When the 2025-26 season started, Redding Christian girls basketball coach Scott Alexander knew he had a good team. What he didn’t know was just how good this team would become.
“I didn’t think in December that we could win a title,” Alexander said. “By January, they had me believing, and definitely now.”
In fact, Redding Christian hasn’t lost a game since Jan. 1, when Alexander first started to realize this team has the tools to make a deep postseason run. They did it in the Northern Section playoffs and defeated Weed in the Division VI championship game.
And now, after taking down No. 3 Forest Lake Christian 52-26 in the CIF NorCal Division VI semifinal game, the Lions (29-3) are heading to the state championships.
“This doesn’t come around all the time; this is only the second time that the school has been in an opportunity to win a state title,” Alexander said. “We’re excited; it’s an opportunity that these girls will remember for the rest of their lives.”
The Lions didn’t waste any time building a lead against the Falcons (19-9). Redding Christian freshman guard Weslynn Skinner and senior forward Cailee Bowers combined for 10 points in the first quarter to help give the Lions a 13-6 lead.
“I knew they were going to full court press and try to have a lot of energy, and they did,” Alexander said. “Our thing was like, no, we’re the team that has energy. We’re the aggressors, we’re taking the 50-50 balls, and we did.”
The Lions’ offense relies on movement, both on and off the ball. It helps them easily find the gaps in a zone defense and can lead to some open shots on the perimeter and in the paint. It’s the same type of offensive scheme that the Golden State Warriors had success with in the 2010s.
“That’s my style that I love,” Alexander said. “I believe in moving the ball. You watch those old Warriors and old Spurs ball movement; We aren’t running anything for one person. It’s equal opportunity offense.”
Bowers was the most notable benefactor of that off ball movement and she finished the game with 19 points with four made threes.
“I’m just so proud of my team, just the way we move the ball, the way everybody helps people get open,” Bowers said. “I’m proud of our ball movement and it means a lot that we’re in the state championship.”
Bowers has been doing, and it culminated in a pivotal performance in which she drilled half of her team’s eight three-pointers in the semifinals.
“She’s amazing; she’s been locked in,” Alexnader said of Bowers. “She’s a senior and she doesn’t want to be done.”
Alexander has learned a lot about Bowers throughout her senior season, especially when it comes to her will to win.
“I think I didn’t realize how much of a competitor she was when we first started,” Alexander said. “She’s got a little fire going inside of her as a competitor.”
Bowers has spent years working on her deep ball. When she was a freshman, she played for Reign basketball under coach James Williams.
“He had me on the shooting machine everyday freshman and sophomore year and I’ve just continued to work on that,” Bowers said.
But practicing shooting is one thing. For Bowers to have the season she’s had takes more than just Bowers putting in the work.
“If it wasn’t for Coach Scott, the other coaches and my teammates, I wouldn’t have had the season that I had,” Bowers said.
Now, the Lions are heading to the state championship game.
They will travel to face No. 1 Cornerstone Christian at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10.
Bowers, Alexander and the rest of this Lions squad have been working for this the entire season. It all comes down to one more game.
“Cornerstone is going to be a very different type of game. They’re very athletic, they’re very good, they’re number one for a reason,” Alexander said. “We’re going to come out and fight and we’re going to give it our best.”
Brett Abrams is a sports reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. He covers high school and local sports in the Redding area. Reach out to Brett with any sports tips or news on X (formerly Twitter) @brabrams_ or by email at Brett.Abrams@Redding.com. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding Christian girls basketball advances to state championship
Reporting by Brett Abrams, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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