Two of this week’s top stat stars are Alessandra Aguirre of La Jolla Bishop’s and Elias King from Sacramento Christian Brothers. Photos: kusi.org & Twitter.com.
Alessandra Aguirre makes history by burying 15 shots from beyond the 3-point line for Bishop’s of La Jolla, a team that usually gets state scoring leader Destiny Littleton leading the way. Other girls featured this week include Sophia Song from Mark Keppel of Alhambra and Fiona Ferry of Tehachapi. For the boys, Bryson Williams of Fresno Roosevelt had another huge week while Damien’s Bryce Peters had a 44-point outburst.
Note: We will collect totals from MaxPreps, newspapers, tweets and from those sent in to us. We also will compile single-game highs from this post throughout the season and of course we use our weekly State Stat Stars collection as an aid for the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book. That is the only state record book anyone has ever done and we have published it seven times with full copyright protection. To report totals to us for this feature and for the record book, email markjtennis@gmail.com or call 209-463-9050. You can also text to 209-608-1317.
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(All players listed in alphabetical order)
(For games played through Saturday, Jan. 23 plus a few already from this week)
(Writeups by Paul Muyskens, Mark Tennis & CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett)
BOYS BASKETBALL
Michael Bagatourian (Crean Lutheran, Irvine)
Doing it all for the Saints as they moved to 5-0 in Academy League play with a 72-32 win over Whitney of Cerritos, Bagatourian scored 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Lonzo Ball (Chino Hills)
On the road and against state-ranked Damien of La Verne didn’t slow down the Mr. Basketball State Player of the Year co-front runner (along with Foothills Christian’s T.J. Leaf) as he nearly recorded a triple-double just in the first half and ended with 32 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists during the 92-65 win.
Mark Butler (Savanna, Anaheim)
Serving up buckets in bunches, the Butler scored 34 points as the Rebels defeated Anaheim 84-55 last Friday night.
K.J. Redfield of Temecula Rancho Christian lines up a 3-point shot attempt during game from earlier this season. Photo: Courtesy family.
Jordan Cohen (Campbell Hall, North Hollywood)
He scored 31 points as the Vikings defeated Paraclete of Lancaster 60-45 to snap a three-game losing streak.
Cam Dashiell (Buena Park)
Scoring 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter while making seven of his eight free-throw attempts in the final eight minutes, Dashiell helped the Coyotes defeated Troy of Fullerton 70-63 in Freeway League play.
Sean Fernandez (North Hollywood)
For the fourth time this season, Fernandez scored at least 40 points in a game as he scored 41 points during a 78-41 win over Monroe of North Hills. He later ended the week with 38 points during a 70-52 win over Chavez of San Fernando.
Vinny Ferrari (Burlingame)
One of the top returning players from last year in San Mateo County, Ferrari revved up his motor with 32 points when the Panthers defeated Woodside 80-60.
Tommy Gallegos (Magnolia, Anaheim)
Leading the Sentinels to a 84-63 win over Santa Ana Valley, he scored a game-high 36 points as Magnolia won just its third game this season.
Jake Halderman (Hayfork)
The CIF Northern Section’s top scorer is now at more than 25 ppg after racking up 37 points and eight rebounds in the Timberjacks’ 70-37 triumph over Surprise Valley of Cedarville.
Robinson Idehen (Modesto Christian, Modesto)
The dominating 6-foot-10 center may be making a case to be the NorCal Player of the Year (along with Folsom’s Jordan Ford). He scored a season-high 27 points as the Crusaders moved to 7-0 in the Modesto Metro Conference with a 94-57 win at Johansen. This week, they’ve already stretched their ridiculous state record for longest league winning streak to 150 games.
Elias King (Christian Brothers, Sacramento)
After being held to one of his lowest scoring performances of the season during a win over Rio Americano of Sacramento, the standout sophomore bounced back with 33 points and 15 rebounds the next day as the Falcons defeated Liberty of Brentwood 68-54.
Austin Molezzo (Mission Oak, Tulare)
He had a nice week as he scored 38 points and had eight assists in a 72-66 win over Independence of Bakersfield and then in the second game of the week he scored 29 points and had 11 rebounds in an 86-45 win over Monache of Porterville.
