SAN DIEGO SECTION BASKETBALL : 1-A Girls : Calvin Christian Ready to Try Again

Frank Zuidema, Calvin Christian High School coach, may think he’s seeing a replay when he walks into the San Diego Sports Arena Saturday morning for the San Diego Section 1-A girls’ basketball championship game against Holtville.

Last year on the same court against the same team, the Crusaders lost, 45-39.

“I thought we realistically could have won it,” Zuidema said. “Last year, we had a better team overall. We just did not play a good game.”

As the opening game of six championship games, the 1-A girls’ contest usually is played before a handful of sleepy spectators in the 13,000-seat arena. Zuidema said this was part of the problem for his team last year.

“The intensity at 10:30 in the morning is definitely difficult to get up,” he said.

Whether Calvin Christian (19-4) can avoid that fate this year depends largely on center Mary Andringa and point guard Betsy Wilgenburg. Andringa, a 5-foot 9-inch senior, averaged 17 points and 17 rebounds a game and was named the Coastal League’s player of the year.

Mike Pacheco, Holtville coach, said his team should be used to playing in the arena, particularly because some members of his senior-dominated team are making their third appearance in the 1-A final.

Led by 5-9 senior Claudia Garcia and her twin sister, Claudina, at forward, Holtville (15-6) was the top defensive team in the Mountain-Desert League, holding opponents to an average of 34 points a game. Pacheco said that the Holtville defense will focus on stopping Andringa.

“If we can stop her on the offensive boards, we should be OK,” he said.