West Campus players celebrate thier 47-38 victory over Central Catholic in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship game at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Friday.
Andy Alfaro
aalfaro@modbee.com
West Campus High School of the Sacramento City Unified School District has not traditionally been viewed as a powerhouse of an athletic department.
A proud academic school? Certainly. Girls basketball coach John Langston knows that. He says his varsity program has no problem being late to practice from time to time to make sure their studies are in order.
“If you want to challenge them in a math test or biology test, you will have a fight,” said Langston, who guided the Warriors to a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section three-peat from 2017-19, a run that included back-to-back CIF State championships.
West Campus is one of just three Sacramento region teams along with Grant and Colfax to win back-to-back state titles. But the feeling is that the Warriors girls hoops program seems to fly under the radar year in and year out. That doesn’t always sit right with the veteran coach.
“We don’t get the coverage everyone else gets, not in the newspapers, but somehow we’re always at the end doing what everyone else is trying to do with less help,” Langston said. “At the end of the day, we compete.”
But Langston and the Warriors are forcing people to take notice, especially after a fourth section championship was secured Friday afternoon with a 47-38 victory over top-seeded Central Catholic of Modesto at Golden 1 Center in the Division IV final.
Senior Naomi Johnson had a game-high 30 points and seven rebounds, while junior Loismary Justice dominated the interior with 12 points, 19 rebounds and two blocks for West Campus (21-3), which halted Central Catholic’s 10-game winning streak, dropping the team to 27-2.
“Lois is just a monster; she’s so good,” said Johnson, who shared a long, emotional embrace with her coach at the end of the game. “Not only her, but every single one of these girls. Every day in practice, they just contribute so much to make us better. And once again, everybody here is just amazing.”
Johnson’s older sisters, Nia and Nadia, were star players for West Campus teams that enjoyed championship seasons. Her father, Leland Johnson, was a key player for Kennedy High School’s first section title teams, so the Sac City Unified vibe lives on.
Freshman point guard Zoya Ahmad only scored one point for West Campus on Friday, but she made a profound impact with five assists, four rebounds and a poised presence in dictating the tempo of the game.
“When I first came to West Campus, Coach saw something in me and put me out there,” Ahmad said. “I think it’s a really good thing as a point guard, how to be a leader and just leading this team.”
West Campus will continue its season in the upcoming CIF Northern California Regional bracket, which will be released Sunday afternoon by the CIF.
“I can promise you that I know it doesn’t always transfer from the classroom to the court,” Langston said. “But for them to allow me to push them the way I push them, I commend them for everything that they deserve.”
Central Catholic, in the midst of a historic season, had only suffered one loss heading into the championship game. The Raiders won their first Valley Oak League championship with a pair of captains who are collegiate prospects in other sports.
Junior Hannah Garcia is a Pepperdine soccer commit, and fellow junior Sam Nichols is verbally committed to Florida for softball. Nichols has a .539 batting average with 15 home runs and 81 RBI over her first two varsity seasons.
Nichols led the Raiders on Friday with 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and eight steals.
Central Catholic’s Hannah Garcia passes the ball during the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship game with West Campus at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. Andy Alfaro aalfaro@modbee.com Langston captures fifth section title
Langston built a championship pedigree long before he arrived at West Campus. From 2000 to 2007, he led the Sacramento Dragons to a section crown with all-time area great Vicki Baugh, who would go on to become a McDonald’s All-American and NCAA champion at Tennessee and enjoy a three-year WNBA career. She now is an assistant coach at UC Davis.
After the championship 2007 season, Langston coached at San Jose State for two years before returning to Sacramento to take the West Campus job. The Warriors have not relinquished a league championship under Langston’s watch.
At the end of the 2025-26 regular season, West Campus had an active streak of 64 straight wins in the Greater Sacramento League.
“He’s won, he has a reputation,” Justice said of Langston. “There are times when we won’t listen because we just are in our heads, but it’s come to a point where we’re here, and it was because of him. At this point, we’re going to have to start listening.”
Langston insists on sharing his coaching credit with his staff, which includes Soledad Montemayor, Cloyce Dickerson, Aprille Cochrane Mauldin and former West Campus player Kiara Jefferson.
“Sometimes you put things together and all the pieces start to fit,” Langston said. “You tighten up a few bolts and things seem to work. That’s what we are.”
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