Prep girls’ basketball: Colfax rains 3s on Capital Christian, advances to section semis
Something about this postseason has the basket looking really big for the Colfax High School girls’ basketball team.
In last Thursday’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV opener against Galt, the Falcons matched a season-high with eight 3-pointers in a 60-18 win. In Monday’s quarterfinal matchup against Capital Christian, Colfax exceeded that total from beyond the arc – in the first half. With 11 triples on the night inside Ron Pucci Pavilion, the third-seeded Falcons toppled the sixth-seeded Cougars 66-39 to advance to the D-IV semifinals.
“We prepared for their zone,” Colfax coach Rexanne Simpton said. “It’s been three long days (of practice). They even wanted to come in and shoot on their own and just put the time in, and that’s definitely helped to get out the shooting machine and get lots of reps.”
It wasn’t just one person who caught fire. The flames fanned throughout the Colfax rotation. Juniors Maycee Heimann and Gabby Biittner, the two remaining holdovers from Colfax’s 2020 section title team, led the way with 15 points and three 3-pointers apiece. Gabby’s sophomore sister, Jade Biittner, had two treys in the first half. Freshman Laurlyn Massick, who’d only hit three 3-pointers all season entering Monday, also connected from distance.
And then there was freshman Kaia Diederichs, fresh off of helping the Colfax girls’ soccer team capture the D-V section crown Saturday at Cosumnes River College. Diederichs didn’t even allow herself to celebrate Saturday’s championship victory because she immediately hurried back to basketball practice. The extra work paid off as Diederichs hit a pair of 3s in the first quarter and finished with 14 points.
“She’s a gamer,” Simpton said of Diederichs. “She just goes hard. … She was attacking the gaps in the zone, getting layups for us. It really changes the dynamic of what we can do offensively. And for freshmen to come in and be poised and pick it up a notch for us is huge.”
Another huge factor for Colfax was the ability to minimize the impact of Capital Christian’s senior scoring sensation Donnelli Allen, one of the section’s top bucket-getters at 24.0 points per game.
“Our plan was to just blitz her and not help off of her,” Heimann said. “She didn’t shoot a lot from outside as much as she usually does, so I think our plan worked really well.”
Allen still got her buckets, scoring 15 on Monday, but Colfax made it tough for her to even touch the ball. The Falcons sent constant double-teams Allen’s way, forcing the ball out of her hands.
“That was kind of our plan,” Simpton said. “When she does (get the ball), let’s send two at her and be smart. Let’s make sure we’re rotating the closest person and making somebody else bring the ball up. I thought we did a great job with that in the second half.”
Capital Christian finishes its season at 18-12 after an 8-4 third-place showing in the Capital Athletic League.
The reigning Division V section champion Colfax (26-4) will have to go through No. 2 Dixon, who on Monday beat Marysville, 69-35, for a chance to return to Golden 1 Center on Friday for a Division IV title. The Golden Empire League champion Rams are winners of 17 straight and in search of their first section banner.
“It would mean a lot, especially after our COVID year,” Heimann said of the chance to play for a 12th championship in program history. “We just really want it, and it would be good to go again.”
This story was originally published February 22, 2022 at 3:04 AM.