GIRLS’ BASKETBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS : Basketball School in Session : Tournament: Sacramento El Camino has been to State final before, and wants everyone to know it.

Woodbridge probably thought it had seen the last of Sacramento El Camino last March. All of El Camino’s starters graduated from the team that dismantled the Warriors, 71-38, in the Division II girls’ State title game at Oakland Coliseum Arena.

So what is El Camino doing back in the State final against Woodbridge? El Camino Coach Bill Baxter said the same questions are asked every basketball season about Duke (well, maybe not this year) and Mater Dei.

“How did we get here?” Baxter asked. “We’re a basketball school. This is what we do. When we make out our schedule, we put the playoffs, the section playoffs, the regional playoffs and the State playoffs on it. We expect to be here.”

Baxter has been to the Northern California finals four of the last five seasons. To reach the State finals this year, El Camino had to rally to beat Pleasanton Amador Valley in the Northern California final.

Down nine points with 5 1/2 minutes to play, El Camino went on a 13-1 run and wound up winning, 59-56.

“We just wore them down,” Baxter said.

The Eagles have worn teams down this year with their depth and their quickness, not their size and strength. Except for the Amador Valley game, El Camino (32-2) won all its playoff games by at least 20 points. The Eagles’ only losses came against Capital Athletic League rival Sacramento Del Campo. They average 76 points and have seven players who made more than 20 three-pointers.

They are led by three transfers--junior guards Antoinette Polk (13 points, seven rebounds, 5.5 assists) and Elisha Polk (eight points, eight rebounds), who came from Sacramento St. Francis and senior guard Courtney Horner (13 points, three rebounds), who arrived from Folsom.

Horner, who is being recruited by Arizona State, has made 85 of her team’s 190 three-pointers.

Starting point guard Lisa McGargill, a reserve last year, averages four points and forwards Lynzi Taylor, a 6 foot junior, and Nikki Wagner, a 5-10 senior, are up from last year’s undefeated junior varsity team.

Elisha Polk is one of seven reserves who play significant minutes. Taylor and reserve Deanna Wynn are El Camino’s only six-footers. Woodbridge has 6-4 Angela Burgess, 6-1 Melanie Peterson and 6-1 Erin Conley.

“I’m not sure we’re as big as their forwards,” Baxter said.

But Baxter is hopeful that Woodbridge’s size will not be the determining factor.

“We have to play our style . . . fast break, up-tempo and press,” he said. “We can’t play half-court and it wouldn’t work even if we tried to.

“Burgess’ size is a problem to us. In a half-court game, it’s a huge problem. In a full-court game, it’s not a problem.”

Another problem could be experience. Woodbridge returns four starters, El Camino returns only two of its first 10 players. Its biggest losses were Emily Hart, a 6-4 center, who plays for Loyola Marymount and shooting guard Kristen Niemann, the state Division II player of the year, who scored 21 against Woodbridge last year and now plays at Oregon.

“Last year’s team only lost two games in high school,” Baxter said. “This team doesn’t have that experience, but they’re probably more athletic.

“Woodbridge has that experience. We went out last year in the finals and it was like a bunch of kids playing in their own gym. We lit it up. If that’s what experience does for you, I wish we had more of it.”

Baxter said he’s expecting a close game.

“I think they have a tremendous team,” he said. “They were a great team last year. They play tough teams all year. I expected a close game last year. I didn’t expect to blow anybody out, but we played extremely well.”