MCARTHUR — The girls basketball team that ended Upper Lake High School’s 29-3 season, the Bret Harte Bullfrogs of Angels Camp, advanced to the state championship game Tuesday night by upsetting No. 1 seed Fall River High School 58-57 in the NorCal Division 5 finals at Fall River High School in McArthur.
No. 3 seed Bret Harte eliminated No. 6 Upper Lake in the NorCal quarterfinals last week with a 49-24 win at Angels Camp. The Cougars actually held a 15-8 lead after one quarter and were tied 19-19 at halftime with the the Bullfrogs before they came storming back for the easy win, including holding Upper Lake without a basket in the second half.
The Bullfrogs (25-7) play Marina (21-15) of Huntington Beach in the CIF Division 5 championship Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Marina, the No. 8 seed in the SoCal Regionals, upset No. 2 San Pedro 51-43 on Tuesday to reach the state finals. Marina also beat No. 1 seed Gahr 49-33 in the SoCal quarterfinal round.
After defeating Upper Lake in the NorCal quarterfinals, Bret Harte knocked off Valley Christian (Roseville) in the semifinals, avenging a 71-65 loss to the same team in the Sac-San Joaquin Section Division 5 championship game.
While Upper Lake was unable to advance past the NorCal quarterfinals, the Cougars did tie the school record and Lake County record for most wins in a single season, a mark they now share with the 1993-94 Upper Lake girls team. Should Bret Harte go on to beat Marina for the state title, it will mark the second season in a row that Upper Lake’s final game was a loss to the team that went on to win the state championship. A year ago it came to Branson School of Ross in the sectional quarterfinals.
