Ridgeview High's Erica McCall drives on Lynwood High during third quarter action in Ontario.
ZACH EWING, bakersfieldcalifornian.com, March 16, 2013
Erica McCall came off the court crying but clapping. Ridgeview High coaches shared a solemn hug in a hallway in the depths of Citizens Business Bank Arena but emerged with smiles. The Wolf Pack crowd, subdued for most of the day, cheered loudly at the end.
Defeated but proud, Ridgeview's girls basketball team had that kind of a bittersweet day.
Lynwood beat Ridgeview 60-42 on Saturday morning in the CIF Division II Southern California Championship in a game that was decided in the first half. Still, the Wolf Pack (29-4) ends its season as the first girls basketball team from Bakersfield to reach a regional final.
"Being at Ridgeview has been four great years, and I'm proud of my teammates," said McCall, the Gatorade State Player of the Year who played her final high school game. "We have nothing to hang our heads about."
McCall, a McDonald's All-American finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks, and extended her state-record blocks totals to 278 for a single season and 950 for a career, according to the CalHiSports record book. She'll play for Stanford next season.
But after beating Riverside-J.W. North -- a team that played Lynwood close in the Southern Section final -- handily on Tuesday, Ridgeview never really gave itself a chance in this one, shooting just 27 percent (15-of-56), committing 22 turnovers and falling behind 36-14 at halftime. But in the end, the Wolf Pack was OK with that.
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