Washington signee Chloe Briggs is on a mission for Ontario Christian

ONTARIO, Calif. — There are three minutes and 30 seconds left in the first half of Ontario Christian’s section title basketball game loss last season at Corona Santiago.

Ontario Christian star Chloe Briggs steals the ball, dribbles between her legs, slips around a screen, and launches a 3-pointer that … swishes. The Knight lead increases.

Later in the half, Briggs is fouled while shooting and the public address announcer says, “And Chloe goes to the line for two shots.”

Not Chloe Briggs. Just Chloe. At 18, she’s achieved one-name status. Like Madonna. Or Beyonce.

The respect is warranted. During a recent game in the Ontario Knight Time Classic, Briggs scored 36 points to push her past 3,000 points (3,008 at the time) for her career. She has since become San Bernardino County’s all-time leading scorer by eclipsing the 3,044 scored by former Don Lugo and WNBA superstar Diana Taurasi.

No one-trick pony, Briggs also averages more than eight assists per game for her career.

“She elevates everybody else around her,” Knight coach Matt Tumambing said. “If you look at our team right now, we look amazing at times. But if you take her out of the equation, it changes the whole dynamic of the team. She sets the table for everybody.”

One of the beneficiaries is teammate Dejah Saldivar who made a state-record 17 3-pointers on Friday in a 115-30 Knight victory against Linfield Christian of Temecula. Briggs tossed in 27 points and had 15 assists as Ontario Christian improved its record to 18-2 overall and 3-0 in the Ambassador League. STORY

Dimes and spirals

The gleaming new Knight Center of Ontario Christian is a treat for the senses. Bathed in green and white, it was built in recent years at a cost of $12 million.

Tumambing leads Briggs and a visitor from the court to a conference room.

The University of Washington signee has played since she was 3 years old.

“I probably wasn’t that good,” she recalls. “It wasn’t until I was 8 that I got better. I was playing with boys, and I was better than a lot of them. Some got mad. You always heard the parents going, ‘Ooohh’ whenever I made a shot.”

A quick study, Briggs taught herself to juggle in an hour via the Internet. And she threw spirals in flag football with such skill that a male teammate said, “I’ve never seen a girl like Chloe.”

Parents Jason Briggs and Kim (then Titus) Briggs played basketball at Chino High. Kim competed against Taurasi when she was at Don Lugo.

“My mom wanted me to go here, and my dad wanted me to go to Chino Hills,” Briggs said. “Then my elementary school closed and so in eighth grade I came here, and I made a lot of friends. So I said, ‘Mom, dad, I want to go to OC.’”

Thanks to that decision, the Knights have a 5-foot-11 forward who averages 26.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 2.5 steals per game.

Kobe, Gianna, tears

Briggs wears No. 24 and there is a reason. She’s been a huge fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and the late superstar Kobe Bryant since she was little.

Briggs’ Team Taurasi U-17 squad played twice against Bryant’s daughter, Gianna, in eighth grade.

“It was my birthday for one of the games and I think I had 25,” Briggs said. “When we shook hands, Kobe pulled me aside and told me to never stop working. He said happy birthday and I took a picture with him, and it was one of the most special moments of my life.”

That made the May 2020 helicopter crash in Los Angeles that killed nine including Bryant and daughter Gianna more tragic.

“I was in the car by myself, and I saw a thing on Snapchat, and I thought it was a joke,” Briggs said. “But then I saw something else about it. I had tears come to my eyes. It was so sad.”

Want, will, resilience

Briggs, in the final seconds of that four-point section-title loss February 26 to Santiago, wound up on her back staring at the ceiling as the Sharks celebrated.

It was the third consecutive section title loss for the Knights, who also fell to Paloma Valley-Menifee her freshman year and to Sage Hill-Newport Beach the following season.

“Losing my freshman year was hard,” Briggs said. “Then it happened again, and I couldn’t believe it. Then last year it happened again, and I was in bed for days. I didn’t do anything; I was so upset.”

Briggs even missed a few days of school. But now she and the Knights are back.

“I learned that you need to have resilience and I came back and started working harder,” Briggs said. “It shows. We’re an Open Division team and we’ve gotten so much better. Nobody wants it more than us.”