Max Moreno (Colusa)
He’s already on the list of possible NorCal Players of the Week for next week with a 40-point game already reported for this week. Last week, though, he wasn’t exactly shooting bricks. Moreno had 26 points in a 71-40 win over Winters and then scored 30 in a 67-26 romp past Pierce of Arbuckle.
Kezie Okpala (Esperanza, Anaheim)
Outperforming fellow state stat star Evan Battey, this 6-foot-6 junior had a game-high 29 points with six rebounds as the Aztecs defeated Villa Park 65-45. Averaging 24 points and eight rebounds per game, Okpala also had 27 points in a win over El Modena and was named as the Player of the Week by OC Varsity.
Bryce Peters (Damien, La Verne)
Nearly outscoring Eitwanda on his own, the top returnee from last year’s CIF Division III state championship squad finished with 44 points last Tuesday night during the 63-47 win. He also had 31 points when the state-ranked Spartans lost to state and national No. 1 Chino Hills 92-65.
K.J. Redfield (Rancho Christian, Temecula)
The sophomore guard came off the bench to score 30 points and sank a school-record eight 3-pointers in a 90-25 romp past Calvary Murrieta of Murrieta.
Ethan Richardson (Madera)
The 6-foot-9 center scored 29 points against San Joaquin Memorial of Fresno in a losing effort (63-49) and rampaged for 46 points in another losing effort against Sanger (71-65). Ethan is the second leading scorer in the CIF Central Section with a 27.7 average in 18 games.
Aziz Seck (Army-Navy, Carlsbad)
Seck was sick with 30 points to lead the Warriors past Francis Parker of San Diego 80-50. The 6-foot-7 senior center, who has signed with Northern Arizona, also had 21 points and 16 rebounds as Army-Navy conquered La Jolla Country Day 59-55.
Amari Simmons (Cornerstone Christian, Antioch)
A junior hitting for more than 20 ppg, Simmons already has had a stat star worthy effort from Monday of this week with 31 points and 22 rebounds in a 72-45 victory against Napa Christian.
Bryson Williams (Roosevelt, Fresno)
He’s having quite a senior year and last week he set two new school records according to CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett for season and career points. Williams scored 33 points against Central, 37 points against Hoover, 31 points against McLane and now has 736 for the season and 1,922 career points. Bryson also is averaging 33.5 for the season in 22 games.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Alessandra Aguirre (Bishop’s, La Jolla)
Teammate Destiny Littleton is a regular in this feature and among leading in the state in scoring, but this 5-foot-9 junior had has looking for our state record book as she hit 14 three-pointers in the first half against La Jolla and finished with 15 three-pointers and 50 points during the Knights 96-23 win. In our last printed edition of the state record book, the state record for three-pointers made in a half was 11 and three-pointers made in a game was 14 as her three-pointer after halftime had her break that mark as well. When we have time after finishing the all-state football teams, we will go back through the last few years and see if there’s any other three-point performances that have topped hers last week. Her 15 is confirmed to be a new CIF San Diego Section record. Littleton, by the way, had 33 points and 13 rebounds in the same game. Both Littleton and Aguirre also now have 50-point games this season, which may be another first but requires further research.
Natalia Bruening (Corona del Mar, Newport Beach)
Showing why she will be headed to play in college at UC Santa Barbara, this center scored 28 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked three shots during a 52-49 win over Leuzinger of Lawndale. She also had 22 points and 12 rebounds with four blocks during a 46-29 win over Irvine.
Sierra Campisano (Torrey Pines, San Diego)
Starting her week with 41 points and 23 rebounds during a 77-37 win over Bonita Vista of Chula Vista on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, she ended it with another big performance as she scored 30 points and grabbed 20 rebounds but it wasn’t enough for a win as the Falcons lost to Westview of San Diego 75-67. The University of Oregon recruit also is now averaging more than 30 points per game.
Sophia Song will play next at UC Davis and has been scoring points at a fever pitch in recent weeks. Photo: Harold Abend.
Ayla Elam (Head-Royce, Oakland)
Sophomore stood out with 33 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists but it still wasn’t nearly to help the Jayhawks in a 73-54 loss to College Prep of Oakland. It was Elam’s single-game high for the year so far.
Fiona Ferry (Tehachapi)
High scoring junior guard set two school records by scoring 42 points, collecting 17 steals and she had 10 rebounds and five assists as Tehachapi ran past East Bakersfield 77-42.
