SoCalHoops High School News

CIF State Finals Division IV Girls Preview:
Sacred Heart v. Calvary Chapel--(March 19, 1999)

Girls State Championship Game--Division IV
9:15 a.m., Saturday, March 20 -Arco Arena
Sacramento California

Sacred Heart Prep of Atherton is back in the title game. The Gators won four straight from 1993-96 (two in Division I and two in Division V) and are looking for a fifth crown to move past Point Loma San Diego and Campolindo Moraga into second place for most state championship wins in the girls' field. The second seed in the northern regionals, Sacred Heart Prep beat St. Mary's of Stockton, 47-36, in the regional finals and enter the game with a
29-6 record. The Gators barely got past Holy Names of Oakland, 45-42 in overtime, in the regional semifinals. Ashley Hallsted led the way with 20 points and Courtney Laird contributed 10 in the regional final win for Sacred Heart Prep.

Calvary Chapel of Santa Ana makes its first trip to the state finals in basketball. Cathy Joens is the player to watch for Calvary Chapel. She had a monster game with 29 points and 12 rebounds in Calvary Chapel's, 46-43, regional final win over The Bishop School, La Jolla. In that game, the Eagles trailed 18-9 after the first quarter. Both schools have won two state titles in girls' volleyball, but never faced each other in the title game. Calvary Chapel's wrestling team has won five state championships.

Calvary Chapel won its first Southern Section IV-A title and has its sights set on its first state championship in girls' basketball. Cathy Joens leads a team that beat San Diego Horizon, Morro Bay and the Bishop's School to advance to the championship game.  Sacred Heart Prep has won four state titles. Ashley Halstead leads Sacred Heart Prep, a 47-36 winner over Stockton St. Mary's in the regional final. Halstead scored 20 points, and Courtney Laird had 12 points and 12 rebounds in the victory.

Here are the rosters:

Dave Osterman of the Orange County Register, who regularly covers the Eagles, wrote a preview of the game in today's edition of the paper.   Here's some of what he had to say, and like his story about Kate Ides of Brea Olinda, this one focuses pretty much on one of the key players for Calvary Chapel, Marcene Guerrero:

Marcene Guerrero is always looking for the hot hand.   The point guard for the Calvary Chapel girls basketball team has been looking for those hands the past three months as she helped the Eagles reach their goals of an Olympic League and CIF Southern Section title.  She'll be looking for it again Saturday morning when the Eagles (28-5) play Sacred Heart of Atherton (29-6) for the CIF State Division IV championship at Arco Arena in Sacramento. "That's my role on this team," says Guerrero, who transfered from Valley Christian of Cerritos last summer. "To do what Coach Russ (McClurg) says and get everyone involved in the offense. "I have to get the ball to the player with the hot hand or, if neccessary, make the play myself. I need to get everything to flow"

It's a role she relishes, one she's played for two years as a starter for Valley Christian. She helped the Crusaders reach the Section finals both seasons. But Guerrero said finances forced her to transfer last summer. "My family couldn't afford Valley Christian anymore and we were looking for a (private) school that was close to what Valley Christian offered," Guerrero said. She used the CIF's open transfer rule to change schools over the summer and hasn't regretted the change.

After finding the hands of such Valley Christian stars as All-CIF selections Candi Taylor and Monique Toney the past two seasons, Guerrero has been feeding the ball to Cathy Joens this season. Joens, a 5-10 senior who has signed with George Washington, is the heart of Calvary's team. She averages 18 points and can take control of the game, as she did last week in the Southern California Regional final against the Bishop's School of La Jolla, scoring 29 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in a 46-43 victory. 

But Guerrero, who averages 10.1 points and 4.3 assists, can control a game as well, as she did during a 63-52 victory over
Morro Bay last Thursday. Guerrero finished with 14 points and six assists in that game, mostly in the first half when the Eagles opened a big lead.  McClurg has come to expect such performances from a player he considers almost a coach on the floor.   "She might have the most important job on the team," McClurg said. "She has to bring the ball up under pressure and make the right decisions about what to run (on offense). "She has speed to work the press and the ability to see the entire court."

That will be tested Saturday morning against a Sacred Heart team that has lived on defensive pressure. The Gators have held 27 opponents to less than 40 points this year, using a full-court, man-to-man pressure that tests the ball-handling skills of opposing guards.

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