Sophomore Savannah Grant fights for the tipoff against Marysville High in a second-round state championship matchup on March 6.

RIO LINDA, CA (MPG) - The Rio Linda High School girls’ basketball team had a great run in the 2025 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Girls’ Basketball Championships.

Rio Linda High School Principal Deidre Barlow shared her thoughts on the exciting Lady Knights basketball season.

“Our girls have continued to work hard and excel as a team. The student body and school staff really got behind the team and supported them. They really opened the door to bringing back the school spirit,” Barlow said.

From left, sophomore Savannah Grant, junior LaRay Mitchell and senior Joy Talilefiti take the floor for Rio Linda against Marysville on March 6.

Coming into the playoffs as the No. 3 seed in Division IV, the Lady Knights proceeded to win games against tough competition in Rounds I and II which propelled Rio Linda into the regional semifinals at No. 2 seed Half Moon Bay High on March 8. The Lady Knights’ march ended there in Half Moon Bay, losing by a final score of 58-40.

The State Championships campaign was the culmination of an outstanding season for the Lady Knights, which ended the season with an overall record of 29 wins against five losses. In league-play, Rio Linda was undefeated, 14-0, and the Golden Empire League Champs.

After a disappointing departure from the Section Championships, losing at Colfax, 45-22 on Feb. 25, the Lady Knights entered the Northern Region State Championships as the No. 3 seed, hosting Fortuna at Rio Linda High on March 4 in the first-round matchup. Rio Linda came out on top with a 47-38 victory.

Next up for the Lady Knights was a second-round game against Marysville High at Rio Linda High on March 6. It was anticipated to be a close contest as the Lady Knights came into the game averaging 56 points per game and Marysville High was averaging 57. The matchup did not disappoint as Rio Linda came out victorious in an extremely close game, winning by a final score of 34-33.

Rio Linda junior LaRay Mitchell shoots a free throw in the 2025 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Girls’ Basketball Championships.

The game against Marysville was a low scoring affair with the first two quarters seeing several missed shots and some hard play on the boards. The second quarter ended with a series of missed shots at both ends, culminating with Marysville holding a slight halftime lead at 17-15.

The third quarter saw 3-point shots starting to fly and hard fouls going both ways. The tough third-quarter defense from Rio Linda resulted in a rare shot clock violation on Marysville and assisted the Lady Knights in moving into the lead with a score of 23-21 at the end of the third quarter, setting up a dramatic end.

The fourth quarter saw scoring heat up on both ends of the court and some thrilling shots that brough the fans to their feet with six minutes remaining to be played. Back-to-back three pointers made by Marysville junior Abigail Pietz put Marysville up 29-28.

The Lady Knights fought back to take a 34-31 lead with 18 seconds remaining. Two missed shots by Marysville ended with the ball being turned over to Rio Linda still holding onto a slight 3-point lead. The Lady Knights turned the ball right back over to Marysville on the inbounds pass which led to a successful 2-point shot from Marysville cutting Rio Linda’s lead to 34-33 with a fraction of a second remaining on the clock.

Junior Mariah Walton prepares to receive the inbounds pass for the Lady Knights against Marysville on March 6.

Once again, the Lady Knights had a turnover on the inbound pass attempt but Marysville was not able to connect on a buzzer-beating shot attempt, preserving the win for Rio Linda.

The win against Marysville landed the Lady Knights in the Regional Semifinals against Half Moon Bay on March 8 at Half Moon Bay. Unfortunately, Rio Linda’s playoff hopes ended there in a 58-40 defeat.

“Our coach getting his 400th victory is an amazing accomplishment,” said Barlow. “The best part about it is that all five of our starters will be returning next year. We haven’t seen this level of excitement since the football team won the State Football Championship in 2018. We have to continue to build on that, the school spirit aspect of it.”

Although the season has ended for the Lady Knights, the team members can hold their heads high after an epic season.