Girls’ basketball: Zion Gabriel of Eastside College Prep sets state record with eight threes

The CIF state championships in basketball began Friday morning at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento with quite an individual performance in the Division V girls’ championship game.

Sophomore Zion Gabriel of East Palo Alto Eastside College Prep made a state championship game record eight threes (even more than Klay Thompson did in 2008). She finished with 26 points in a 63-40 win over Rolling Hills Prep.

“It’s amazing to break and I feel a little overwhelmed,” she said.

Gabriel made eight threes in a game last January but to do so in an arena setting was impressive.

Rolling Hills Prep (32-4), which has six freshmen on its roster, received 12 points from Alyssa Maxey.

Coach Richard Masson said, “They did a great job shooting the ball. For us, it was a learning experience. Our youth showed. We’ll get better from our experience.”

Gabriel’s threes surpassed such former girls stars as Candice Wiggins and Kelsey Plum from La Jolla Country Day. They had five in championship games. The most by a girl was six by Marry Mott of San Luis Obispo Mission Prep in 1996.

Thompson, the Golden State Warriors’ All-Star guard, made his seven threes in a boys final for Santa Margarita in 2008.

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