Faith Christian of Yuba City beats rival Sacramento Adventist to win girls D-VI basketball title
One year later, and the euphoria was back for the small-school basketball wonders from Yuba City.
Behind the section’s leading scorer, her unsung fellow floor leader and a supporting cast of grinders, the Faith Christian Lions defeated Sacramento Adventist Academy 52-33 on Thursday morning at Golden 1 Center in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI championship, the program’s second such crown in three seasons.
It’s not a three-peat achievement because Sac Adventist stunned the Lions last season for the crown at UC Davis, the first for that program, and that setback served as a motivator throughout the playoffs. Faith won its 18th consecutive game and moved to 26-2 on the season, towering in this smallest-enrollment division. Faith Christian opened 50 years ago as an elementary school, adding high school students in 1981.
The high school has 50 students. School was canceled Thursday, and the administration ordered up a bus to haul darn near every student to the game.
An 18-0 run in the first half allowed Faith Christian to seize control, and the Lions held off the cold-shooting Capitals, who fell to 0-3 against their rivals this season.
Lauren Harris scored 23 points and had 15 rebounds, displaying her versatility and skill set as she has for the second season in a row led all scorers in the section this season at nearly 30 a game. She was The Sacramento Bee’s Small School Player of the Year last season as a sophomore and is even better now, a complete player who can hit long 3-pointers, lead the break and muscle inside for buckets and boards. She made five 3-pointers.
Her junior teammate, Presley Berry, may not be as recognized as Harris, but the forward is also a terrific talent, able to handle the ball, shoot it and score. Berry had 17 points on a variety of shots.
Sac Adventist competed start to finish, a tribute to interim coach Scott Tedmon, who won championships with the boys team at the Carmichael school and stepped in to save the season weeks before the playoffs. The Capitals played hard, defended with every bit of effort, but they could not shoot.
Victoria Fowler, a senior forward playing in her first game in more than a month after suffering a knee strain, led Sac Adventist with 10 points. Sac Adventist made just 15.9% of its shots, going 10 of 63 from the floor, and the team made just two of 28 3-point shots. The Capitals made the Lions and Harris work for every shot, but she still led all scorers and rebounders.
“It was gritty, it was wild,” Faith Christian coach Geoff Harris said.
The coach was beaming because the school and the program mean a great deal to him. He played for Faith Christian’s boys team in 1998 when the Lions competed for a section title at Arco Arena. He is the father of Lauren Harris and graduated Faith Christian star Audrey Harris, who led the country in scoring three years ago at more than 45 points a game.
Audrey and Lauren were a prolific 1-2 duo two seasons ago when Faith Christian won the program’s first section banner, doing so at Golden 1. Audrey attended Thursday’s game as a fired-up fan. Lauren Harris at 5-foot-11 and a look of determination, came off as a top-tier talent without any nerves that bugged her on this stage two years ago.
“I was more nervous than my freshman year when I first played here,” Lauren Harris said. “This year, I don’t have my big sister to back me up, but I have all this support.”
Sophomore guards Mia Bryan and Mandy Fitzgerald provided production for Faith Christian. Bryan scored nine points and Fitzgerald had five rebounds and five assists. Coach Harris said that for all the star power that Lauren Harris and Berry display, the team’s foundation is rooted in the support crew and team depth.
“We need the entire bench to help us, and that’s something we couldn’t have done last year,” Coach Harris said. “These teams are familiar with each other. It was a bit of blur today. So proud of these girls and their resilience. It hasn’t been work the entire year. It’s been fun.”
The coach added, “As for our stars today, they did what they needed to do on a big stage.”
Said daughter Lauren, “I can finally sleep!”
Coach Harris said these are memories to last a lifetime. He joked two years ago that his lasting memory of losing a section final in an NBA venue was marked by a bad eye, saying, “I got hit in the eye and couldn’t stop the bleeding. I packed corn starch this time just in case. I have blood-stopping supplies in my bag now. Never know!”
All section finalists advance to the CIF Northern California tournaments that start Tuesday at home sites. Brackets will be released by the CIF on Sunday afternoon.
Division VI boys
Stone Ridge Christian of Merced defeated Sacramento Waldorf, 49-43, on Thursday afternoon
Read more about the boys Division VI game here.
This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 12:50 PM.