chris Pedigo

In the game against Sacramento Adventist, Faith Christian outrebounded the Lady Capitals 49-35 and Berry had her second 20-plus rebounding game in a row as she led the game with 20 rebounds in the loss.

In the first quarter, the physicality both teams displayed was electric and it was a defensive first quarter where it was tied at 10 to finish the opening quarter.

In the two previous games between the Lady Capitals this year, the Lady Lions had double-digit leads at the half and were able to hold off strong second half pushes in an attempt for comebacks.

Faith Christian sophomore guard Lauren Harris (5) attempts a layup with her left in the Lady Lions 54-49 defeat to Sacramento Adventist in the Division VI final of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs on Friday, February 23. Photo by Chris Pedigo

One of the biggest strengths for Sacramento Adventist in the game on Feb. 23 was how they stretched the floor and opened up space along the perimeter.

Although the Lady Capitals shot less than 25% from the floor in the first half, they stayed in the game by making six three-point shots and went into the locker room at halftime tied with Faith Christian at 26.

The Lady Lions were led by Harris with 15 and Berry’s seven points in the first half. Harris would finish the game with a game-high 28 points and contributed nine rebounds and four assists.

Berry had a double-double in the game with her 20 rebounds, 11 points and added five monstrous blocks.

The third quarter was another tight one as the two teams wouldn’t give one another any sort of breathing room and kept the hair standing up on their arms as the third quarter ended with Faith Christian entering the fourth quarter with a one-point lead.

Sacramento Adventist continued to spread the floor with good ball movement in the final quarter and were successful with making more three pointers that would eventually be the daggers in the closing minutes. 

The Lady Lions went 3-for-18 from behind the arc in the game and they made them all in the first half. Faith Christian had a five-game win streak over the Lady Capitals before the loss in the SJS D-VI final.

Lady Lions Head Coach Geoff Harris told the Dispatch that the girls learned that nothing is guaranteed. Geoff added that he challenged his team to use the lessons they learned from losing the battle to help them win the war (state playoffs).

Faith Christian freshman guard Mia Bryan (11) receives a pass inside from sophomore guard Lauren Harris (5) and puts up a shot in the Lady Lions 54-49 defeat to Sacramento Adventist on Friday, February 23. Photo by Chris Pedigo

Faith Christian still qualified for the CIF State Playoffs and were placed in the Division VI bracket as the No. 5 seed where they traveled to play at San Francisco Waldorf this past Wednesday evening.

Geoff expressed to the Dispatch that he is proud of the progress they have made throughout the year, but they are not ready to be done yet.

“We want to send our seniors off playing at our peak potential,” Geoff said. The Lady Lions’ two seniors on the roster are forwards Carleigh McCracken and Hannah Bliss.

Geoff told the Dispatch that he is confident in his team and the ability they have to compete in the NorCal playoffs that began this week.  Faith Christian made it to the CIF Division VI NorCal semifinals last season before they were eliminated from the state playoffs.