Karessa Fields (Victor Valley, Victorville)
The Jackrabbits earned gold with a 53-43 victory over Silverado of Victorville as their 5-foot-8 senior captain led the way on offense with 30 points. She has been knocking down more than 25 ppg.
Vea Guata (Garden Grove)
Hey, we’re just guessing but Vea may be the sister of Peselao Gauta of Garden Grove (just named to all-state sophomore football team). She had 29 points on the court last week in a 61-23 triumph vs. Bolsa Grande of Garden Grove.
Kilee Hannan (Anderson)
Her scoring average as one of the leaders in the CIF Northern Section has been trending upward. In a 80-74 loss last week to Lassen of Susanville, Hannan hit for 31 points. She also had 20 in a 54-51 loss to Central Valley of Shasta Lake.
Mai-Loni Henson (La Jolla Country Day, La Jolla)
Returning home after spending the MLK weekend in Stockton, she had 33 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists for a triple-double during a 86-49 win over Santa Fe Christian of Solana Beach.
Ny’Dajah Jackson (Piedmont)
The Highlanders always seem to have a great player or two and this year Jackson is filling that role. In a 61-33 triumph last week vs. Marin Catholic of Kentfield, she outscored the Wildcats on her own with 34 points. Jackson also had nine rebounds, eight assists and six steals in that outing. In another game last week, she had 19 points, seven rebounds, five steals and five assists to help the Highlanders beat San Lorenzo 54-40.
Natalie Karlsson (Upper Lake)
Our NorCal player of the week from last week stayed on track to having a huge overall season with 31 points during a 58-54 win over Roseland University Prep of Santa Rosa.
Kayla Konrad (Valencia)
Scoring 25 points and grabbing 18 rebounds wasn’t enough to keep the Vikings from just their fourth loss this season as they suffered a heartbreaking 49-48 loss to Antelope Valley of Lancaster. She also had 25 points and 13 rebounds the night before as they won their 15th game of the season with a 56-18 win over Saugus.
Aarion McDonald (Brookside Christian, Stockton)
Her streak of four straight triple-doubles ended the week before but this McDonald’s All-American nominee had yet another one last week as she scored 23 points to go along with 10 assists and 10 steals during a 81-37 win over Millennium of Tracy. She later hit the buzzer-beating shot that beat state-ranked Pinewood of Los Altos Hills 73-71 in overtime at the Lamorinda Classic that shook up this week’s state rankings. McDonald ended with 31 points against the Panthers as well.
Casey McWilliam (Mt. Carmel, San Diego)
Another SoCal player of the week who has remained hot, McWilliam went a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line on her way to 33 points in a 64-39 win over Canyon Crest Academy and then ended the week with 39 points in a 58-33 win vs. Rancho Bernardo.
Jasmine Pharms (Stagg, Stockton)
The Delta Kings’ senior captain followed up a 40-point performance the week before with a triple-double performance as they snapped a four-game losing streak with a 60-24 win over Franklin of Stockton. She finished with 33 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists.
Tatiana Reese (Woodside Priory, Los Altos Hills)
The sophomore guard had a statement game in a 76-66 win by her team over Harker Academy of Sunnyvale and its own stat star regular, Jordan Thompson, who’s been one of the state’s leading scorers this season. Hitting 16 of 28 shots from the field, Reese roared for 39 points and also had 17 rebounds and is now over the 20 ppg mark for scoring herself.
Sophia Song (Mark Keppel, Alhambra)
The Aztecs’ 6-foot senior captain, who has signed with UC Davis, got her week started last week with a triple double in a 72-9 win over rival Alhambra with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 steals. Sophia then scored 35 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had six steals during a 55-40 win over Schurr of Montebello.
Jordan Thompson (Harker Academy, Sunnyvale)
She didn’t get 30 points last week, but did hit for 29 twice and 25 once and has set the school record for career scoring at Harker at 1,246 with a lot of her junior year and all of her senior year still to go. Thompson, who is averaging 27.8 ppg, had 29 in a 76-56 win over Immaculate Conception and 29 in a 76-66 loss to Woodside Priory.
Kayla Washington (Cajon, San Bernardino)
Big double-double performances are not a surprise for this senior as she is averaging 22.3 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. Still, she recorded her first triple-double this season last week during an 85-31 win over Miller of Fontana as she scored 11 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and had a season-high 10 assists.
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
