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TC girls get second chance at state tournament
TC girls
McCalister Russell (left) and Meghan Mark (right) are seen here during the winding seconds of last weeks Section title game loss to Sacramento Waldorf. - photo by DIE RUIZ/The Journal

For the Turlock Christian varsity girls’ basketball team the Division-VI Sac-Joaquin section title game last Thursday might have seemed like the final game. Instead, a second place finish in the Sac Joaquin Section finale guaranteed the Eagles an opportunity to continue their season after the contest no matter what the outcome resulted in.

The Eagles lost to Sacramento Waldorf, 59-51, Thursday, marking the third straight year the team has lost a section title game.

But just minutes after the game, Coach Edwin Santiago took the time to have a few words with her team.

“We expressed it as a new beginning,” said Santiago. “We closed the goal of sections and now we are up for a new beginning, a new thing and an opportunity to move forward on our journey and hoping for best efforts so we will go over some things and maybe learn from now to game time.”

Santiago and his team are now ready for the next chapter and trying to improve off a 19 of 94 (20 percent) shooting night in the title game. From the free throw line, TC made only 13 of 36 and shot 0 of 20 from the three-point line.

“One of the things we can work on is free throws and shooting from the outside and I think we can definitely gain on the numbers and we will focus on those objectives,” said Santiago.

The Eagles will take on No. 2 Contra Costa Christian in the first round of the NorCal D-VI tournament, a team that Santiago knows nothing about, except that their current record stands at 22-7.

“We will get some insight on Contra Costa hopefully soon, but they don't put up stats so we don't know much about them,” said Santiago.

CCC also lost to St. Bernards, the state brackets No. 1 team, in the NCS/LES Schwab tires Championship, 65-25.

“It might be a bit nerve wracking because there is no scouting or nothing or nobody to speak from about it so I know nothing about them at this time,” said Santiago. “The people I have called have yet to get back to me with any information.”

TC will take on Contra Costa Christian at Ygnacio High School in Concord at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

“We are always trying to get our mojo back and we want to improve on our last performance and we will work on those areas and we hope to improve and give as good of an effort,” Santiago added. “We got the approach to overcome a tough team and not allow anyone to go in negative, but with a positive and can do attitude and go from there.”