Prep girls’ basketball: Laguna Creek senior stars; Cosumnes Oaks moves up

Laguna Creek High School seniors Ahrray Young and Zoe Tillery started off at the school as freshmen and immediately made an impact.

Young and Tillery have both eclipsed the 1,000-point milestone and both recently set a school record against River City this past weekend.

Young scored 41 points and set the Laguna Creek school record for most 2-point field goals made in a game. Zillery also scored 41 points and set the record for most 3-point field goals made in a game with 13.

“They have both made an immediate impact on our program when they came in as freshmen,” Laguna Creek coach Cody Norman said. “Both girls are four-year varsity starters and captains. Both eclipsed the 1,000-point mark this season.”

He added, “But both girls helped lead a change in our program culture both on the court and off (both excel well in the classroom, Zoe with a GPA over 4.0) and helped put Laguna Creek back on the map. Both have come in since day one focused, determined, and with a work ethic to play their best every day, both play with such an unselfish style, willing to make the extra pass and have always been the top two assist leaders on our team each year. … As a coaching staff, we knew Zoe and Ahrray were capable of putting together a game like this individually, but never in the same game.”

Colfax wins key league battle

Ninth-ranked Colfax won its biggest test of the season so far this season.

Facing previously undefeated and No. 20 Bear River in a battle of Pioneer Valley League teams, the Falcons prevailed 46-26. Sisters Jade and Gabby Biittner led the Falcons. Jade had a game-high 11 points and Gabby added seven. Maycee Heimann and Grace Clark both had eight points.

Colfax is off to its best start since the 2019-20 season, which saw a Sac-Joaquin Section Division V championship and a berth in the NorCal Division lV title game. Colfax will face Bear River in the FVL regular-season finale on Feb. 11.

St. Francis has won four of six

St. Francis may be on the bubble, but its play as of late could land it back in The Bee’s Top 20.

The Troubadours have won four of their last six and the two losses to Cosumnes Oaks and Davis were a combined eight points. After St. Francis lost to Davis on Friday, the Troubadours bounced back with a 45-21 win the following day.

Leading St. Francis is sophomore Chidera Okoye, who is leading her team in points and rebounds. Other key contributes are Raquel Smith, Jo Jo Myers and Carolina Ingentino.

St. Francis had to postpone games against Cosumnes Oaks and Davis earlier in the season because of COVID-19 issues within the program. That’s why the Troubadours played Davis on back-to-back days.

Cosumnes Oaks moves up

The highest and only ranked team from the Delta League is Cosumnes Oaks, which moved up to No. 15 this week.

After starting the season 4-6, the Wolfpack have won 11 in a row and have started Delta League play 7-0. The team’s last loss game on Dec. 20 to Lincoln.

Sophomore Isabel Tan is averaging a team-leading 17.8 points per game. Senior Emily Ko is the team’s second-leading scorer, adding 12.9 points. Ko also leads her teams in rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.

The Bee’s Top 20

Records entering Monday

1. Folsom 20-1

2. Oak Ridge 16-5

3. Del Oro 18-4

4. McClatchy 12-4

5. Laguna Creek 14-2

6. Vista del Lago 15-2

7. Vanden 15-3

8. Christian Brothers 17-3

9. Colfax 18-3

10. Lincoln 20-2

11. Antelope 13-4

12. Whitney 13-11

13. Granite Bay 14-9

14. Rocklin 10-9

15. Cosumnes Oaks 15-6

16. Monterey Trail 14-6

17. Grant 14-7

18. Dixon 16-3

19. Marysville 17-4

20. Bear River 16-1

Bubble teams: (alphabetical order) Del Campo (10-10), El Dorado (17-7), Inderkum (11-10), Rio Linda (13-4), Pioneer (14-7), Placer (12-9), St. Francis (11-8), West Campus (3-0), Wood (11-7), Yuba City (12-5).