SACRAMENTO — Delaney Shiring, a 5-foot-10 senior at El Dorado High, kept delivering clutch baskets when her team needed them most during a nerve-racking second half that enabled the Golden Hawks to win their first state girls’ basketball championship with a 42-40 win over San José Valley Christian in the Division III final on Friday at Golden 1 Center.
“It’s amazing,” said Shiring, who finished with 15 points and six rebounds. “It’s meant to be. Everything is so historic. We bought into those big moments.”
El Dorado (24-14) appeared to have a comfortable nine-point lead midway through the third quarter when Kenedi Nomura, who scored 18 points, helped ignite a Valley Christian rally. A basket by Shiring near the end of the quarter ended a 5-0 Warriors run.
Shiring’s biggest basket came with 47 seconds left for a 41-38 lead. The lead dropped to 41-40 with 38 seconds left on a basket by Anaya Bannarbie. Then Riley Morikawa made one of two free throws with 13.1 seconds left for a two-point advantage. Valley Christian never got off a potential tying shot.
“They had some really good defenders,” Shiring said. “I really focus in big moments when the shot matters.”
El Dorado made the Southern Section playoffs as an at-large team before surging in the postseason under coach Matt Raya, winning a Division 4 section title and Division III regional title.
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