Local Girls Basketball

Since last week’s report, the 2025 Sac-Joaquin Section Girls Basketball Playoffs have continued for three of the teams we’ve been following this season. Here is a recap of how they fared:

Chester Volcanos: In the third round of the Division 7 playoffs, the favored Volcanos cruised to a 52-34 victory over the Butte Valley Bulldogs and moved on to play in the final championship round against the Hayfork Timberjacks. With the Timberjacks ranked 581st amongst California’s girl’s basketball teams and the Volcanos ranked 713th, Chester went onto the Shasta College basketball court on Saturday, 3/1, as the underdog. During the first quarter of the game for the championship banner, the Volcanos kept the game close and trailed by only two points, 8-10. However, with the half-time score at 24-16, the Timberjacks had extended their lead to eight points. In the third and fourth quarters, Hayfork added two and three points to their lead and won the Division 7 championship by a score of 40-27. However, despite this hard-fought loss, the Volcanos had good reason to be proud of ending up with a 16-9 overall record for the 2024-2025 season. Moreover, with all of this year’s team’s top scorers remaining eligible for playing in the 2025-2026 season, Chester’s Volcanos have an excellent chance to bring a championship banner home with them next season.

Colfax Falcons: On Friday, 2/28, the Falcons extended their unbeaten streak to 17 games with a 73-52 victory over the Ponderosa Bruins of Shingle Springs and won their Division 3 championship. Then, on Tuesday evening, 3/4, the Falcons hosted the Clovis East Timberwolves in the first round of the Northern Regional, Division II playoffs. Led by top scorers Juliette James (center), Madalyn Sigrist (guard), and Kaia Diederichs (guard), the third-seeded Falcons posted a 64-37 victory over the 13th-seeded Timberwolves. Tonight, 3/6, the Falcons will be at home again to play the region’s 6th seed, the Salesian College Preparatory High School (SCPHS) Pride of Richmond, CA. Yes, the Pride are a strong team, going 12-0 while winning their Tri-County - Rock League championship. However, SCPHS is ranked 102nd amongst the girls basketball teams in California, while the Falcons are ranked 53rd. This difference and home-court advantage mean the Falcons’ chances of advancing to round two of the regional playoffs are very good.

Modoc Braves: On Saturday, 3/1, the Braves traveled to Shasta College in Redding to play for the Division 5 championship against the number one seed Trinity Wolves. In a very close game - the score was tied (7-7) at the end of the first quarter, the Braves led by four points at half-time and two points at the end of the third - the Trinity Wolves rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Braves, 41-37. However, the Braves season did not end. Having placed second in the Shasta Cascade League, the team earned the number eight seed in the Northern Regional Division V playoffs. Thus, the Braves hosted the ninth-seeded Washington Eagles of San Francisco on Tuesday, 3/4. Unfortunately, by a score of 51-45, the Eagles upset the Braves in a hard-fought contest, and the Braves’ excellent 22-10 season came to a close.