Hot shooting carries Caruthers to Division V girls’ championship

It was a helpless feeling for Riverside Ramona coach Brandon Fletcher as he attempted just about everything trying to cool off Caruthers in the first half on Friday in the CIF state championship Division V girls’ basketball final at Golden 1 Center.

Caruthers made 12 of its first 15 shots and was five of five from three-point range in an NBA arena.

“That was maybe one of the most perfect halves of basketball I’ve seen,” Fletcher said.

The Blue Raiders built a 42-11 lead at halftime and cruised to a 62-38 victory. Caruthers, located 15 miles south of Fresno, brought more than 250 students to the game in a caravan on charter buses.

“It’s a big deal,” coach Anna Almeida said. “Our community rallies around kids.”

Lizbeth Garcia led Ramona (23-13) with 15 points, including four threes. Ramona outscored Caruthers 27-20 in the second half.

“This group has been an absolute joy to coach,” Fletcher said. “The end result doesn’t define our journey. In the second half we talked about representing ourselves well, and we did.”

Said Garcia: “It was really a great experience to play one last game after all we’ve done.”

Jaque Magana scored 13 points and Felicia Ramirez 12 for Caruthers (32-4), which left town last Sunday for the regional final in Eureka and has been on the road ever since.

“I’ve been babysitting 19 children since Sunday. I’m exhausted,” Almeida said.

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