High School

Ontario Christian junior Dejah Saldivar makes 17 3-pointers, sets California state record in 115-30 win

The 5-foot-5 guards scores 51 points, makes 17 of 30 3-point attempts in 85-point win over Linfield Christian

Mitch Stephens, SBLive Sports

For a night at least, Dejah Saldivar stole a shimmering spotlight from her acclaimed Ontario Christian teammate Chloe Briggs. 

The junior guard made a California record 17 3-pointers Friday and scored 51 points in a 115-30 win over Linfield Christian. 

Saldivar, a 5-foot-5 sharpshooter, made 17 of 31 field goal tries overall, missing her only 2-point try. She didn't try a single free throw as the Knights (18-2) scored at least 27 in every quarter. 

According to the CalHiSports record book, Saldivar broke the mark of 16 set by three others — Hanford's Taylor Spikes (2010), Alhambra's Kelli Kamida (2014) and Mira Mesa-San Diego's Jennell Hooftallen (2017). 

"I feel on top of the world," Saldivar told the Los Angeles Times reporter Luca Evans. 

She came into the game averaging 15.2 points per game, according to statistics kept on MaxPreps, and now she has 96 3-pointers for the season. Heading into Friday, the national leader had 91. 

Saldivar has attempted 231 3-pointers on the season for 42 percent. Remarkably, she's tried just 238 shots overall. 

"Shooting a three for her is like a layup for other girls," Ontario Christian coach Matt Tumambing told the Times. 

Salvidar benefitted Friday, like she has throughout her career, playing alongside Washington-bound guard Chloe Briggs, San Bernardino County's all-time leading scorer (3,161 points) who recently surpassed WNBA superstar and former Don Lugo player Diana Taurasi (3,044). 

Briggs, a 5-11 forward, averages 26.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 2.5 steals per game this season. On Friday, Briggs had 27 points and 15 assists, many to Salvidar. 

Dejah Saldivar following her team's game two-point win Saturday over Bishop Montgomery-Torrance. Photo: Lance Smith
Published
Mitch Stephens, SBLive Sports
MITCH STEPHENS, SBLIVE SPORTS

Mitch Stephens is a senior editor at SBLive Sports for California, a state he's covered high school sports since 1984. He won multiple CNPA and CPSWA writing awards with the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and MaxPreps.com before joining the SBLive staff in 2022. He's covered the beat nationally since 2007, profiling such athletes as Derrick Henry, Paige Bueckers, Patrick Mahomes, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Chiney Ogwumike, Jeremy Lin and Najee Harris as preps. You can reach him at mitch@scorebooklive.com.

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