A year ago, the Ripon Christian girls basketball team defeated Forest Lake Christian to win the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI crown.
This time around, the No. 4-seeded Knights were beaten by the Falcons in the rematch, losing to the top team in D-VI on the road Tuesday 60-51 in Auburn.
"We got off to a terrible start," said RC coach Ed Mulder. "I don't know if it was the two-and-a-half hours of being stuck in traffic? On the road, you can’t start off slow.”
The Knights (18-10) fell behind 16-6 in the opening quarter. They did manage to stay within striking distance, trailing by nine at the half, 26-17.
"We cut the lead down to three a couple times," said Mulder.
But Forest Lake (22-5) would build up that lead again thanks to the one-two scoring punch of Ali McDaniel and Amber Jackson.
McDaniel netted 12 of her game-high 23 in the second half while Jackson chipped in with 17.
Senior Rilee Clark led the Knights with 17. Morgan Van Elderen hit for 15 and Renae Heida netted 10.
RC also relied on sophomore Lydia Bakker, who finished with seven, but, as Mulder said, "she played very well."
The Knights made one more run late in the game. With 2:30 left, they cut the lead to three but Forrest Lake prevailed.
The Falcons will take on either No. 2 seed Valley Christian (25-3) at Golden 1 Center on Friday or Saturday. The Lions from Roseville defeated No. 6 Sacramento Waldorf 60-42 in the other semifinal.