Girls Top 20: Heads-up Harmon leads Christian Brothers over St. Francis in ‘Holy Hoops’
There could be a motto for the annual Holy Court game between these rivals: “If not a thriller, our apologies and your money back.”
On Saturday night in East Sacramento, Bee-ranked No. 6 Christian Brothers rallied late to stun host St. Francis 60-57 in the annual clash of rivals. That was as good of a game as there has been in this series, which dates back to 1990, when Christian Brothers became a co-ed campus.
Down by two points with 15 seconds to go, freshman guard/wing Olivia Novi came up with a steal and got the ball to star guard Aleyah Harmon, who immediately made a 3-pointer for a one-point lead. Then the junior guard stole the inbound pass and was fouled with five seconds to go.
Harmon made both free throws to account for the final score. She had 19 points, delighting half the crowd that packed in to cheer CB and dulling the spirits of the other side. Sophomore forward Joy Omishakin had 14 points and Novi 12 on four first-half 3-pointers as the Falcons (13-4) won their seventh consecutive game heading into Monday night’s Capital Athletic League contest against Del Campo.
Christian Brothers has won seven in a row against St. Francis, including two non-Holy Court tournament meetings.
For coach Shandyn Foster, this series rarely disappoints. She played against St. Francis when she was a key cog for the Falcons playoff teams in 1999-2000, when she went by her maiden name of Hicks. She has won six straight against the Troubadours as head coach while keeping the Falcons among the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section elite.
The coach may not be keeping score of all of this, but her proud pop, Larry Hicks, and her brother and assistant coach, Nick Hicks, certainly are. Larry is the team’s videographer and and self-proclaimed “hype man.”
Senior guard Brianna McGahan scored 18 points and junior guard Sydney Teoh had 13 to pace St. Francis (8-10), which is in the Delta League championship hunt.
Harmon’s star power
With Harmon leading a team that expects to get back scoring guard Kaia Foster anytime from a knee injury, Christian Brothers expects to keep rolling. The goal is another Capital Athletic League championship and a return trip to the section finals at Golden 1 Center.
On the game, coach Foster said, simply: “It was insane! I’m still in sort of disbelief. We score nine (late) points to win by three.”
Harmon is averaging close to 20 points per game and is defined by her skill, effort and versatility. She can handle the ball, drive it, pass it and score inside or out. She plays hard and she plays with emotion, delighting her teammates and coaches, including mother Latonia Pitts, who doubles as the head coach at Sacramento Country Day.
“She’s special,” Foster said of her star player. “She is a natural point guard at heart. She loves to drive and dish. I’ve asked her to do everything: Conduct, distribute and score. For her to shoot that shot that put us ahead by one, then possessing the wherewithal to then immediately go into defensive mode, steal the inbound pass, dribbles the ball out and is fouled to stop the clock and drained the two free throws — that kid is special.”
Hodge history
Lincoln senior Maya Hodge nearly kept pace with Nevada Union on her own in a Foothill Valley League opener last week. She scored a school-record 43 points in a 72-47 victory as the No. 15-ranked Zebras of Placer County to improved to 15-3.
Earlier this season against Foothill, the four-year varsity starter scored her 1,000th career point. Against Nevada Union, she pulled down 13 rebounds with six assists and seven steals for a Lincoln program that seeks its fourth consecutive league championship.
McDonald’s nominations
Two Sacramento-area girls have been nominated for the prestigious McDonald’s All-American game to be played April 2 at Houston’s Toyota Center. The game features the top prep seniors in the country.
Bee 2022-23 Player of the Year Kamryn Mafua of top-ranked Folsom was nominated as was star forward and returning Bee All-Metro performer Harper Peterson of No. 4 Whitney. Peterson, a forward headed to Stanford on scholarship, led Whitney to a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section title last season. Mafua, a forward who helped power Folsom to the D-I section championship, is headed to Cal.
But it’s a hard roster to make. In the 22-year history of the girls game, only four Sacramento-area products made the cut: Forward Jenn Hall of Folsom in 2003; post Vicki Baugh of Sacramento High in 2007; guard Sara James of Oak Ridge in 2010; and guard McKenzie Forbes of Folsom in 2018, when she won the 3-point contest. Forbes is now a senior starter for nationally ranked No. 6 USC.
Colfax’s multisport star
Colfax multisport star Kaia Diederichs helped power the Falcons to the CIF state Division III basketball finals last season as a defensive-minded guard, the only local girls or boys team to make it that far. She has done her part in helping lead Colfax to a No. 5 Bee basketball ranking and a 16-1 start.
And she’s pretty darn good in soccer, too. The junior scored her 100th career goal in a PVL game last week against Center. Diederichs was cool and calm throughout, per her nature.
She is coached by her mother, Kara Diederichs, an alum of Colfax. In the fall, she was paramount in leading the Colfax flag football team, earning Bee Defensive Player of the Year honors.
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Girls
Records entering Tuesday
1. Folsom (13-4)
2. McClatchy (11-5)
3. Oak Ridge (16-4)
4. Whitney (15-5)
5. Colfax (16-1)
6. Christian Brothers (13-4)
7. Antelope (11-6)
8. Grant (15-3)
9. Monterey Trail (10-8)
10. Kennedy (13-5)
11. West Campus (11-6)
12. Inderkum (17-3)
13. Vista del Lago (9-7)
14. Del Oro (11-9)
15. Lincoln (15-3)
16. Liberty Ranch (17-4)
17. Rocklin (12-7)
18. Pioneer (18-2)
19. Bear River (13-3)
20. Marysville (11-4)
Bubble: Cosumnes Oaks (12-8), El Dorado (11-9), Franklin (12-9), Ponderosa (14-6), Rio Linda (15-5), St. Francis (8-10), Woodcreek (9-9), Woodland Christian (15-4).