Riverbank's decorated star named Modesto Bee girls basketball Player of the Year
There's been a shift in Riverbank High girls basketball and Taylor Macias is at the center of it.
The past four years, Macias has been a constant presence in the Bruins starting lineup and the driving force for winning.
But it almost didn't happen. When she was in middle school at Modesto Christian, Macias told anyone who would listen that the Bruins were not an option. She planned to stay at Modesto Christian, play out her four years and win titles as a Crusader.
Her master plan changed when Modesto Christian did not field a girls basketball team her freshman year and she enrolled at her local public school, Riverbank High, which before her first season, went 4-19 in 2019-20 and 4-5 in the COVID-shortened spring season.
'Instantly, it was raw talent,' said Riverbank head coach Janelle Luu of when Macias first got to the school. 'It's rare when a kid comes that can already dribble, pass and shoot and as a freshman was five-foot-eight. She was long and young and had so much potential for growth.'
Four years after she stepped onto the Riverbank campus, she leaves as one of the school's most decorated girls' basketball players, both individually and in driving team success. During her senior season, the Bruins claimed their third straight 20-win season, appeared in their second section title game in three seasons and advanced to the NorCal playoffs.
Before 2023, the last Riverbank girls basketball section title game appearance was 1985. During Macias' sophomore season, they went and she led them back as a senior. Both times, she did it as the team's leading scorer and steadying presence. During each deep playoff run, when the team needed an offensive lift, they turned to No. 2 and she delivered.
'When I wrap up my coaching career, she's going to go down as one of the best players I've ever coached,' Luu said.
As a sophomore, Macias and then-senior Livi Fernandez were named co-Players of the Year.
After leading Riverbank to its second section title game and third-straight NorCal playoff appearance, for the second time, Macias is The Bee's Stanislaus District girls basketball Player of the Year. Macias is the first girl to win the award back-to-back since Modesto Christian guard Brandi Henton won the award in 2009 and 2010.
Macias and the Bruins moved to the Mother Lode League this season after the section's realignment and were less than 10 points away from an outright league title. A six point loss to Bret Hart meant the Bruins and Bullfrogs shared a co-MLL title, the third straight co-league title for Macias and the Bruins after leaving the Trans-Valley League as back-to-back co-champs.
'A lot of people think we make it far just because we're talented,' Macias said. 'But we work hard in practices.'
The four-year varsity starter averaged 20 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 3.6 steals and 1.6 blocks per game, leading the Bruins through the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs. She scored more than 20 points in the quarterfinals and semifinals, earning Riverbank a trip back to the section title game at Golden 1 Center. Though they fell in a close game to Liberty Ranch, they advanced to the NorCal Regional playoffs. They fell in a first-round home game to Castilleja.
Macias finished the season 10th in the section in points per game, seventh in field goals made (215) and sixth in threes made (76). Her senior season capped a legendary Riverbank career.
In December she set a new school record for points in a game (48) and at the end of January, she became the first Bruin to score 1,500 career points. She also holds school records for career wins, wins in a season and points in a season.
'I feel like I worked hard for everything I've accomplished,' Macias said, 'and I feel like I reached some of my goals, not all of them. I could definitely improve for college.'
As a freshman, Macias averaged a modest 13.8 points a game. She took off as a sophomore, though, putting up a team-high 15.8 points a game. After a down junior season, scoring 11 points a game, her 20-point-per-game senior season was a career high.
'The competitive edge is there, the work ethic is there, the concentration, being a good teammate,' Luu explained. 'All the pillars of being a great player, I saw that this year.'
'You talk about players that are building blocks and I think she's the first person to be monumental at this school. You look back in 10 years … and you reflect as life goes on, I don't know if there will be a player that comes close to her.'
Next season, Macias will play for coach Rachel Finnegan at Modesto Junior College. She hopes to be like 2023 alums Reina Sausedo, Natalie Brown, Annie Winton and Krista Anderson, Mary Cotton and a number of other recent MJC alum, who all went on to play at four-year universities.
KALIYANEI SAYKAO, DAVIS
There's no 16-1 start, no playoff appearance and no 22-win season for the Davis girls basketball team without guard Kaliyanei (Kali) Saykao. She was the driving force behind the Spartans best season in almost 15 years that featured the most wins since 2011 (22) and the first 10-win season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. On the season, she averaged 22 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals for the Spartans.
