Sophomore Amani Rafiq & junior Kori Rogers both had big outings for state No. 7 St. Mary’s on MLK Monday in win against Christian Brothers. Photo: Mark Tennis.
There was a matchup on the MLK holiday between the top two ranked girls basketball teams in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, but it was not close. Host St. Mary’s of Stockton clearly looks like one of the state’s top teams with a 72-39 win over Christian Brothers of Sacramento. Having junior Kori Rogers back after she missed last season with a knee injury is just one of the reasons getting a high seed in the CIF NorCal Open Division playoffs seems likely.
We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. All regular season State TOP 30 rankings for boys and girls basketball will be Gold Club posts plus state record updates and state stat stars. You can sign up today to get all of our Gold Club content right now at just $4.99 for per month. Three-month sub also is offered. For details, CLICK HERE.
CHECK OUT CALGAMESWANTED.COM
Created for Coaches by Coaches for California Varsity High School Head Coaches and Athletic Directors, Start building your schedule with CalGamesWanted.com.
User friendly to take the stress out of scheduling.
In any ranking in any sport and in any pool of teams, it’s not possible to show the gap between a No. 1 and No. 2 team. For the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section in girls basketball this season, there is a gigantic one apparently between No. 1 St. Mary’s of Stockton and any other team.
The Rams, No. 7 in the most recent Cal-Hi Sports State TOP 30 rankings and No. 1 among teams in the SJS, played Christian Brothers of Sacramento on Monday in one of the games at their own MLK Classic. The Falcons were No. 21 in those state rankings and No. 2 among teams from the SJS. The next edition of those rankings will be next week due to all of the teams playing Monday games this week.
St. Mary’s was superior in all facets of its offense and defense and had little difficulty in routing Christian Brothers, 72-39. The Rams (15-2) aren’t likely going to lose for the rest of the regular season and through the SJS D1 playoffs, either. The Falcons fell to 16-3 and won’t have to worry about playing St. Mary’s in the playoffs as a D2 school in the SJS playoffs.
It was a case of playing different levels of competition for both head coaches.
For Alle Moreno of St. Mary’s, it’s about reaching up and playing to the level of teams like state No. 2 Archbishop Mitty or state No. 8 San Ramon Valley of Danville, two teams that the Rams may play in the CIF NorCal Open Division. St. Mary’s already owning a head-to-head win over SRV also may come into play if both teams qualify for the NorCal Open Division.
“I’m not going to let the kids look ahead, but I would be lying to know we have to get better and work on things knowing we might be playing Mitty or San Ramon Valley later on,” Moreno said. “When you’re playing teams like that, every possession is going to matter.”
For Shandyn Foster of Christian Brothers, it’s about getting experience against a team like St. Mary’s and then going for a run at the SJS D2 title and then perhaps a CIF D1 or D2 state title.
“In the long run, for sure it’s going to help playing them and that’s why we put them on our schedule,” Foster said. “We still have Carondelet and Archbishop Riordan coming up.”
Senior Joy Omishakin of Sacramento Christian Brothers battled hard through the game vs much deeper, taller and quicker team from St. Mary’s. Photo: Mark Tennis.
Stifling ball-hawk defense helped the Rams get out to a 18-3 lead by the end of the first quarter. It didn’t matter that shots weren’t falling for St. Mary’s with the 6-foot-4 inside presence of senior Evelini Smith and the speed on the outside of junior Kori Rogers and freshman Aynya Hardy preventing Christian Brothers from doing hardly anything on its own end of the floor.
Sophomore Amani Rafiq came on in the second quarter for St. Mary’s with seven straight points that extended the lead from 32-8 to 39-8. Rogers also had three baskets and junior guard Ava Perez hit a couple of three-pointers in that quarter as the Rams were up by 30 at 41-11 at the break.
Rafiq buried more three-pointers in the second half and ended the game with a game-high 20 points. Hardy had 15 points and Rogers had 12. The team’s other standout freshman, 6-foot-1 forward Dylan Horton, chipped in with nine points.
Christian Brothers didn’t have the depth to stay close to the Rams, but junior Olivia Novi shot the ball well at times and led the Falcons with 17 points. Athletic forward Joy Omishakin also got into double figures for CBS with 13 points.
“I thought in our last three games that are strongpoint was defensive intensity, which was the forefront for today and we executed that,” Moreno said. “We’ve also consistently had a 2-to-1 turnover ratio and that was the case again. I really enjoyed that.”
Rogers was regarded as a runner-up to be State Freshman of the Year two seasons ago behind Ontario Christian’s Kaleena Smith, but missed all of last season with a knee injury. With the two incoming freshmen this season and with Smith on the inside, her skills as a defender and passer are more crucial to the team’s success this year than scoring.
“The very first game back I was a little tentative,” said Rogers, who recalls her left knee just giving out in the closing minute of a summer game that was essentially over. “But it seemed like I came back pretty quick. After awhile, letting the game come to me has been the key.”
And now that St. Mary’s has two freshmen like Hardy and Horton, Rogers is now the one helping the younger players learn about the team’s longstanding tradition of success.
“They’re great,” Rogers said of her teammates. “I’m here to help guide them. I had the same players here doing with me when I was a freshman.”
Christian Brothers plays next on Wednesday vs Rio Americano of Sacramento. St. Mary’s is facing 2024 CIF D2 state champion Caruthers on Saturday at home.
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
