SoCalHoops CIF State Tournament News

SoCal CIF State Regional 1st Round
Girls' Game Details--(Mar. 8,  2000)

We had a couple of scores messed up, and the brackets were a little bit wacky, but we've gotten that all straightened out now, and we've spent a lot of the day collecting the details from all of the games played yesterday, boys, girls, NorCal and SoCal, and we've found something for most every game (all except the Pacific Hills v. Mission Prep, which we know now was won by Mission Prep 76-47.  Here are the details from the SoCal CIF State Regionals, first round, for the girls' games we could find something on.   Remember, D-I is being played tonight, so we won't have anything on them, except raw scores, until tomorrow.

Division II

Redondo Union 83, Western Tulare 30--Ofa Tulikihihifo scored 16 points Tuesday night to lead Redondo Union to an easy 83-30 victory over Tulare Western in the opening round of the Southern California regional of the girls' state basketball tournament at Redondo Union.  Redondo Union (27-5), the Southern Section Division II-AA champion, scored the first 12 points and led, 20-9, at the end of the first quarter.  Redondo Union increased the lead to 39-15 by halftime.  Krisztina Fuleki scored 10 points, Jackie Packard had 12 and Jasmine Arjasbi scored 10 for Redondo Union. Redondo had a high-scoring game despite getting just two points from senior team captain Stephanie Wong. Wong did have five assists and three steals.  Redondo dominated the boards, outrebounding Tulare, 49-17. Kelly Packard grabbed nine re bounds to go with 12 points, but Enriquez said he was more pleased with her five assists and five steals. Jasmine Arjasbi also played strong around the boards, grabbing seven rebounds to go with her 10 points. Redondo also dominated with a full-court press defense it started using the last week of the season. With the press, Redondo forced 36 turnovers.In the first half, the Redondo defense caused 18 turnovers and held Tulare to six field goals, running out to a 39-15 lead.

Brea Olinda 57, Laguna Hills 39--The Ladycats went on a 20-2 run at the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth en route to the victory at Laguna Hills.   Jackie Lord scored 19 points and Chelsea Trotter had 15 points and five steals for Brea Olinda (25-6), which was coming off a defeat to Redondo Union in the Southern Section II-AA championship game. Megan Aaker led Laguna Hills (18-14) with 18 points.  Laguna Hills' game plan worked for three quarters, but Brea Olinda used a 14-0 run to start the fourth quarter to pull away for a 57-39 victory over the host Hawks on Tuesday in the first round of the CIF Southern California Division II girls basketball Regionals.  The Ladycats (26-6), who lost to Redondo Union on Friday in the Southern Section Division II-AA final, advance to the Southern California Regional semifinals Thursday where they will meet Santana of Santee. Laguna Hills finishes the season 18-14. The Hawks had no chance matching up physically with the Ladycats, so they slowed the game and never let Brea Olinda get its fastbreak going. They also used double-, triple- and even quadruple-teams on Brea's star forward, Chelsea Trotter, to force the Ladycats to beat them from the outside. Brea slowly built its lead to 10 points in the second quarter, but Laguna Hills chipped away. Christen D'Alessandro hit back-to-back jumpers in the final minute of the half to cut Brea's lead to 20-17. Laguna Hills super-sophomore Megan Aaker got hot in the third quarter, connecting on two three-pointers in an 11-2 run. Shannon Owens converted a three-point play and Christina Leets capped the run with a 10-footer that gave the Hawks their first lead, 30-29, with 2:20 left in the third. It was a short-lived lead. Brea Olinda outscored the Hawks 28-9 the rest of the way to end Laguna Hills' hopes.   Brea Olinda: Trotter 15, Gonzales 2, Lord 19, Phillips 2, Hefferly 12,  Bonnewitz 4, Saari 3. Laguna Hills: Aaker 18, C. D'Alessandro 6, Bengard 1, Beebe 2, Leets 6,  Owens 6. Brea Olinda  Three-Pointers: Brea 6 (Lord 4, Hefferly 2), LH 3 (Aaker 3). Records: Brea 26-6, LH 18-14.

