Three Fresno-area high school basketball teams are headed to the CIF State Championships, setting up a big weekend for the Central Section at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center.
Clovis (Division I girls), San Joaquin Memorial (Division II boys) and Sierra Pacific (Division II girls) each won regional finals to earn a chance to play for state titles.
Division I girls
Northern California’s top-seeded No. 6 Clovis quickly took care of business, jumping out to a 21-10 first-quarter lead and rolling to a 76-59 victory over Central East in front of a packed gym.
The Cougars were led by Milly Rojas, who knocked down nine 3-pointers and finished with 29 points.
Clovis went 4-0 against the Bengals this season.
The Cougars will face Centennial-Corona for the state championship at 6 p.m. Friday at the Golden 1 Center.
Division II boys
San Joaquin Memorial’s slow start didn’t last long.
Northern California’s top-seeded No. 6 Panthers turned things around quickly, pulling away for a 74-44 victory over Oakland Tech.
The win sends Memorial into a state championship matchup with Southern California’s No. 3 seed Bakersfield Christian in a rematch of the Central Section playoffs.
Memorial dominated from the second quarter onward and proved too athletic for the Bulldogs.
Sajjin Sidhu led the Panthers with 20 points.
Memorial lost to Bakersfield Christian 61-59 in the Central Section Division I quarterfinals.
Tip-off for the state title game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday.
Division II girls
First came the Central Section Division II championship. Now Sierra Pacific will try to add a CIF state title.
Northern California’s No. 2-seeded Golden Bears gutted out a 66-62 victory over No. 4 Oakland Tech to advance to the championship game.
Sierra Pacific will face Southern California’s No. 2 seed St. Joseph at 2 p.m. Saturday.
The Golden Bears have put together an impressive postseason run, first capturing a section title and now advancing through the state playoffs.
Now they’ll try to cap the journey with a state championship.
Other results
The night didn’t go as planned for several other Central Section teams hoping to reach the state finals.
In the girls Open Division, No. 2 Clovis West fell to No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 71-42.
In boys action, No. 1 Tulare lost to No. 3 San Juan Hills 74-66 in the Southern California regional, while Coalinga — the No. 1 seed in Southern California’s Division V bracket — lost to No. 2 Sylmar 66-58.
This story was originally published March 10, 2026 at 9:37 PM.
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Anthony Galaviz writes about sports for The Fresno Bee. He covers the Las Vegas Raiders, high schools, boxing, MMA and junior colleges. He’s been with The Bee since 1997 and attended Fresno City College before graduating from Fresno State with a major in journalism and a minor in criminology.
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