ON THE BRINK OF A THREE-PEAT: CAMERON BRINK KEYS SOUTHRIDGE IN WIN OVER SOUTH MEDFORD

Stanford commit Cameron Brink scored 20 points and collected 15 rebounds to key the Skyhawks to a blowout win of South Medford.

Jake Garcia, kdrv.com, March 8, 2019

Nobody said becoming a dynasty was going to be easy and the South Medford girls ran into a team that already is a dynasty in Thursday’s quarterfinal round of the state tournament.

Two-time defending champion Southridge never trailed en route to a 19-point win, ending the Panthers chances at a state title.

"I don't even know what a perfect game looks like, but we knew we were going to have to be better than we've been all year, and unfortunately we were not better than we've been all year,” head coach Tom Cole said. “I think some of that has to do with the fact that Southridge is very good."

The No. 7 team in the nation is now two wins away from a three-peat, thanks in large part to the efforts of junior Cameron Brink.

Ranked the No. 2 prospect in the country, and committed to Stanford University, the 6-foot-5 Brink played even bigger today.

She was a matchup nightmare for South Medford, finishing with 20 points and 15 rebounds.

"She's a tough player and I've seen a lot of tough kids in this state over the past 12 years. She's as good as it gets," Cole said.

Brink’s presence is felt in so many ways.

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2020 Cameron Brink 6'4

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From Europe, to Bay Area, to CIF Open girls basketball final

Pinewood High School Hannah Jump (24) of Los Altos fights for the ball against Windward High school forward Kaiyah Corona (23) of Los Angeles during the CIF Girls open Division Championship at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., on Saturday, March 24, 2018.

Vytas Mazeika, mercurynews.com, March 9, 2019

Stanford-bound Hannah Jump, Yale-bound Klara Astrom conclude hardwood partnership in Open Division state final.

Hannah Jump hails from England, while Klara Astrom grew up in Sweden. Frequent stamps on passports aren’t uncommon for the girls basketball imports to the Peninsula.

“I still have a lot of family there, so I go back and visit,” Jump said. “And I’ve played two years for their national team, so I’ve been back there for that, too.”

“I have a lot of childhood memories from there,” Astrom said. “My whole family lives there, I don’t have anyone in the U.S., so we go back a lot. And, yeah, I play for the national team, too. It’s definitely connection to the roots.”

Uprooted from Europe to the Bay Area before the age of 10, their paths first crossed on a court as fourth-graders.

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Regis Jesuit's Fran Belibi named girls basketball player of the year by Gatorade

Ryan Casey, chsaanow.com, March 8, 2019

Regis Jesuit senior Fran Belibi was named Colorado's girls basketball player of the year by Gatorade on Friday morning.

She is the third girls basketball player from Regis Jesuit to be honored with the award, and now becomes a finalist for the national award.

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Regis Jesuit’s Fran Belibi named Colorado’s Gatorade POY

Regis Jesuit senior Fran Belibi has been selected as Colorado’s Gatorade Player of the Year in girls basketball. She averaged a double-double as a senior (21.8 points and 12.3 rebounds

Courtney Oakes, sentinelcolorado.com, March 8, 2019

A day after her Regis Jesuit girls basketball team fell in the Class 5A state semifinals, Fran Belibi received a consolation prize of sorts.

The 6-foot-1, Stanford-bound Raiders star was selected as Colorado’s Gatorade Player of the Year for the 2018-19, the organization announced Friday.

In just three-plus seasons playing the game, Belibi averaged 21.8 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.4 steals and 2.7 blocked shots per game.

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Mitty senior named state’s top player

Archbishop Mitty's Haley Jones (30) dribbles against Salesian in the third quarter for their NorCal Open Division semifinal game at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, March 13, 2018.

Curtis Pashelka, mercurynews.com, March 8, 2019

Archbishop Mitty senior Haley Jones was named the Gatorade California Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the second time Friday and is one of three finalists for National Player of the Year honors.

