Champions again: Colfax girls win 13th section title in 42nd consecutive playoff season
There are championship programs dotted all across the greater Sacramento region, and then there are the Colfax Falcons of Placer County.
How’s this for a gaudy resume in girls basketball? Forty-two consecutive playoff appearances, a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section record. Sixteen championship game appearances and 13 banners, the latest coming Friday night at UC Davis with a 64-48 victory over Escalon in the Division IV game, the program’s third such feat in four seasons under coach Rexanne Simpton and her staff.
Steeped in tradition and performing under all manner of great expectations, there was a reason why the Falcons were not beside themselves and giddy with joy afterward. There was no celebration, the norm at these events, because they expected a better showing.
“It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t perfect, and our girls want to compete at a high level,” Simpton said. “There’s a little bit of frustration in their faces because they know we can play better. Shoot, we won a section championship, but we can play better.”
Seeded first in the bracket, Colfax received balanced scoring and relentless defense, program staples since the 1980s. The Falcons ran the floor, shared the ball, scored inside and crashed the boards, outrebounding third-seeded Escalon 56-32 to win for the 23rd time in 24 games in moving to 30-2.
Junior post Juliette James scored a game-high 18 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and dished out five assists. She eclipsed the 1,000-point career milestone in the second quarter, and the students who made the trip from Colfax cheered her on with balloons.
Junior guard Kaia Diederichs had 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. She was in constant motion, which is fitting since she never slows down. Diederichs is one of the state’s elite three-sport athletes, The Bee’s Defensive Player of the Year in flag football in the fall and a career 100-goal scorer in soccer. She will go for yet another section soccer championship on Saturday.
“She’s a phenomenal athlete, a phenomenal teammate, and she steps up in big games,” Simpton said. “I’m glad she’s on our side.”
Sophomore forward Madalyn Sigrist had six points and eight rebounds. Junior guard Laurlyn Massick had 10 points while hustling and scrapping for 18 rebounds. Jade Biitner, the team’s lone senior, led the offensive charge with her typical cool, unflappble approach, posting 11 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals.
Colfax had 19 assists and 11 steals to stymie Escalon, which came in at 28-2.
“It’s definitely a joy to coach them because we have so many weapons,” Simpton said. “So many girls can do so many things. We’re a tough matchup. We can go inside. We have guards who can take over. They’re unselfish and they play together. That’s the beauty of this team.”
Winning is the norm and it’s expected, but none of it is a breeze.
“It’s not easy and we talk about it,” Simpton said. “All this grind, all this stuff the coaches ask. It’s paid off. They do it together and for our community and our school. It’s an amazing feeling.”
The coach added: “We’ve got the biggest target on our back. Everyone wants a piece of us. (Losing to Pioneer Valley League rival) Marysville helped us. You learn more from a loss. We knew we had to get back to work.”
There were no tears after the game, except for the senior leader. Biitner has grown used to these section championships, and her team now seeks a Northern California championship repeat. She has played sports in Colfax her entire life, just like her teammates.
All section finalists advance to the CIF Northern California tournaments that start next week. The CIF will release those brackets on Sunday.
“It means a lot,” Biitner said of the latest banner. “It’s my last one. There’s no other team I’d rather be with.”
Macie Vickers scored 15 points and Arianna Velasco 16 for Escalon, which reached a section final for the first time and came in having gone 16-0 away from its home gym.
This story was originally published February 23, 2024 at 10:50 PM.