Prep news, notes, rankings: Folsom girls roll on; area scoring feats; Florin’s first win
The Bulldogs roll on in basketball, devouring opponents near and far.
The top-ranked Folsom High School girls team is experienced, deep and motivated to make this a school-record season. The Bulldogs moved to 17-2 after capping the first half of Sierra Foothill League play at 5-0 with a 65-41 victory over rival and No. 5 Oak Ridge. Then the Bulldogs capped the week with a 55-50 win over longtime power Salesian of Richmond at the Sabrina Ionescu Showcase in Concord, part of the most challenging schedule in Folsom’s program history.
Folsom’s losses this season were to Clovis West of Fresno, the top-ranked team in the Central Section, which is ranked fourth in the state by Cal-Hi Sports at 23-0, and to Perry of Arizona, 51-44 in a national tournament. Perry is 19-2 and ranked third in that state.
Pressure defense has been the key for Folsom under coach Lynn Wolking, including against Oak Ridge, which edged the Bulldogs for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship last season after Folsom edged Oak Ridge out for the SFL crown. Oak Ridge had 30 turnovers against Folsom last week.
Sophia Mindermann led Folsom with 18 points, including six 3-pointers. Kamryn Mafua had 15, Charlotte Climenhage 11 and Ella Uriarte nine for the Bulldogs. Against Salesian, Folsom scored the final six points to beat a team that came in at 17-3 and ranked 10th in the state. Folsom is state-ranked No. 8 by Cal-Hi. Mafua scored eight of her 20 in the fourth quarter, and Climenhage had 15 points and seven steals.
Folsom is the favorite to win its first Sac-Joaquin Section championship. St. Mary’s had won eight consecutive D-I section championships before Oak Ridge won it last season. Folsom defeated St. Mary’s 61-57 on Dec. 10.
Top scorers
The section’s leading scorer for programs eligible for the playoffs is Lolana Madrid of Roseville at 25.1 points per game. She is a 5-foot-4 senior who had 40 points against Burbank for a season high.
Destiny Nichols of Valley, a senior guard, is averaging 24.0 points, including a season-high 38 in a 45-44 win over El Camino, 32 in a 61-59 win over River City and 35 in a 65-55 win over Roseville.
KD honor at YC
Karine Dhaliwal of Yuba City eclipsed the 1,000-point career mark for the Honkers last week and was presented by teammates with a poster and balloons.
Dhaliwal is averaging a team-best 12.5 points for the Honkers.
Viglione to be honored
Danielle Viglione, the greatest shooter in regional girls basketball history, will have her No. 24 jersey retired by Del Campo on Feb. 3 during a Capital Athletic League game against Rio Americano.
Viglione was a three-year standout for Del Campo under coach Paul Romig, ending after the 1992 season, when she led the state in scoring with 1,300 points, still the second most in state history. The 1992 Bee Player of the Year finished with 3,089 carer points, a section record until Jacki Gemelos of St. Mary’s of Stockton eclipsed it with 3,168 career points from 2003-06.
Viglione in 1992 averaged 37 points a game. That season, the guard made a still-standing state single-season record 169 3-pointers and 379 for her career. Viglione played at Texas and professionally and now conducts basketball camps and clinics.
Prep of the Week winners
Ella Skrzyniarz of Vista del Lago and Mason Mottashed of Union Mine won Bee Prep of the Week honors last week through fan voting.
Skrzyniarz had games of 16, 22 and eight points in a 3-0 week that included 11, seven and seven rebounds for the upstart Eagles, who lead the Capital Athletic League at 6-0 and are 15-5 overall under coach Marty Benjamin. The sophomore guard is averaging 20.8 points.
Mottashed scored a school-record 44 points, including nine 3-pointers, in a 74-57 win over rival El Dorado. Union Mine is 19-4 overall and 5-0 in the Sierra Valley Conference. The senior guard is averaging 19.8 points.
More from Mir
Granite Bay senior guard Yaqub Mir this season became the all-time career scorer in Grizzlies history, then went for 38 points in a 90-83 loss to Del Oro, then signed a letter of intent to play at UC San Diego.
Last season, Mir helped power Granite Bay to the section D-II finals at Golden 1 Center, a loss to defending champion Grant.
Harms heats up
Dylan Harms of Bella Vista eclipsed the 1,000-point career scoring mark with a 25-point effort against Woodcreek. The 6-4 senior guard is averaging 25.3 points and 8.5 rebounds for the Broncos, who entered this week at 15-7 overall and 3-3 in the Capital Valley Conference and ranked 17th by The Bee.
