SACRAMENTO – After capturing three Sac-Joaquin Section championships and a Northern California crown over the past four years,
Faith Christian (Yuba City) earned its first state championship Saturday at Golden 1 Center.
The Long Beach State commit, who earlier this season set the career record for 3-point field goals made, added three more from long distance on Saturday to finish her career with 742 triples. She also set the single-season mark for threes with 242.
Faith Christian celebrates at midcourt of Golden 1 Center after capturing the CIF Division IV championship and finishing at 34-1. (PHOTO: David Steutel)
"An amazing career," said Faith Christian head coach Geoff Harris, Lauren's father. "Lauren's been under so much pressure for many, many years in a row. She was thrown in a pretty big position when she was young, and for the last three to four years has just handled everything that's been thrown on her shoulders, and she did it because she knew she'd have to carry a heavy load. And she made sure to work hard to be able to do that. She doesn't want to let her teammates down."
Trailing 11-10 in the closing seconds of the first quarter, Harris grabbed a rebound and launched a prayer from the back court side of the Sacramento Kings logo for a 60-foot buzzer-beater to give the Lions a 13-11 lead.
Back-to-back transition layups from
Presley Berry on assists from
Mia Bryan helped Faith extend its lead to six midway through the second. But the Dolphins trailed by only three at the half thanks to 12 first-half points from
Elly Tierney.
Faith allowed only three points to Palisades in the third quarter and built a nine-point lead heading into the fourth. The Lions allowed a grand total of 11 points in the second half to cruise to a 51-37 win.
With a free throw in the first quarter, Bryan hit her 1,000th career point, following Harris' 3,000th point and Berry's 2,000th milestones in the same season. On Saturday, Berry finished with 18 points, three rebounds and four assists while Bryan had seven points and three steals.
Faith Christian senior Lauren Harris brings the ball upcourt during the CIF Division IV state championship game Saturday at Golden 1 Center. Harris scored 26 points to lead the Lions to their first state crown in school history. (PHOTO: David Steutel)
With 3,579 career points, Harris finishes third on California's all-time scoring list.
"I never thought I'd be with this team right here, right now, having this trophy right here," Lauren Harris said. "I couldn't have done it without anyone, all these people here, my coaches, my family."
Palisades reached 2020 state finals before COVID shut down the world, robbing the Dolphins a chance at its only girls basketball state title.
The Los Angeles County school was badly damaged during the Southern California wildfires in January 2025. The team has practiced in several interim facilities in the meantime while handling tremendous adversity through displacement of several players within the program.
"It's been surreal," Palisades head coach Lebre Merritt said. "This group didn't make any excuses. ... That's pretty much just been our identity, a group that's not going to make excuses, a group that's going to play hard, play smart and play together."
