GOING DUTCH | Colfax Basketball Thrived On Community, Caffeine

On the court or in the coffee shop, tight-knit Colfax girls basketball made its share of lasting memories on the way to its second-straight CIF state championship game appearance.

Sugar-laden coffee trips powered the most successful basketball team in the Sac-Joaquin Section to the state finals.

When a school like Colfax, with under 700 students enrolled, wins consecutive California Interscholastic Federation Northern California girls basketball titles, some core memories are expected, like walking to the floor of the Golden 1 Center in the state championship game.

Others are acquired along the way.

“They are going to remember all those hotel rooms and fun times, and Dutch Bros. for sure,” Colfax girls basketball coach Rexanne Simpton said. “That’s a tradition now.”

Road trips from the small town nestled at the crossroads of Interstate 80 and State Route 174 to premier hoops contests across the state were powered by Dutch Bros.

It’s how a tight group grew even closer this year during a 34-3 season that included NorCal’s top honor and a runner-up finish in the Division II state championship game. 

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“We would roll up, all of us, and make our orders,” Simpton said with a laugh.

The caffeine, cream and syrup (let’s be honest, they are more like milkshakes) added to the flavor profile of Colfax basketball this season, and certainly made road trips more fun.

“They’re just goofy, fun off the court and then when they are on the court, they just like to get after it,” Simpton said. “Defensively physical and feisty, they love to play for each other.”

They get to keep on doing it past this season. 

Only one senior, Jade Biittner, will depart via graduation this spring. The rest of the team responsible for outscoring its 2023-24 opponents by an average of 23 points should return.

Biittner, the point guard who also shined in last year’s NorCal championship and state runner-up season, enjoyed another special postseason this year. The Falcons’ 60-45 loss to Harvard-Westlake-Studio City in the state final on March 9 ended a streak of eight consecutive playoff wins and 12 straight overall victories.

“I am definitely proud of this team, how far we came this year after the loss last year,” Biittner said. “The four to five of us who came back really wanted to get back to that point, and there was nothing that was going to stop us from getting here.”

It was a community effort.

“Our school of 640, we have that many (fans) come out to our games,” Biittner said. “It’s such an honor to be a part of that community.”

“It’s indescribable, the amount of support we got,” Simpton said. “Everybody wants a piece of it and everybody wants to be involved. The community support is amazing. 

“Win or lose, they are here to support them. It’s pretty special. It’s not just about us, it’s about bringing an entire community together.”

It’s how athletics thrive in a small town.

“Every day I see people come up to me after games, they say ‘good job,’ even people that I don’t know,” junior center Juliette James said. “The whole community gets involved. I just think it’s a special bond that we have.”

James is pretty special herself.

The 5-foot, 11-inch post player is 2 inches taller than the rest of the Colfax roster, and rarely leaves the floor. She’s the enforcer at the hoop, and a consistent offensive option in the paint.

In the state title game, she led Colfax with 18 points and 11 rebounds and drew six fouls. 

“Huge game,” Simpton said. “When you can go inside-out, and dominate inside, kick the ball out… that’s what you want, a well-rounded team, and I think we have that.”

Junior Kaia Diederichs, who won both SJS basketball and soccer banners this winter, scored 13 points and had three steals against Harvard-Westlake.

On the year, the team was paced by James, who averaged 13.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Madalyn Sigrist added 13.4 points and 4.5 rebounds with 2.7 steals, Diederichs chipped in with 12.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.2 steals and Laurlyn Massick contributed 10.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. 

Biittner (6.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg and 4.4 assists per game) and sophomore Claire Bishop (4.4 ppg, 1.7 rpg) were also key contributors, and Massick also earned the CIF’s Victory with Honor medal for her efforts in the state finals.

“They are a bunch of fighters,” Simpton said moments after the state title game. “I know the girls really wanted it. They have been here before, most of them, and they thought it was their turn.

“Sometimes you fall short.”

Harvard-Westlake (19-18) was just third in the Southern Section’s ultra competitive Mission League and lost in the SS Division I semifinals, but landed in the Division II state playoffs (despite having 1,000 more students than Colfax) because of the CIF’s competitive equity model. It determines where playoff teams align in state playoffs, based on the success of their team, instead of enrollment. 

It’s also how small-school Colfax was vaulted to Division II, after being bumped to Division III last year.

“People (tell) us, ‘It’s not fair, it’s not fair.’ I just say, ‘Hey, sometimes life’s not fair.’” Simpton said. “We perform, we fight. If that means we have to play bigger schools, we play bigger schools.

“Do we like it? No. That’s out of our control. We do what we do, work hard, play together, truly play as a team.”

Harvard-Westlake was led by sensational freshman Angelina Habis, who finished with 19 points and three steals. Deana Thompson added 18 points and Valentina Guerrero scored 14 points to go with 13 rebounds.

Colfax led 28-24 at halftime, but allowed a massive Harvard-Westlake run in the final two frames, including an 18-5 fourth-quarter bonanza.

“Second half we got a little cold, missed some easy ones and they hit their shots,” Simpton said. “I think that was the difference.”

With all but one player destined to return, the Falcons might just brew up another way to finish on top next year.