Vacaville tops Vanden
Vanden entered this season as the favorite to repeat as Monticello Empire League champions, but last week Vacaville may have jammed up those plans.
The upstart Bulldogs beat the Vikings 60-59 as center Nathan Schnell powered inside for 26 points and then was mobbed by students who rushed the home floor at Harold Youngblood Gymnasium.
Vacaville is 16-5 overall, 4-0 in the MEL and ranked 14th by The Bee. The rematch is Feb. 2 at Vanden, which is 14-8 and 3-1.
Bear attack
Miko Bear of El Dorado scored 30 points, including the game winner, to beat Bradshaw Christian 53-52 in a Sierra Valley Conference game. The 6-3 senior guard also had 11 rebounds, second on the team that night to Jeremy Kimber, who had 12 to go with nine points.
Bear is averaging 23.1 points and 7.0 rebounds for the Cougars of Placerville, who are 17-5 overall and 3-1 in the SVC.
Florin’s first win
In beating Valley 51-44 on Jan. 18 in a Greater Sacramento League game, the Florin Panthers were able to taste victory for the first time this season.
Their record is 1-14 entering the week.
The only winless boys program in the region is new-school Sierra Academy of Learning of Nevada City, which is 0-14.
Fortune registers big win
Fortune Early College, in its fifth year as a small-school program in Sacramento, is 12-6 overall and 3-0 in the Northern Pacific Athletic Conference under coach Derek Swafford, who coached Sacramento High to championship success in previous decades.
The Panthers showed promise in an 87-71 win over El Camino and in a 61-55 loss to two-time defending section D-II champion Grant. It all came together in a 68-49 win over large-school Cosumnes Oaks of the Delta League last week.
Senior guard Tyrece Rose had 20 points and leads Fortune in scoring at 19.8 a game.
La Salle Baseball Club Hall of Fame
The 66th La Salle Baseball Hall of Fame dinner is Saturday at 7 p.m. at Christian Brothers, where a host of area baseball legends will be honored.
They include former Major League Baseball players from Sacramento in brothers Dave and Steve Sax (James Marshall High of West Sacramento); Geoff Jenkins and Randy Lerch of Cordova; Andy Fox of Christian Brothers; area coaches Steve Hammer of Johnson and Rob Rinaldi of Woodland and Pleasant Grove; and longtime baseball contributors Paul Maltby, Sean Padovan and Alan O’Connor.
For more information and tickets: thelasalleclub.com
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Girls records entering the week
1. Folsom (17-2)
2. Antelope (18-3)
3. McClatchy (16-5)
4. Monterey Trail (15-5)
5. Oak Ridge (14-8)
6. Vista del Lago (15-5)
7. Christian Brothers (19-1)
8. Colfax (19-2)
9. St. Francis (15-4)
10. Woodcreek (18-3)
11. Ponderosa (19-2)
12. Lincoln (18-2)
13. Cosumnes Oaks (16-6)
14. Liberty Ranch (17-2)
15. Whitney (12-8)
16. Grant (15-7)
17. Laguna Creek (15-6)
18. Marysville (18-3)
19. Kennedy (9-8)
20. Bear River (12-7)
Bubble: Foresthill (19-4); Forest Lake Christian (12-4); Inderkum (14-8); Pioneer (13-9); Valley Christian (15-2); West Campus (8-4).
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Boys records entering the week
1. Folsom (20-2)
2. Jesuit (16-4)
3. Inderkum (16-2)
4. Capital Christian (15-6)
5. Rio Americano (17-4)
6. Woodcreek (15-6)
7. Sacramento (16-6)
8. Grant (11-7)
9. Monterey Trail (9-10)
10. Laguna Creek (18-4)
11. Whitney (14-5)
12. Del Oro (16-7)
13. Sheldon (8-11)
14. Vacaville (16-5)
15. Oak Ridge (10-11)
16. Antelope (16-5)
17. Bella Vista (14-7)
18. Placer (16-4)
19. Ponderosa (14-8)
20. Marysville (18-3)
Bubble: Casa Roble (15-7); El Dorado (17-5); Granite Bay (10-13); Natomas (12-9); Pleasant Grove (11-10); Union Mine (19-4); West Park (16-4); Western Sierra (7-6); Woodland Christian (16-5).