SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Isabel Soloaga has driven 35 miles each way every day for four years to attend St. Francis Catholic High School in Sacramento. She plays for the Troubadour basketball program and will play her final regular season game Tuesday.

“I want to finish my career on a high note,” said Soloaga. “We need to get the win to get our position for the playoffs.”

Soloaga, who has played in all 25 games this season, is playing her second season on the varsity team. She comes off the bench for Head Coach Vic Pitton, providing an outside threat for the team.

“I am imagining it going in,” said Soloaga of her pre-shot thought process. “I am thinking shoot, shoot, shoot. I love to shoot. I shoot all the time.”

She has averaged 2.1 points per game on the season. She had her best game against rival Christian Brothers on Jan. 10 in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,200 and a local television audience.

She hit three first-half triples as part of her 11-point night in the 60-50 win.

“Isabel had a coming out party tonight,” said Pitton after the game. “We have been waiting for this because she is a great shooter. She got rewarded in the most attended game of the year and a big rivalry game. I am so happy for her.”

Soloaga was one of three players in double figures, joining Susie Rogers (14 points) and Lauren Craig, who contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.

“It was so great,” said Soloaga of her performance. “It was a big game, great timing and big shots. It was fun. We had a good time.”

Soloaga and her teammates have clinched the third position in the Delta League standings, earning a berth in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. Brackets will be announced on Feb. 19 and play begins on Feb. 21.

“It is all about mental toughness when you get to the playoffs,” said Soloaga. “You can’t lose or you are out.”

Soloaga commutes to Sacramento with her sister, Camille, who is a freshman at the school and plays on the freshmen basketball team. She treasures the time in the car to start and end each day.

“By now I am used to it,” said Soloaga. “I like all the time I get to drive. It is good in between space. I can just think and listen to my radio. It is so much better to have a license.”

Off the court, Soloaga likes spending time with the family’s two horses, Cappy and Gambler. They are rehabbed off-track thoroughbreds. Gambler is relative of Secretariat.

Soloaga has applied to several east coast schools, including Amherst, Princeton and Yale, as well as UC Davis. She has already been admitted to the Honors College at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. and will make her college choice later this spring.

But for the immediate future, she wants the basketball season to last as long as possible.

“It has been different than I ever imaged but I think far better because of it,” said Soloaga of her senior season. “We have a great team and it has been a great support.”

St. Francis closes the regular season tonight at Grant at 7 p.m.