Girls basketball: Magnolia already running at fastbreak speed

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Magnolia was scheduled to catch a plane to Sacramento Friday morning at 5:30 a.m., as the most hectic week in the girls’ basketball program’s existence finally heads toward a conclusion.

Since beating Muir, 40-39, in the Southern California Regional final last Saturday, the team got a day off on Monday, but has been pulled in every direction since.

There was the media and the story in the Orange County Register about seniors Brittany Pennell, Jhakia McDonald and P.J. Hanson. There were the hundreds of text messages and congratulatory phone calls. The pats on the back, well-wishers at school, the one giant experience of a lifetime.

Magnolia (27-6) plays for the State Division III championship against the top-ranked team in the country, San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral (32-0), at 1 p.m. Saturday in Arco Arena.

‘Everybody wants your time and attention,’ Coach Michael Anderson said. ‘You’re going 100 mph. I’ve never slept less in my life. I told the girls, ‘We’re trying to win the state title, it’s not a field trip.’ And then, they made me hand out field trip request cards because we’re missing a day of school on Friday.

‘The schedule has been overwhelming, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Magnolia. We’re not a Brea or a Troy.’

In the two seasons before this year’s senior class arrived, Magnolia had gone 7-39. This class with Anderson has won 88.

Anderson has been on the phone with Long Beach Poly Coach Carl Buggs (two state titles) and Bishop Amat Coach Richard Wiard (three state titles), seeking the advice of experts in how to deal with the experience and what to expect. Anderson has broken down five videos he scraped together of Sacred Heart, assembled scouting reports, made an itinerary. Oh, and he still had classes to teach.

The team will acclimate itself to Arco Arena and the championship environment today, and get in one final practice before it tries to pull off the upset of the weekend.

‘Most people seem to be excited and happy, not only because we’re there, but because we have a good chance of making the game realistically close,’ said Anderson, whose team’s strength is its defense. ‘I believe we have a chance to win the game and have no reason to think that we can’t.’

-- Martin Henderson