Turlock Christian girls look to find their groove in D-VI basketball final

The concert-quality speakers bounce a beat off the walls of the Turlock Christian gymnasium, setting a busy pace.

The girls sprint back and forth, moving with the music, launching three-pointers and ripping down offensive rebounds.

“Push! Push! Push!” barks the conductor, standing between the speakers with his hands clasped behind his back.

When the drill runs short on players or lacks the precision he desires, coach Edwin Santiago, clad in sneakers and a long sleeve shirt, steps in.

Santiago ducks and dives behind an imaginary screen, banking a three-pointer off the glass. He shuffles to his right and leans into another shot, keeping his speed in rhythm with the beat.

“He runs with us all the time. He beats us sometimes, too,” senior point guard Cassie Balswick said with a laugh. “It’s always competition between us and coach.”

There’s a purpose to the music, to the manic pace: The Turlock Christian girls basketball team has choreographed a dance they hope to unveil Thursday following the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI final at Galt High School.

“It’s not much of a dance, but it’s similar to cutting the nets and imagining yourself winning,” Santiago said. “Hopefully, when it gets painful and we’re tired and we got to dig deep, we’ll remember that we’re that much more motivated to see the end and fight all the way through.”

The No. 2 Eagles (20-8) will take on No. 1 Sacramento Waldorf (20-5) in a rematch of a semifinal game won by Turlock Christian 48-34 a season ago.

Balswick scored just five points in the victory but was selected the MaxPreps Player of the Game after amassing eight assists and nine steals. The 5-foot-6 guard stole the spotlight from the Waves’ Lillian Olson, an imposing 6-foot-2 center. Olson had 19 points, 31 rebounds and eight blocks in the loss.

She’s been even better as a senior. A regular name on Cal-Hi Sports’ Stat Stars of the Week, Olson ranks among the state’s best in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. She leads the section with averages of 30.3 points, 18.4 rebounds and 4.8 blocks.

Olson has scored 30 or more points 13 times this season and netted a career-high 47 on Feb. 2 in a 65-63 victory over Forest Lake Christian, the same team the Eagles trounced 59-41 in their playoff opener.

“We don’t want one person to beat us,” Balswick said. “We’ve altered our defense and offense (for) her.”

Music fuels Turlock Christian’s quest for its first section title. Twelve banners hang on the south wall of the gymnasium, but each belongs to another sport. Softball owns two championships. Volleyball has five. Golf counts four. And soccer rounds out the haul.

“We have never won a section title. We’ve never come home with the trophy,” Santiago said. “We’ve been there several times … but Turlock Christian (and) myself, we’ve never won the section title. So we have some unfinished business in Galt.”

The Eagles have come close. Turlock Christian has reached a section final five times, including four times in two divisions since 2010. The Eagles were beaten by Bradshaw Christian in 2010 and Brookside Christian in 2012 in the Division V final, and then lost the last two years to Valley Christian of Roseville in D-VI.

Balswick has been on the floor for the last two and would love to finish her career on a high note.

“We’re going with third time’s a charm,” said Balswick, averaging 10.5 points, 7.2 assists, 7.2 steals and 4 rebounds.

Santiago and senior captain McCalister Russell build the practice play lists, and the genres are wide-ranging. On Tuesday, the players grooved to Diana Ross and some of Santiago’s “oldies.” Adele also made a cameo.

The one constant, though, is the fast-paced track that pulsates at 165 to 180 beats per minute for 10 minutes, pushing the Eagles through a 5-on-0 shooting drill. Turlock Christian has adopted the track as its anthem, overwhelming its opposition with the pace it creates.

The Eagles are comfortable at mach speed and swarm with a full-court, four-quarter press. Eventually, opponents’ legs buckle, the feet slow down, the mind lapses and the game is lost.

Turlock Christian has won its last six games by 14 or more points, including playoff wins over Forest Lake Christian (59-41) and Sacramento Country Day (63-39) to reach the final.

The Eagles are averaging 23.5 steals per game, fourth-best in the state and tops in the section. Running a close second: St. Mary’s (22.8), the consensus No. 1 team in the nation.

“The music, it helps us keep our minds off things, and the faster the beat is prompts us to run faster,” Balswick said. “Our game is about speed, so fast music helps us and pumps us up as we’re on the court.

“A lot of teams get overwhelmed by how fast we play. We sub a lot, so when everyone goes in, we’re fresh. That’s our whole game.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2016 at 1:16 PM with the headline "Turlock Christian girls look to find their groove in D-VI basketball final."