Santee Santana 70, Garden Grove Pacifica 63--Freshman Jaime Ransom scored 15 of her 23 points in the first quarter and the Sultans (27-5) held off a fourth-quarter charge by Pacifica for the victory at home.  Pacifica (23-8) cut a 13-point deficit to three with 1:52 left, but could get no closer. The second-seeded Sultans (27-5) fell behind 7-2 in the opening minutes, but after a 9-0 run the hosts never trailed again.  The spark plug early for Santana was 5-foot-9 freshman Jaime Ransom. She collected 13 of her 23 points in the first quarter, including three three-pointers. Santana led by as many as 17 in the third quarter, but Pacifica (22-9) rallied. With 1:52 left, the Mariners cut the lead to 63-60. But Ransom scored four straight points and Kathryn Wynne (20 points, 10 rebounds) cashed in another basket, sealing the victory.   Thea Bachmann had 15 assists for Santana.  Renson made three three-pointers in the first quarter to get Santana off to a fast start. Santana (27-5) will host Brea Olinda in the next round. Pacifica 14 14 14 21 -- 63 Santana 26 12 14 18 -- 70 Garden Grove Pacifica (17-9) -- Valencia 18, Estrada 9, Barreras 15, Pawlowski 2, Tran 11, Ishii 7, Waldecker 1. Santana (27-5) -- Krismer 6, Turpin 8, Price 2, Ransom 23, Sutton 11, Wynne 20. 

San Diego University City 50, Sanger 39-- Theresa Lischer and Tiffanie Hearn scored 13 and 10 points, respectively, as visiting University City (24-8) upset fourth-seeded Sanger (20-9). University City (San Diego) jumped to a 27-16 lead and held off a Sanger charge in the fourth quarter for a 50-39 Division 2 victory.  The Central Section-champion Apaches cut the lead to four points in the fourth quarter.  The Centurions survived 37 turnovers caused by a trapping Sanger defense. But the taller University team had a 46-30 rebounding edge.  Theresa Lischer scored 13 points, pulled down 15 rebounds, and blocked three shots for University, the San Diego Section runner-up. Tiffany Hearn added 10 points and nine rebounds.  Angela Williams had 15 points, giving her 757, fifth-best in Sanger history. University City 16 11 7 16 -- 50 Sanger 9 6 14 10 -- 39 University City (24-8) -- Dawson 7, Pallas-Jacobs 6, Ambort 8, Gray 4, Iglehart 2, Hearn 10, Lischer 13. Sanger (20-9) -- Horn 2, Melkonian 2, Poochigian 7, Williams 15, Dittenbir 3, Molina 1, Johnson 9. Three-point goals -- Dawson, Poochigian, Dittenbir. Records: University City (24-8), Sanger (20-9).

Division III

Alemany 67, Wasco 56--Alemany advanced with a 67-56 victory over Central Section champion Wasco in the first round of the Division III Southern Regional at Wasco. The Indians (24-6) appeared sharp, responding from the long layoff after losing last week in the Division III Southern Section semifinals and  the 120-mile drive yesterday, and shot 54 percent (27 for 50) from the field, giving Melissa Hearlihy, the coach at Alemany,   her 350th career victory.  Alemany will play Bishop Montgomery (26-3) on Thursday at Bishop Montgomery in the regional semifinal. Last night, the Indians built a 51-33 lead in the third quarter, then withstood a rally by Wasco (21-8).  Vandy Noldon and Lindsey West combined to score 14 points and the Tigers cut the difference to 59-53 with 2:30 to play.  That's when Alma Sandoval of Alemany took over, scoring six of her 14 points in the next minute to secure the victory.  She was the fourth Alemany player to take her turn dominating the contest.  Beckler, the two-time Mission League most valuable player, scored 18 points and Nyasha Bralock added 11 of her 13 points in the first half, when Alemany took a 37-28 lead. Karina Siam scored all eight of her points in the third quarter as the advantage grew. Sandoval scored 10 in the fourth quarter.  Noldon finished with 23 points, West had 15 points and Lydia Irby added 12 for Wasco. 

Torrance Bishop Montgomery 84, Selma 23--Lauren Ervin scored 16 points, Noelle Quinn had 15 and Tamara Quinn added 13 as the top-seeded Knights (23-6) won at Bishop Montgomery.  Selma finished 17-9.  Bishop Montgomery used a full-court press to jump to a 24-6 lead against Selma after the first quarter and never let up. The Knights, who do not have a starter under 5-11, relentlessly pressured the Selma ball-handlers to force 20 first-half turnovers. Montgomery led 52-8 at halftime.  Noelle Quinn, a 5-11 freshman point guard, scored 15 points for Bishop Montgomery. Andrea Duran led Selma with nine.  Sam Black and Kristen Nishihara each added eight to help down Selma (17-9), the Central Section runner-up.  The Knights, who led at halftime, 53-8, forced 35 turnovers in the game.

