Sacramento-area basketball Top 20: Christian Brothers on the move. ‘We’re the team to watch’

Christian Brothers girls basketball reminded everyone why it’s still the team to beat in the Capital Valley Conference — and possibly in the postseason.

Last week, the Falcons went 3-0 with two CVC wins mixed in, including a convincing 63-44 win against a previously 18-0 Ponderosa squad. They followed with a 51-point drubbing of Bella Vista before taking their seventh consecutive win over annual “Holy Hoops” rival St. Francis, 62-47, at home on Saturday.

“How we are playing as of late is a testament to the punches we took from the heavy competition early,” said Falcons head coach Shandyn Foster, an alumna of the school. “We don’t quit. And I need us to keep that mentality up.”

Christian Brothers, which moves up to No. 3 in the latest Bee rankings, has won four league titles and two CIF Sac-Joaquin Section titles in four finals appearances during Foster’s eight-year tenure. The Falcons have four players who contributed to the section finals run in 2023, which ended in a heartbreaking 36-33 loss to Whitney at Golden 1 Center.

Senior captain Aleyah Harmon runs the show as a high-energy guard with a basketball IQ that matches her 4.1 grade-point average. She’s averaging 13.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and a team-high 5.8 assists per game and is committed to play at California Baptist University in Riverside.

Juniors Joy Omishakin (12.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.9 steals) and Leila Serrano (6.5 points, 4.2 rebounds) and senior Amor Corcoran (3.2 rebounds) were also part of that section finals loss two years ago. But with defeat comes experience, and the core Falcons have passed their wisdom down to underclassmen, such as Journey Williams (7.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.3 blocks) and Olivia Novi, who leads the team with 14.5 points per game and 41 made threes.

“We’re the team to watch,” said Novi. “I think we’re best when we’re sharing the ball. When we’re giving each other touches, energy is high and we’re really disciplined on our offense and our defense, that’s when we really come together and show our true selves.”

The Falcons own victories over No. 8 Ponderosa, No. 11 Grant, No. 13 Del Oro, No. 14 St. Francis, No. 16 Woodcreek and No. 17 Inderkum. They continue CVC play against Rio Americano on Wednesday and Friday at Inderkum before a big non-league test against St. Ignatius of San Francisco at the Elite Showcase at Alameda High School on Saturday.

“We need to continue to lock in on how we play CB basketball, one day, one game at a time,” Foster said. “But when we are firing on all cylinders, we pose a threat to any team in front of us.”

Three on McDonald’s All-American list

The initial list of nominees for the 2025 McDonald’s All-American Game was released last week and includes three players from the capital region.

Nina Cain of McClatchy, Jalaysia Clements of Grant and Harmon of Christian Brothers have been nominated to participate in the prestigious national All-Star game, which is set to take place on April 1 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

It’s a game that has featured future WNBA stars such as Candace Parker, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, to name a few. Only a handful of Sacramento-area players have been chosen to play in the McDonald’s game. Jennifer Hall of Folsom in 2003, Vicki Baugh of Sacramento in 2007 and McKenzie Forbes of Folsom, who also won the McDonald’s 3-point contest in 2018.

Cain was named The Bee’s Player of the Year last year after averaging 20 points and 9.6 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game. Harmon is a Bee All-Metro first-team selection from a year ago and has the Falcons rolling again this season. Clements averages 12.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 3.6 steals for the Pacers.

St. Mary’s of Stockton was also on the initial list of nominees with senior guard Nyah Buntun. The Rams have produced five McDonald’s All-American participants, including Jackie Gemelos in 2006, Afure Jemerigbe and Chelsea Gray in 2010, Aquira DeCosta in 2018 and Jordan Lee in 2024.

Showdowns this week

Big matchups dot this week’s schedule, including:

▪ No. 6 Antelope at No. 10 Kennedy, 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are still in the hunt for the Metro League championship.

▪ Cosumnes Oaks at No. 18 Monterey Trail, 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Super scorer Caitlin Subejano and the Wolfpack look to bounce the Mustangs from the top of the Delta League standings.

▪ Valley Christian at Western Sierra, 6 p.m. on Thursday. It is a great small-school contest with both teams competing for the Sacramento Metro Athletic League title.

▪ No. 1 Folsom at No. 7 Oak Ridge, 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The two front-runners for the Sierra Foothill League collide in the first of two showdowns. The second will wrap up the regular season Feb. 14.

▪ No. 8 Colfax at Bear River, 6 p.m. Friday. The longest and best rivalry in the Pioneer Valley League. Both teams won section championships at different levels last year.

▪ Rocklin at No. 9 Whitney, 5:30 p.m. Friday. The city of Rocklin always gets rocking when their two high schools clash. Kendall Dykstra and Tylie Kitchen lead the Wildcats while Bianca Slone and Gisele Negueloua pace the Thunder.

THE BEE’S TOP 20

(Records entering Monday)

1- Folsom (14-3)

2- McClatchy (13-5)

3- Christian Brothers (13-5)

4- Oak Ridge (13-6)

5- Vanden (12-8)

6- Ponderosa (20-1)

7- Antelope (13-5)

8- Colfax (13-6)

9- Whitney (11-8)

10- Kennedy (13-2)

11- Grant (13-7)

12- Davis (11-8)

13- Del Oro (11-8)

14- St. Francis (9-10)

15- Liberty Ranch (16-2)

16- Woodcreek (11-9)

17- Inderkum (13-6)

18- Monterey Trail (9-5)

19- Pleasant Grove (12-5)

20- Marysville (13-5)

Bubble: Bear River (12-6); Cosumnes Oaks (9-8); Faith Christian (15-2); Laguna Creek (11-7); Lincoln (13-6); Oakmont (14-5); Placer (15-4); Rio Linda (15-3); Rocklin (9-9); Sac Adventist (12-3); Sacramento (13-6); Sheldon (11-7); Twelve Bridges (12-5); Valley Christian (12-4); West Campus (12-4).

This story was originally published January 21, 2025 at 5:00 AM.