Davis started the season with a nine-game win streak—the program's best start in over 20 years—and won a pair of tournament championships. Saykao, a career 1,000-point scorer, was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament at Johansen High School.
She and the Spartans did not stop there. They shook up the Western Athletic Conference standings, going into the final three weeks of the regular season with just one league loss before falling in three of their last four. Despite the late-season struggles, Saykao, the WAC Most Valuable Player, and the Spartans did enough to reach the postseason for the first time since 2013-14.
The fans noticed her season-long contributions at the head of Davis' turnaround, making her their choice for The Bee's Girls Basketball Fan Vote Player of the Year. Saykao collected 18,910 votes, 43% of the over 44,400 votes in the poll. She finished in first ahead of Ceres guard Lilly Staggs and Gregori guard/forward Veronica Whitten.
FIRST TEAM
G — Kylie Kulina, Beyer, Senior
A Stanislaus State commit, Kulina is a four-year varsity starter who has scored over 1,200 career points. Just this season alone, she scored 423 total points (19.2 ppg) while averaging 3.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.9 steals. She was named the WAC Impact Player of the Year.
G – Alanah Lopez, Gregori, Junior
The Central California Athletic League MVP, Lopez is already a two-time undefeated league champion in just three varsity seasons. The Jaguars' leading scorer, she averaged 11.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game while being one of the team's primary ball handlers.
G — Leilani Olanolan, Riverbank, Junior
The point guard and second leading scorer for the Bruins, Olanolan, made an instant impact in her first season for the Bruins. The Mother Lode League MVP averaged 18.8 points per game for the MLL co-champs. She was also No. 18 in California in made threes (93), 17th in the state in assists per game (5.6) and 15th in the state in steals per game (6).
G — Kaliyanei Saykao, Davis, Senior
A career 1,000-plus point scorer and this season's Western Athletic Conference MVP, Syakao carried the Spartans to their first playoff appearance since 2014. She averaged 22 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals per game. Saykao and the Spartans won at least 20 games for the first time since 2011-12 and finished with at least 10 league wins for the first time since 2007-08. A multi-sport athlete, Saykao is committed to play softball at NCAA Division II Regis University.
G – Arianna Velasco, Escalon, Sophomore
Velasco did a little bit of everything for the TVL's second place team. The league MVP, Velasco finished second on the team in points (13.9 ppg) and led the team in rebounds (8.8), assists (4.3), steals (5.1) and blocks (1.6) per game.
F — Veronica Whitten, Gregori, Junior
Whitten was named to the All-CCAL First Team after serving as Gregori's second leading scorer (8.9 ppg) and team leader in rebounds (7.9), steals (3.3) and blocks (1.3). She finished the season with six points and rebounds double-doubles and had her first career triple-double in a late-season league win over Enochs, tallying 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 steals.
SECOND TEAM
G — Madison Babasa, Escalon, Junior
G – Audrey Pacheco, Gregori, Junior
G – Lilly Staggs, Ceres, Junior
F – Reagan Jamison, Davis, Junior
C/F – Zadie Carraway, Downey, Junior
G/F – Alyse Lomeli, Patterson, Sophomore
HONORABLE MENTION
Beyer: Alana Dancer; Big Valley Christian: Anni Boren; Central Catholic: Allie Abbate, Samantha Nichols; Ceres: Sovannary Carter, Arrayah Stallworth; Davis: Nima Kaur; Downey: Joslyn Sheppard; Enochs: Alivia Pierce, Maya Ramsay; Escalon: Aiden Hohenwarter; Gregori: Gia Brown; Hilmar: Emma Gomes, Sophie Stivers; Hughson: Reagan Barstow, Leah Hobby; Modesto: Eshrajjit Rai; Oakdale: Natalie Powell; Orestimba: Ashlynn Bell, Olivia Gray; Patterson: Takiya Hardin, Kailani Ortiz; Pitman: Aiyana Hosep, Elexi Pulido; Ripon: Kaylee Lehmkuhl, Shayla McKeon, Leila Sanchez; Ripon Christian: Reagan Vander Hoek; Riverbank: Aliyah Felix, Avah Luu; Turlock: Deja Cox, Isabella Moran
▪ How the teams were selected: The Bee's All-District teams were picked through observation with an emphasis on coach nominations and team playoff success. Players not on these lists were not nominated.
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