Fullerton Rosary 66, USDHS 42--Maggie Barnett scored 23 points to lead Rosary (23-10) to victory at home.  Caroline Jensen led USDHS with 22 points and 18 rebounds.  The Royals (23-10) will play Kearny of San Diego, champion of CIF San Diego Division III, in the second round of the Regionals on Thursday.   Kearny will be the home team, because it has a higher travel priority number than Rosary. The winner of Rosary-Kearny will play in the CIF Southern California Division III Regionals final Saturday at 11 a.m. at The Forum.  When Rosary lost to Bishop Montgomery in the CIF Southern Section Division III-AA championship game Saturday at the Long Beach State Pyramid, the Royals played like a team without desire. Tuesday night, the fire returned. The Royals outran and outhustled University from the outset. The Royals wasted little time capitalizing on that chance. They jumped to a 5-0 lead, then built that to a 13-4 advantage.  They effectively put the game away in the second quarter. Rosary's full-court press led the Royals to a 42-14 halftime lead. Jen Farner had six steals in the quarter. USDHS 6 8 8 20 -- 42 Fullerton Rosary 21 21 14 10 -- 66  USDHS (20-9) -- Gutierrez 4, Jensen 22, Weber 8, Shanahan 4, Turner 2, Fleming 2. Fullerton Rosary (23-10) -- Barnett 23, Karcher 6, Farner 7, Munroe 1, O'Connell 16, Sonoda 2, Kenney 9, Martin 2. Three-point goals -- Kenney 2. Records: Fullerton Rosary (23-9), USDHS (19-10). 

San Diego Kearny 63, Harvard-Westlake 58--Senior center Triola Alexander scored 33 points to lead Kearny (17-13) over visiting Harvard-Westlake (22-9). Freshman guard Latasha Lewis added 14 points. Harvard-Westlake led 18-10 after one quarter, but Kearny changed its defense, closing down the outside shooters, and outscored Harvard-Westlake 22-5 in the second quarter. Kearney led by as much as 16 early in the second half, but Harvard-Westlake closed to 61-59 with one second left. Kearny's Elainea Washington was fouled on the final inbounds pass and made two free throws to end the game.San Diego Kearny's senior Triola Alexander, a 6-foot-2 center headed for St. Mary's College next year scored 33 points to lead Kearny to a 63-58 victory over Harvard-Westlake in the first round of the Southern Regional Division III girls' basketball championships at Kearny.  19 of those 33 points came in the first half. In a rematch of a first-round victory by the Wolverines last year, LaTanya Robnett scored 21 points and Brooke Porter had 20 for Harvard-Westlake.   However, Alexander and freshman guard Latasha Lewis, who scored 14 points, proved to be too much.  Harvard-Westlake (22-9) started strong, and finished the first quarter with an 18-10 lead thanks to three consecutive three-point baskets, two by Lindsey Medders and one by Porter.  Kearny (17-13), San Diego Section Division III champion, closed down the Wolverines' outside shooters, outscoring Harvard-Westlake, 22-5, in the second quarter.  The Komets took the lead for good, 20-18, with 5:26 remaining in the first half on a three-point basket by Lewis.  Harvard-Westlake trailed by 16 points but rallied to within 61-58 with one second left.  Elainea Washington of Kearny was fouled on the final in-bounds pass and made two free throws.  There were three technical fouls called in the game, including two on Alexander, which meant that she was ejected,and if the State rules are the same as the Southern Section rules, she'll have to sit out the next game.  Harvard-Westlake 18 5 13 22 -- 58 Kearny 10 22 14 17 -- 63 Kearny (17-13) -- Alexander 33, Lewis 14, Brown 7, Washington 7, Coakley 2.  North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake (22-9) -- Robnett 21, Porter 20, Walters 8, Medders 5, Aganafir 2, Kazay 2.  Three-point goals -- Porter (H) 5, Lewis (K) 3, Alexander (K) 2, Metters (H), Robnett (H), Walters (H).

Division IV

La Jolla Bishop's 53, Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 38--Brianna Winn had 19 points and eight rebounds Tuesday to lead The Bishop School past visiting Calvary Chapel, 53-38, in the first round of the CIF Division IV Southern California Regionals in girls basketball. Bishop's improved to 26-1; Calvary Chapel finished at 18-9. Bishop's advances to play Morro Bay, a 49-40 winner Tuesday against Taft.  Lindsay Killus added 16 points for the top-seeded Knights. Bishop led by a modest 21-16 score with 33 seconds to play in the first half, but the Knights hit back-to-back three-pointers to pull away. Calvary Chapel lost in its CIF Southern Southern final. The host Knights used back-to-back three-pointers by Lindsay Killus and Mallorie Winn to turn a five-point lead into a 27-16 halftime advantage and Calvary Chapel (18-9) got no closer. Brianna Winn scored 19 points and Killus 16 to lead top-seeded Bishop's (26-1). Brianna Winn added eight rebounds and four assists. Calvary Chapel 9 7 8 14 -- 38 Bishop's 12 15 12 14 -- 53 Calvary Chapel (18-9) -- Tracy 3, Nelson 3, Fabre 10, Werdel 12, Villoria 6, Richelli 4. Bishop's (26-1) -- Gage 6, Cole 1, Killus 16, B. Winn 19, M. Winn 7, Grimm 4. Three-point goals -- Killus 3, Gage 2, Fabre 2, B. Winn, M. Winn, Tracy, Werdel, Villoria.  

