SACRAMENTO — Not many will forget the NBA-range three-pointer that Gabbie Gascon made to give Argonaut the lead en route to a 45-37. Victory over El Dorado in Thursday’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV girls basketball final at the Golden 1 Center.
What’s likely to be forgotten over the ravages of time, however, is what happened on the Mustangs’ next possession.
Holding a one-point advantage after Gason’s shot — the Mustangs had fallen behind after leading much of the game — Argonaut delivered a stop on the defensive end of the floor, but misfired on its next attempt.
Nevertheless, junior Lauryn Bierman outmuscled her opponent for a key offensive rebound, then flipped the ball into the basket to make it a more comfortable three-point cushion in a game that was tight from start to finish.
“Since we’re a shorter a team we have to work especially hard under the baskets,” said Bierman. “And I was like, ‘I have to get the momentum up for the team.’ And just for myself, it feels good to be able to get up there and get the ball and put it back.”
Bierman finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds
“She plays so big in the paint … and she’s not big,” said Argonaut assistant Roots. “This isn’t the first game that she’s done that in. She’s pulled down a lot of boards that have been, really, momentum game-changers that, we keep a ball that they should’ve had, and they know it … it can be compounding for the other team.”
Gascon finished with 11 points, finishing the final two and half minutes with the three-pointer and a pair of free throws.
“My offense comes on fire and when it clicks, it clicks,” said Gascon, who was a member of last year’s championship team as a freshman. “And I was waiting for that click. I was waiting to hit that shot. I was waiting. I was ready.”
The section banner is the third in the last four years for the Mustangs, who have reached the section championship game every year since 2016.
BOYS
Division VI
No. 1 Ripon Christian 73, No. 2 Stockton Christian 56
Division IV
No. 1 Sonora 70, No. 3 Liberty Ranch 57
GIRLS
Division IV
No. 1 Argonaut 45, No. 2 El Dorado 37
BOYS
Division III
No. 2 Central Catholic vs. No. 1 Vanden, 4 p.m.
GIRLS
Division III
No. 5 Merced vs. No. 2 Christian Brothers, 2 p.m.
