Prep notes: Shine sparkles for Christian Brothers basketball
Bria Shine presents a physical challenge at 6-foot-1 in the low block. She’s also a difficult handle in the open floor with her long strides.
So how does a team guard and deal with the Christian Brothers High School senior who can play guard, forward and in the post?
Good luck with that.
Shine is a four-year starter at Christian Brothers, coached by an alum of the school in Shandyn Foster, who went by Shandyn Hicks during her Falcons playing days.
Shine is one of the region’s top talents, headed to UC Davis on scholarship. She just eclipsed the 1,000-point career total and is averaging 12.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.5 steals a game for a program used to making a run to the Sac-Joaquin Section finals.
Shine is all gloss and grit. She leads her team in scoring, rebounding and assists (1.9). Foster would like her star to grab more boards — what coach doesn’t want more rebounds? — as Shine averaged 10.5 rebounds her sophomore and junior seasons.
Christian Brothers is 8-6 and is a threat in the Capital Athletic League that also includes longtime powerhouse Sacramento and ranked Capital Christian and Vista del Lago. The Falcons open CAL play at Del Campo on Jan. 8 and hosts rival St. Francis on Jan. 11 in the annual Holy Court game.
Lincoln Zebra Zing
Lincoln is enjoying one of its best starts in school history, sitting at 11-2 under third-year coach Amy Avila entering the week.
The losses were to Woodcreek 54-45 on Dec. 10 and to Placer in overtime 36-34 on Dec. 21. Some of the big wins include beating Vista del Lago 56-38 on Dec. 27 and topping Capital Christian 65-46 to win its own tournament on Saturday as Madison Barr-Zeltvay went for 20 points and Katie Leeth for 13 points and 15 rebounds.
A sophomore, Barr-Zeltvay averages 11 points and 4 steals a game. A freshman, Leeth averages 10.2 points and 10.7 rebounds.
Indy Surge
Inderkum checks back into the The Bee rankings at No. 20 after a strong performance at the Trojan Clash and West Coast Jamboree tournaments. The Tigers have five players who have averaged over seven points per game in Joe’l Benoit, Aaliyah Johnson, Tilan Mixon, Sidney Richards and KeAjeanae Smith.
Mustangs perfect
Monterey Trail remained perfect entering the week under fourth-year coach David Whitsett and has climbed to No. 14 in The Bee’s rankings.
The Mustangs have quality wins over Elk Grove, Grant, Sheldon and Monte Vista of Danville and open Metropolitan Conference action on Jan. 8 at No. 7 Laguna Creek, which is off to an 11-1 start. Lakayla Hale, Arionna Jackson and Anaya Mejia have been the leading scorers for the Mustangs.
Boys basketball
Whitney moved to No. 2 in The Bee’s rankings at 14-1 under seventh-year coach Nick French, whose teams in 2016 and 2016 went 25-7 and 27-5, respectively.
Those teams relied on depth and sharing the ball, which rings true this season as the Wildcats conclude the Surf & Slam Tournament on Monday in San Diego. The Sierra Foothill League schedule starts on Jan. 10 with road games at Del Oro and Folsom.
Whitney’s lone loss was 63-50 to St. Francis of La Canada.
Herd surge
Elk Grove is up to No. 10 in The Bee rankings, its highest since the late 1990s under one-time coach Todd Reiswig.
Under fifth-year coach Dustin Monday, Elk Grove at 12-2 has already matched last season’s victory total with wins over ranked programs in Rio Americano (60-50), Burbank (57-55) and, on Saturday, over Monterey Trail (75-60) to win the Ron Thompson Holiday Classic in Fairfield. Sophomore Amaree Britton scored 30 points on 11 of 18 shooting against Monterey Trail and sophomore Dajon Lott went for 20 on 7 of 11 shooting.
A 6-foot guard, Britton averages 16.5 points. A 6-8 forward, Lott averages 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds.
All-Decade honors
Cal-Hi Sports named national record-setting quarterback Jake Browning of Folsom as its All-Decade Player of the Year, Cal-Hi’s All-Decade football roster
Three other area players made Cal-Hi’s All-Decade football roster in tackles Kolton Miller of Roseville and Jonah Williams of Folsom and defensive back Shaq Thompson of Grant. Each of those players made The Bee’s All-Decade list.
Making Cal-Hi second team all-decade: Pleasant Grove lineman Arik Armstead, Grant defensive tackle Viliami Moala, Granite Bay linebacker Cameron Smith, Folsom quarterback Kaiden Bennett and Oak Ridge quarterback Ian Book. Each made The Bee’s list.
The lone area player to make the all-decade basketball team was guard Jordan Ford of Folsom, on third team. Ford was The Bee’s Player of the Decade.
THE BEE’S TOP 20 BOYS BASKETBALL RANKINGS
Boys
1. Sheldon (11-1)
2. Whitney (14-1)
3. Jesuit (8-2)
4. Vanden (9-3)
5. Capital Christian (6-6)
6. Davis (11-1)
7. Monterey Trail (9-3)
8. Grant (10-3)
9. Franklin (9-5)
10. Elk Grove (12-2)
11. Burbank (12-4)
12. Folsom (9-5)
13. Oak Ridge (9-4)
14. Woodcreek (13-3)
15. Vacaville (9-3)
16. Rocklin (10-4)
17. Inderkum (7-3)
18. Rio Americano (9-4)
19. Del Campo (12-4)
20. Bradshaw Christian (10-6)
Bubble teams (listed alphabetically): Antelope (8-5), Christian Brothers (9-5); Cosumnes Oaks (7-5), El Dorado (12-4), Florin (9-4), Kennedy (9-7), Lincoln (10-5), Oakmont (8-2), Ponderosa (8-7), Sacramento (5-5), Vista del Lago (5-5), Wood (9-4).
- Joe Davidson
Girls
1. Antelope (10-1)
2. McClatchy (14-0)
3. Woodcreek (11-3)
4. Oak Ridge (11-3)
5. Vanden (11-2)
6. Folsom (10-3)
7. Laguna Creek (11-1)
8. Placer (11-2)
9. Del Oro (9-4)
10. Granite Bay (8-5)
11. Franklin (11-3)
12. Colfax (10-3)
13. Lincoln (11-2)
14. Monterey Trail (11-0)
15. Rocklin (10-6)
16. Christian Brothers (8-6)
17. St. Francis (6-6)
18. Vista del Lago (7-5)
19. Bear River (8-0)
20. Inderkum (8-4)
Bubble teams (listed alphabetically): Capital Christian (6-7), Forest Lake Christian (10-3), Grant (9-5), Nevada Union (9-6), Pioneer (13-3), Rio Americano (7-3), River Valley (9-5), Sacramento (3-8), Sheldon (10-6), West Campus (7-2).
- Cameron Salerno