CIF state championships: Colfax girls and other storylines to ponder at Golden 1 Center
The high school basketball season has gone like this for teams across the state: tryouts in the fall, holiday tournaments in December, league play in January, sectional playoff rounds in February, and then the mad-dash sprint to the final weekend in their own version of March Madness.
The CIF State Basketball Championships are Friday and Saturday at Golden 1 Center, home of the Kings, and home of memories of winning or losing that last game. The CIF finals have been a fixture in Sacramento for more than 30 years, be it at Arco Arena or Golden 1, the CIF brass adamant in wanting players and fans to enjoy a “wow” experience in a splashy venue.
Six games are scheduled for Friday and six on Saturday, from the elite Open Division down to Division V.
Only one Sacramento-area team is left in the mix — the Colfax girls in Division III, where the Falcons take their 22-game winning streak and 34-2 record into Friday’s 2 p.m. contest against Los Osos (28-5) of Rancho Cucamonga. Colfax is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its first state championship team and aims to keep on celebrating under spirited second-year head coach Rexanne Simpton and a host of players who grew up in the small Placer County town. There are no Division I college prospects on the roster, or even D-II, but one cannot measure grit and pride.
A closer look at storylines to shape the weekend:
Star power: In boys D-I, Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks seeks its first state championship and is led by Caleb Foster (headed to Duke), Mercy Miller (Houston) and Dusty Stromer (Gonzaga). The Knights take on an upstart in Granda of Livermore, the No. 8 seed in the North, led by Andrew McKeever, a 7-footer off to Saint Mary’s.
Scoring sensations: In boys D-V, Sierra of Tollhouse in Fresno County faces Lynwood of Los Angeles County in a duel of prolific scorers. Sierra is led by three-year varsity star Logan Kilbert, a 6-4 guard who has more than 2,000 career points with a year to go and had the coast-to-coast driving layup to beat the buzzer and Fortune of Sacramento in a NorCal opener. His single-game high this season is 54 points. Lynwood’s 6-3 guard Jason Crowe Jr. is averaging 36 points per game with a high of 60 — and he’s a freshman who happens to be the most prolific 9th grader in state history.
Money player: Oakland is 26-8 and seeks the D-III boys crown, and has a money player, literally, leading the charge. Oakland’s 6-4 senior guard who averages 17.6 points is Money Williams. “The way he sees the game, the way he thinks the game, he’s on a whole other level,” Oakland teammate Anthony Lacy said of Williams to Bay Area media after a NorCal title win. “He sees things we don’t see, and when he brings it to our attention, it boosts the team to a whole other level.”
Big on bigs: In boys D-IV, upstart Half Moon Bay and its 10th-seeded NorCal champions are led by 6-8 post Jaeden Hutchins while Valencia is paced by the 6-10 Bryce Bedgood and 6-6 scorer Mika Ballew. In an era of shooting, bigs still resonate.
Big girl ball: Mitty of San Jose is not a surprise Open Division entry, the Monarchs rolling at 28-2 and fresh off their state-record 15th regional championship under coach Sue Phillips, who is closing in on 700 victories. The stars are kids in five-star recruits Morgan Cheli, a junior, and McKenna Woliczko, a freshman who had 29 points and 21 rebounds in the NorCal final win over Salesian. Etiwanda of San Bernardino County at 31-3 just polished off national No. 1 and previously unbeaten Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth behind defense and balance.
Big-boy ball: The finale of the weekend will be Saturday night’s Open Division clash between NorCal champion St. Joseph of Santa Maria (28-6) and Harvard-Westlake (32-2) of Studio City in LA County. St. Joseph is led by one of the top sophomores in the country in 6-6 powerhouse Tounde Yessoufou, who is averaging 28 points. Harvard-Westlake is a star-studded lot with a lineup of D-I college prospects, including junior guard Trent Perry, whose college scholarship suitors include UCLA. Just a sophomore, 6-8 skilled big Nikolas Khamenia already has an offer from Stanford.
And for any Kings fans who still bristle at the mention of 2002 Lakers shooter and Kings killer Robert Horry? They can check out his son, 6-3 junior guard Christian Horry of Harvard-Westlake. But don’t boo him. Boo the dad.
CIF State finals
All games at Golden 1 Center
Friday
Division IV Girls
Shalhevet vs. San Domenico-San Anselmo, 10 a.m.
Division V Boys
Lynwood vs. Sierra-Tollhouse, noon
Division III Girls
Los Osos vs. Colfax, 2 p.m.
Division III Boys
Buena vs. Oakland, 4 p.m.
Division I Girls
Santiago-Corona vs. Oakland Tech, 6 p.m.
Division I Boys
Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks Notre Dame vs. Granada-Livermore, 8 p.m.
Saturday
Division V Girls
Marina vs. Bret Harte-Angels Camp, 10 a.m.
Division IV Boys
Valencia vs. Half Moon Bay, noon
Division II Girls
Bonita Vista-Chula Vista vs. Central-Fresno, 2 p.m.
Division II Boys
Pacifica Christian-Newport Beach vs. Memorial-Fresno, 4 p.m.
Open Division Girls
Etiwanda vs. Mitty-San Jose, 6 p.m.
Open Division Boys
Harvard-Westlake-Studio City vs. St. Joseph-Santa Maria, 8 p.m.
This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 1:01 PM.