Prep girls’ basketball: Christian Brothers shows defensive side in win over Rio Americano

It took more than 15 minutes of game time for the Christian Brothers girls’ basketball team to finaly relent and allow a point Friday night.

The Falcons got stops and forced turnovers with a relentless press that held Rio Americano scoreless as the area’s ninth-ranked team rolled to a 54-11 win in a Capital Athletic League showdown.

The 11 points scored by Rio Americano was the fewest since the 2018-19 season. Playing good defense is what Christian Brothers coach Shandyn Foster emphasizes with her team. It shows.

“That’s one of the things we preach — defense, defense, defense,” Foster said. “One of my sayings is defense wins championships, so if we can get it on the defensive end, then we can win some games.”

Christian Brothers junior Jada Hunter scored 10 of her game-high 13 points in the first quarter. Hunter transferred this past school year to Christian Brothers from Vallejo High School and has made an immediate contribution. She leads her team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.

“She’s (a do-it-all player) and more,” Foster said. “We are blessed to have her here. We got lucky with that one.”

The Falcons’ second-leading scorer Friday and this season is sophomore Kaia Foster, who is the daughter of the coach. Kaia grew up in the program after her mom accepted the freshman coaching position in 2016 and the varsity job the following season.

“It’s cool, sometimes it’s hard for her and it’s hard for me,” Foster said on coaching her daughter. “She knows I’m the coach when we step out there and I probably go at her harder than most. She knows that and she takes it. Because (Christian Brothers) is my alma mater, it’s cool to have her here, too. … It’s been a little bit of a struggle for her knowing that eyes are on her and expectations (are high). She loves the school and she loves the team. She’s enjoying herself.”

Foster added, “There were a few times (when I first started at Christian Brothers) that she would step in during practice to help us when we had nine players and needed one more.”

Nine Christian Brothers players scored Friday. Jene Wells, Aleyah Harmon, Leah Nelson, Kemani Williams, Julia White Alexis Tenorio and Sarai Rice all contributed at least one basket.

It was a perfect night for a season that hasn’t gone fully as planned. The Falcons had to reschedule three league games due to COVID-19 issues. They also had to cancel Holy Hoops, an annual rivalry game with St. Francis.

Because of the rescheduling, Christian Brothers (15-3, 3-0) will play El Camino on Saturday in a makeup game. The Falcons have their sights set on Vista del Lago, a team they lost twice to during the spring.

“We have a good chance (of winning league),” Foster said. “Vista del Lago is going to be our challenge. We have been preaching all year that we want to win the league, but in order to do that, we have to get through Vista. That’s our goal.”

Rio Americano (8-10, 0-2) will play Vista del Lago on Saturday.

This story was originally published January 22, 2022 at 5:07 AM.