Jones, the nation’s No. 1 recruit who signed a letter of intent to attend Stanford in the fall and play for the Cardinal next season, joins Paige Bueckers, a junior guard from Minnetonka, Minnesota and sophomore guard Azzi Fudd of Washington D.C. as national finalists. The winner will be announced later this month.

Jones, a 6-foot-2 forward, led the Monarchs to a 25-3 record and the quarterfinals of the CIF Open Division state playoffs as she averaged 26.1 points, 12.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.7 steals per game.

Also a finalist for the Naismith Girls High School Player of the Year Award and the Morgan Wootten Player of the Year Award, Jones helped Mitty capture the Central Coast Section Open Division crown last month.

Earlier this season, Jones was chosen to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game and was a starter for the gold-medal winning USA Basketball U17 Women’s World Cup Team in 2018.

According to Gatorade, the state player of the year award “recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field.”

According to the release, Jones has a 3.55 grade point average and is member of her church youth group and a student ambassador in her school, She has also volunteered locally on behalf of a retirement community and youth sports programs.

“Haley Jones can do it all,” Presentation girls coach Wade Nakamura said in a news release. “She can handle the ball, pass, shoot the three, finish at the basket, defend guards and posts. She takes over games in a variety of ways and makes it look effortless.”

Another Stanford signee, Fran Belibi, the No. 23 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Top 100, landed on the Naismith All-America third team and won recognition as Colorado’s Gatorade Player of the Year.

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Haley Jones among 3 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year finalists

Archbishop Mitty senior Haley Jones drives to the basket against Pinewood’s Klara Astrom in the fourth quarter of their Central Coast Section Open Division girls basketball championship game in Santa Clara. Jones is one of three players nominated for the Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award. 

Julie Jag, santacruzsentinel.com, March 8, 2018

One of the goals Haley Jones set out for herself after winning the Gatorade California Player of the Year award at the end of junior season was to repeat the feat her senior year.

She did that, and now she can set her sights a little higher.

Jones, a Santa Cruz native, on Friday earned a second straight Gatorade California Player of the Year award. She also was named among the three finalists for recognition as the Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

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JONES, BELIBI ADD HONORS

gostanford.com, March 8, 2019

Incoming freshmen Haley Jones and Fran Belibi were named Naismith High School Girls' All-Americans and Gatorade State Players of the Year on Friday.
 
The nation's consensus No. 1 recruit, Jones earned on a spot on the Naismith All-American first team in addition to her second straight Gatorade California Player of the Year award. She was also announced as one of three Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year finalists.
 
Belibi, the No. 23 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Top 100, landed on the Naismith All-America third team and won recognition at the Gatorade Colorado Player of the Year.

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Stanford-Bound Haley Jones Embraces ‘Number 1 Recruit’ Label

Haley Jones and Tara VanDerveer pose for a picture after one of Jones’ high school basketball games.

Brian Stites, sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com, March 5, 2019

Haley Jones wasn’t ready for her high school basketball career to end last week when Archbishop Mitty lost in the semifinals of the NorCal playoffs to Salesian. In four years with the Monarchs, Jones became a record-breaker and a trailblazer, but she’ll have to live without becoming a state champion.

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Stanford-bound dunking sensation Belibi didn’t play basketball until high school

Fran Belibi became a viral sensation after dunking several times during high school games in Aurora, Colo. Next year, the 6-foot-1 Belibi will play for Stanford.

Tom Fitzgerald, chronicle.com, March 3, 2019

It’s almost like a fairy tale, about a teenage girl learning to fly. And doing amazing things with a basketball.

As a 5-foot-10 ninth-grader, Fran Belibi was able to dunk a Nerf Ball and then a volleyball before she ever played her first game of basketball. Although she had watched the sport on TV, learning to play it was difficult. In her first varsity game as a freshman at Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colo., she charged from midcourt to the basket and scored. Trouble was, she didn’t take a single dribble.

“That was quite embarrassing,” she said. “I got a steal or something, and I got really excited. There was no one in front of me. I just went for it. I made the layup, at least.”

Her teammates couldn’t contain their laughter. “I was laughing too after I got over the embarrassment,” she said. “I don’t blame them.”

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