SACRAMENTO — When 6-foot-7 Sydney Douglas returned from a finger injury just before the postseason began after missing 11 games, Corona Centennial put everyone on notice that a championship was possible. It happened on Friday night with a 73-66 win over Clovis in the girls’ Division I state championship game at Golden 1 Center.
Douglas finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, joined by McDonald’s All-American Cydnee Bryant, who had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Armanyie Reed scored a career-high 25 points. Centennial made 18 of 19 free throws and somehow held off a Clovis team that was 11 for 21 from three-point range, including a Division I-record seven threes from Yazmin Aguilera, who finished with 21 points.
“She makes a huge difference,” Bryant said of Douglas.
Douglas credited Reed for making an even bigger impact. “She played amazing,” Douglas said.
Clovis coach Cooper Steele said his team had to be aggressive with Centennial’s size, so the free throws the Huskies made were something that couldn’t be deterred.
“That’s amazing,” he said of missing one the entire game. “Hats off to them. You have to be physical with their big girls.”
Bryant, a 6-4 center headed to Kansas to play basketball and volleyball, was set to leave on an 11 p.m. flight to Philadelphia to play in a volleyball tournament. Her brother, Carter, plays in the NBA.
“I’m going to Kansas with a state title and a ring on my finger,” she said.
Said Centennial coach Matt Tumambing: “We have two of the best bigs in the country. If I’m having the worst coaching night, these two will make me look good.”
Aguilera made her first three with a men’s basketball before officials discovered the error with 6:16 left in the first quarter and switched to the smaller women’s basketball.
As for continuing to play basketball and volleyball, Bryant said, “Probably in 20 years I’ll look at it as crazy. Right now, I’m loving it.”
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