Carondelet beats Sage Hill for California (CIF) Division 1 high school girls basketball championship

Despite 21 points from Kobe Bryant pupil Amalia Hoguin, Sage Hill can't overcome the balance, defense and clutch free-throw shooting of the Cougars

Carondelet junior Oliva Smith goes up for a deuce in a 51-48 win over Sage Hill for the CIF State Division 1 championship Friday at the Golden 1 Center. / Photo: Dennis Lee

SACRAMENTO — The high school girls basketball team at Carondelet turned house money into a state championship hand.

The North Coast Section power, coached by highly successful Kelly Sopak, defeated Sage Hill of Newport Beach 51-48 for the California (CIF) Division 1 championship at Golden 1 Center, home of the NBA's Sacramento Kings.

With just one senior on their roster, the Cougars used remarkable balance, defense and clutch free-throw shooting to beat the Southern California champions.

Celeste Alvarez, a 6-foot-1 sophomore, scored a team-high 11 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and hit a key three-pointer in the fourth quarter to lift the Cougars (30-6) to the unlikely title.

Carondelet sophomore Celeste Alvarez scored a team-high 11 points in her team's 51-48 win over Sage Hill Friday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento / Photo: Dennis Lee

It was especially so for Sopak, who surprassed 500 wins this season, founded the Cal Stars AAU program and coached Sabrina Ionescu at Miramonte where he won more than 300 games, but never a state title. Seven players for the Cougars scored at least five points, lifting them to their second title in school history, the previous one in 2004 when future WNBA player Jayne Appel led the way.

"I told the team they have a chance to leave a legacy that will last for the rest of their lives," Sopak said. "They'll put up a banner in the gym and they'll be considered one of the greatest teams in school history."

Sage Hill, with just two seniors, was led by 6-1 junior guard Amalia Hoguin (21 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists), the last of a group of Lightning players coached by the late Kobe Bryant. She led Sage Hill back from an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit with a pair of three-pointers and an assist to take a 48-47 lead with 1:03 left.

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But Layla Dixon and Olivia Smith each swished two free throws down the stretch and the Cougars' tight, swarming defense did the rest. Sage Hill, which got 13 points from sophomore Kamdyn Klamberg, finished 23-12.

Asked what Kobe Bryant would have taken from such a loss, Hoguin said: "After every win or loss there's a lesson to be learned," Holguin said. "You need to always look in the mirror and never sulk in the past but look toward the future."

Sage Hill junior Amalia Holguin with one of four three-pointers en route to a game-high 21 points / Photo: Dennis Lee

Carondelet celebrates after Sage Hill's last chance misses / Photo: Dennis Lee

Carondelet celebrate after its 51-48 win over Sage Hill for the CIF State Division 3 girls championship at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento / Photo: Dennis Lee