Kienan.ODoherty@pressdemocrat.com

With Christmas fast approaching, local high school basketball teams are well into the start of their 2025-26 campaigns.

Last season was a stellar one for North Bay girls hoops squads, with numerous teams from the region reaching the North Coast Section playoffs and one, Justin-Siena, advancing all the way to the Northern California Division 3 final after finishing as runner-up in the NCS bracket.

With the North Bay League’s two divisions and the Vine Valley Athletic League beginning league play in early January — and teams in the Coastal Mountain Conference already facing off against each other — it’s a good time to check in and look at the potential title contenders in the region.

NBL-Oak

The Oak division is once again projected to run through Cardinal Newman, since the Cardinals haven’t lost a league game in more than 12 years. Their 17-point win over Maria Carrillo last season was a rare moment when that streak appeared even remotely in jeopardy.

Newman, despite the graduation of Kate Schat (now at Santa Clara), brings back a plethora of talent. Saundra Jordan, Macie Flores, Valor Queen and Avery Vinson are all having promising starts to the season as the Cardinals sit at 4-1 to start the week.Maria Carrillo and Montgomery have both graduated their top producers from last year, but do bring back some talent. Dani Silacci and Keira Cangson look to lead Carrillo under new head coach Dave McCall, while Monty will look to Ashley Ule and Marvella Cortes to take charge.

Rancho Cotate, Windsor and Analy, which finished in the lower half of the league standings last season, appear much improved in the early going as they look to climb up the ladder. Windsor, undefeated so far at 5-0, can put up points in bunches — as demonstrated in a 99-point explosion against Point Arena earlier this month.

NBL-Redwood

Healdsburg, which won the league title in back-to-back years before Ukiah claimed the crown last season, has gone 3-4 to start the year and returns a solid blend of youth and experience. Expect Claire Berry and Ameila Wickersham to lead the Greyhounds’ hunt for another league title after the team missed out last season.

The defending champion Wildcats, meanwhile, sit at 3-2 with solid wins over South Fork and Cloverdale. Despite losing last year’s league co-player of the year, Sam Wood, to graduation, Ukiah brings back all-leaguers Lexie Aguilar and Lainee Delapo, who both earned second-team honors last season.

Following the familiar pattern around the Redwood division, St. Vincent, Piner, Elsie Allen and Santa Rosa all lost their top producers from last year to graduation — but there is still talent remaining for each. Santa Rosa, in particular, is 6-0 so far and led by Eva Franklin (all-league honorable mention) and Peyton Patrick (all-league first team).

The NBL-Redwood could be anyone’s to claim this year — and each of the teams have the potential to make some noise.

VVAL

All signs would normally point to Justin-Siena, the defending Vine Valley Athletic League champion, to repeat. However, the Braves graduated player of the year Jordan Washington (now at SRJC) and Naveena Jackson, who were both instrumental in their run to the NorCal regional final last year.

Still, they do bring back plenty of talented players — first-team all-leaguer Lauren Keller, second-teamer Dylan Zapolski, Caiden Grimmer and Haven Stone chief among them. The Braves currently sit at 1-1, including a win over Marin Catholic — the team that beat them in that NorCal final last season.

But the rest of the league could be closing the gap. American Canyon, Casa Grande and Vintage are all playing some great ball early on, setting up a potentially exciting title race.

AmCan brings back a solid core in defensive player of the year Jordan Woodson, first-team all-leaguer Deja Montgomery and second-teamer Nayonni Mitchell. For Casa, Haddley Bushey and Kelsey Lehmann are a great 1-2 punch, and Luna Aguilar Loera is having a breakout season so far for Vintage.

Petaluma, Napa and Sonoma Valley could also be much improved and will look to make the race to the league title as competitive as possible.

CMC

In the Coastal Mountain Conference, the North Central League I has already started its schedule, and if it’s anything like last year, Kelseyville and Middletown will end up at the top.

Cloverdale, which finished in third place in the league last year, will look to make that final jump to the top of the league. The Eagles did graduate their two all-league players in Camryn Donahoo and Amara Galvan but return six-footer Ronni Hatcher, as well as three seniors.

St. Helena brings back two all-league players in Tessa Barrett (first team) and Ella Lindquist (second team).

Over in the NCL II, Sonoma Academy (undefeated so far at 5-0) looks to defend its league title in a crowded field of some of the region’s smallest schools, including Roseland University Prep, Roseland Collegiate Prep, Victory Christian Academy, Calistoga, Credo and Technology.

Players to watch

Saundra Jordan, So., F, Cardinal Newman: First-team NBL-Oak returner

Macie Flores, Jr., G, Cardinal Newman: First-team NBL-Oak returner

Keira Cangson, Sr., G, Maria Carrillo: Returning NBL-Oak Co-Offensive Player of the Year; averaged 13.9 points per game as a junior

Olivia Wright, Sr., G, Windsor: Returning NBL-Oak Co-Offensive Player of the Year

Peyton Patrick, Jr., G, Santa Rosa: First-team NBL-Redwood returner

Jordan Woodson, Sr., G/F, American Canyon: Returning VVAL Defensive Player of the Year; averaged 16.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, three steals as a junior

Deja Montgomery, Sr., G, American Canyon: First-team VVAL returner; averaged 7.2 points, 5.1 rebounds as a junior

Lauren Keller, Sr., F, Justin-Siena: First-team VVAL returner; averaged 12.2 points, 4.2 rebounds as a junior

Tessa Barrett, So., G, St. Helena: First-team NCL I returner; averaged 11 points, 4.9 rebounds as a freshman

Lexie Aguilar, Sr., G/F, Ukiah: First-team NBL-Redwood returner

ALSO Keep an eye on

Valor Queen, Sr., G, Cardinal Newman

Avery Vinson, Jr., G, Cardinal Newman

Dylan Zapolski, Sr., G, Justin-Siena

Luna Aguilar Loera, Jr., G, Vintage

Haddley Bushey, Jr., G, Casa Grande

Kelsey Lehmann, So., G/F, Casa Grande

Eva Franklin, Jr., G/F, Santa Rosa

Claire Berry, Sr., F/C, Healdsburg

Hanisi Daveta, Sr., F, Maria Carrillo

Dani Silacci, Sr., G, Maria Carrillo

Ronni Hatcher, Sr., Cloverdale

Lainee Delapo, Jr., Ukiah

Andrea Hartmann, Sr., St. Vincent

Aliyah Reece, So., G/F, Piner

Marvella Cortes, Sr., G, Montgomery

Ella Lindquist, Jr., St. Helena

Layla Zekarias, Sr., Sonoma Academy