Colfax, Bear River among Sacramento-area teams rolling into section finals at UC Davis
Displaying remarkable staying power in basketball for decades with no indication of slowing down, here come the Colfax Falcons and Bear River Bruins again.
On Tuesday night, the storied girls basketball programs, nestled in the foothills, won semifinal games and advanced to Friday’s CIF Sac-Joaquin Section championship games at UC Davis. Top-seeded Colfax will look to defend its Division IV banner after defeating Riverbank at home 64-47. The Falcons covet their 13th section championship, second all-time in this section to longtime state and national power St. Mary’s of Stockton, which has 21.
Some 11 miles away in Lake of the Pines, D-V top-seeded Bear River defeated Ripon 76-32 and now pursues its second title in three years and 12th overall.
Colfax, which beat Bear River twice to win the Pioneer Valley League championship, is in the playoffs for a record 42nd consecutive season. The teams are coached by former Nevada Union High stars with Jenn Krill leading Bear River and Rexanne Simpton coaching Colfax. They were key players for NU’s championship run, which stretched from the late 1980s and into the 1990s.
Junior four-sport star Kaia Diederichs led Colfax with 23 points. Junior center Juliette James and sophomore guard Madalyn Sigrist contributed 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Cass Craig got the night started for Bear River when the senior forward played the national anthem, while in uniform, on her electric guitar. Senior three-sport star Krissy Kelly led Bear River with 24 points and seven rebounds and junior guard Taryn Clark had 16 points. Bear River made 15 3-point shots.
All section semifinalists will advance to next week’s CIF Northern California regional tournaments. The CIF will release those brackets Sunday afternoon.
GIRLS
Division IV
Tuesday’s games
Colfax 64, Riverbank 47
Escalon 49, West Campus 47
Friday’s final at UC Davis
No. 1 Colfax vs. No. 3 Escalon, 6 p.m.
Comment: No. 2 seed Marysville was eliminated by seventh-seeded West Campus of Sacramento, which fell to Escalon, which is now 28-2. Colfax is 29-2 and 11-1 at home. Colfax and Escalon are community-based towns that passionately back their teams, so expect a strong and spirited following for both at cozy UCD, capacity of 6,003.
Division V
Tuesday’s games
Bear River 76, Ripon Christian 32
Valley Christian 70, Woodland Christian 40
Friday’s final at UC Davis
No. 1 Bear River vs. No. 3 Valley Christian, 2 p.m.
Comment: Storied programs with a pile of pennants square off with Bear River looking for its 12th championship and Valley Christian Academy of Roseville its seventh. VCA put the defensive clamps on a Woodland Christian team that came in with a 17-game winning streak. Guards Janet Donkor and Mariah Contreras have led VCA. Contreras is the daughter of VCA coach Kim Contreras.
Division VI
Tuesday’s games
Faith Christian 73, Stone Ridge 38
Sacramento Adventist 49, Foresthill 34
Friday’s final at UC Davis
No. 1 Faith Christian vs. No. 2 Sacramento Adventist, 10 a.m.
Comment: Faith Christian of Yuba City will defend its title if sophomore star guard Lauren Harris hits her averages of 31.1 points and 14.5 rebounds. She scored 20 of her 30 in the first half Tuesday. Sophomore guard Presley Berry had 19 and freshman guard Mia Bryan 13 for Faith Christian, which is 26-4 with an 11-game winning streak. Sacramento Adventist (24-6) is in its first final and has been led by junior forward Victoria Fowler and sophomore wing Gwen Rosich.
BOYS
Division IV
Tuesday’s games
Venture Academy 92, Ripon 58
Natomas 86, Union Mine 69
Friday’s final at UC Davis
No. 1 Venture Academy vs. No. 3 Natomas, 8 p.m.
Comment: The top seeds held on, setting up what should be a terrific final between quick teams that can score inside and out and play pressure defense. Venture of Stockton is 28-3 and led by senior guard Mario Williams, averaging 21.1 points. He had 26 against Ripon. Toriano Woods scored 16 and Cameron Lowe 15 with 14 rebounds for Venture.
Sophomore guard Manno Jenkins scored 31 for Natomas, which is in a section final for the first time since the Nighthawks repeated in D-III in 1999 and 2000. Freshman guard Alfred Wilkins had 18 for Natomas (23-8), which has won 10 in a row. Natomas used pressure defense and 3-point shooting to pull away in the second half. Nate Sweet scored 22 for Union Mine of El Dorado, which had its 12-game winning streak snapped after coming in at 28-2 with an unbeaten record at home.
Division V
Tuesday’s games
Ripon Christian 60, Bradshaw Christian 49
Futures 67, Fortune 59
Friday’s final at UC Davis
No. 1 Ripon Christian vs. No. ?, 4 p.m.
Comment: Top-seeded Ripon Christian is used to this time of season, and winning, having secured 12 section championships, second most in section history to Modesto Christian’s 21. Luke Crivello scored 19 points and Jake Vander Veen 16 for RC, which has a 12-game winning streak and is 23-6. Futures of Sacramento is 26-5 and has won 18 consecutive games, two years after winning nine games. Guards Daniel Kozlov and Keylen Garth lead the Knights in scoring with averages of 20.8 and 17.7, respectively.
Division VI
Tuesday’s games
Stone Ridge 50, Sacramento Waldorf 37
Valley Christian 71, Foresthill 57
Friday’s final at UC Davis
No. 1 Stone Ridge vs. No. 2 Valley Christian, noon.
Comment: Valley Christian Academy, guided by beloved coach and campus leader Brad Gunter Jr., seek a repeat while Stone Ridge of Merced is in its first final. The Knights are 9-1 on the road this season. VCA received balanced scoring with Chase Clary scoring 17 points, Rod Williams 16, Malachi Urena 12 and Ian Glaspy 10.
▪ For complete brackets and ticket information, visit the Sac-Joaquin Section website.
This story was originally published February 21, 2024 at 5:00 AM.