Scoring drought dooms Colfax in California D-II championship game loss to Harvard-Westlake
The journey back here included twists and turns, some injuries and a few losses, but the resiliency is what sticks out most for the Colfax Falcons in a season none of them will soon forget.
Never mind the friendly faces and polite demeanor of the girls on the roster. Come game time, they will fight for every inch, every loose ball and rebound, and you will know you are in for a scrap.
On Saturday afternoon at Golden 1 Center, Harvard-Westlake of Studio City in Los Angeles County pulled away from Colfax with a 12-3 run in the fourth quarter to win the CIF state Division II championship with a 60-45 victory.
Colfax only trailed by two after three quarters. A 5:38 scoreless drought doomed the Falcons, but the loss hardly doused their otherwise good spirits and the understanding that they delivered a season well done.
The Falcons at 34-3 led the state in total victories for the second consecutive season, and though neither campaign rewarded the Placer County school with the prized winner’s trophy, the perspective was there. Mainly this: desire and playing the right way and for each other and their school led to Colfax standing as the lone Sacramento-area program, girls or boys, to even reach the season’s final weekend. That was also the case last season.
This is a team of homegrown products from a campus of fewer than 650 students. The Falcons went up against a powerhouse program with a state-championship pedigree and a tidy annual tuition cost of $48,000 to attend a school of 1,600 students.
It doesn’t cost anything to attend Colfax, though investing in snow tires might be a good idea in the heart of winter. To play for the Falcons, players know they have to be fundamentally sound — box out, set screens, make free throws — and they must defend with purpose. That all came together for a program that reached the playoffs for the 41st consecutive season, a regional record for excellence.
“I am super proud of our team,” Colfax coach Rexanne Simpton said. “A bunch of grinders. I know the girls really wanted it. They’ve been here. We thought it was our turn. Sometimes, you fall short. The second half, we went a little cold and (Harvard-Westlake) hit shots. They were the better team. It’s never a lack of effort.”
Understanding competitive equity
So how did this showdown happen, given the massive difference in enrollment?
This was a result of the CIF’s competitive-equity model, where strength of program allows the selection committee to move teams up in division as compared to the old formula of enrollment-based matchups that led to a lot of blowout games.
Simpton isn’t a fan of the current model, but she refuses to stress over it or use it as a reason for defeats. You still have to play the game, and for the past two seasons, the Falcons were up to the task of staring down schools with more than double the enrollment.
Last season, Colfax won the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division V championship — a tournament based on enrollment — and was placed in the Northern California D-III field. The Falcons roared to the state finals before falling to Los Osos of Rancho Cucamonga.
This season, the Falcons won the section D-IV crown and were moved up to D-II. Then they battled their way into the state championship game after beating Pleasant Valley of Chico, enrollment 1,775, in a thriller of a NorCal final.
“People say it’s not fair, but sometimes life is not fair,” Simpton said. “If it means we play bigger schools, we do it. Do we like it? No. That’s out of our control. We do what we do and that’s playing hard.”
Colfax loses one senior
Colfax may well be back here next season as the roster includes one senior in guard Jade Biitner, the steady guard who did not score but had a game-high seven assists.
Junior center Juliette James pounded away inside for 18 points and 11 rebounds. Junior guard Kaia Diederichs had 13 points and three steals.
Junior guard Laurlyn Massick had seven points and eight rebounds and was presented with the CIF’s “Pursuing Victory With Honor” medal for her efforts. The entire team can share in that medal and what it stands for. Sophomore guard Maddie Sigrist added five points and five rebounds for the Falcons.
Simpton praised all of her players, starting with her lone senior.
“She does more for us than the stat line shows,” Simpton said. “She’s a leader on and off the court. She runs the show, a phenomenal defender. She’s going to be missed dearly. But we have some pieces back, players who were part of two NorCal championship teams and two state runner-ups. They’re going to have that taste of defeat in the back of their mind.”
Colfax community in full force
Colfax is a town that is big on backing its student-athletes, and Golden 1 Center included a large throng of students, families and community members who made for a sea of Falcons green. A day doesn’t go by where Simpton isn’t approached by someone in town to say hello, to thank her for her efforts, for inspiring the next wave of kids coming through.
Players are also well known and appreciated. To be a Colfax Falcon means something.
“People come up to me after games to say nice things, even people I don’t know,” said James, the Colfax center. “The whole community gets involved. It’s a special bond we have.”
Said the soon-to-graduate Biitner: “Everyone is involved in our community. It’s really an honor to be a part of it.”
Angelina Habis led Harvard-Westlake with 19 points. Deana Thompson scored 18 points for coach Melissa Hearlihy, who has won 839 games in 38 seasons, second most in state history.
Hearlihy congratulated Colfax and her own team, stressing that the joy in all of this is to see teams come together, to overcome obstacles and to celebrate.