Morro Bay 49, Taft 46--Leeane Jensen scored 15 points and Jaime Keyser had 10 for the victorious Pirates (17-7) at Taft.  Taft led, 38-30, midway through the third quarter but Morro Bay came back and took a three-point lead with eight seconds left on two free throws by Karena Bonds.  Taft's Krystal Hagstrom's three-point shot to tie fell short. 

Valley Christian 63, Garces 50--Susie Boogaard scored 23 points and Jamila Veasley had 18 points and 16 rebounds for Valley Christian (25-6), which took charge by outscoring Garces, 20-9, in the fourth quarter.  The third-seeded Crusaders rested at the free-throw line in the final minute, where they scored all eight of their last points to pull off a 63-50 victory over Garces from Bakersfield at Whitney High. Sophomore center Susie Boogaard scored 10 of her game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, including four free throws, and had 14 rebounds, while senior forward Jamila Veasley had 18 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals for Valley Christian. The Crusaders advanced to the second round to play St. Bernard Thursday at a site to be determined. But playing sloppy basketball in the first half, Valley Christian was unable to shake Garces, which led, 28-27, at the break. Junior guard Nichole Gonzales gave the Crusaders a much-needed boost in the third quarter, camping out at the perimeter, where she scored six of her eight points in the period. She gave her team the lead with a 17-foot jumper with 7:48 left in the period. But the Rams weren't deterred and kept the game close. The Crusaders led, 43-41, to start the fourth quarter, but the Rams grabbed the lead on a 3-pointer by senior guard Natalie Esparza 13 seconds into the period. Veasley, however, scored back-to-back baskets as the Crusaders regained the lead for good (47-44). Boogaard then made three consecutive baskets to stretch the margin to 53-46. Esparza had 15 points and Suzanne Hauser had 11 for the Rams, who were runners-up in the Central Section.

St. Bernard 65, Coronado 22--Shannon Howell and Alexis Kendricks each scored 19 points to lead the second-seeded Vikings (25-5) to the victory at home.  Shannon Clay had 12 points and 11 rebounds for St. Bernard. The two also each had five steals and five rebounds  St. Bernard limited Coronado to five points in the second half. The Vikings will play the winner Valley Christian on Thursday in the regional semifinals. Coronado 6 11 2 3 -- 22 St. Bernard 19 21 19 6 -- 65   Coronado (18-11) -- Saulnier 11, Stahley 1, Giovanini 3, Solem 2, Settle 2, Williams 3. Playa del Rey St. Bernard (20-6) -- Davis 1, Griffin 1, Howell 17, Kendricks 21, Jenkins 1, Watters 8, Mosley 4, Clay 12. Three-point goals -- Howell 3, Kendricks.

Division V

Mission Prep  76, Pacific Hills 47-- We looked everywhere we could think of and couldn't find anything on this game in any of the local media (not the Times, the Daily News, and not even the local San Luis Obispo, nor even the Bakersfield Californian which often covers Central Section teams like Mission Prep, had a thing).  Thanks to the person who posted the score on the message board because without that, we'd still be wondering. . . not even the CIF website had the score until this evening. If anyone was there and wants to send us a report, we'll gladly substitute it here for this drivel.

Santa Fe Christian 62, Hemet Baptist Christian 39--Brandi Collato has been the go-to player all season, but a group effort was needed for the Santa Fe Christian High girls basketball team on Tuesday.  The No. 4-seeded Eagles defeated Hemet Baptist of the Southern Section, 62-39, at home in the first round of the Southern California Regional Tournament.  With the win, Santa Fe Christian (28-5) moves into the second round at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday against the winner of the game between No. 1 San Luis Obispo Mission Prep (20-7) and West Hollywood Pacific Hills (20-8). The Eagles would be on the road if Mission Prep of the Central Section won.  Collato, a junior guard, topped her season average of 26.4 points per game with 28 and grabbed eight rebounds even though she had a disappointing night.  While Collato missed her early shots, senior Kelly Bull started the Eagles off with a strong performance inside and from outside finishing with 18 points. Early turnovers and poor shooting by the Warriors (20-3) allowed the Eagles to gain the advantage. Point guard Carrie Hague and Collato were able to find Bull under the net early in transition. Gilcrease, however, had a strong rebounding night with eight to go along with five points. Hague and Jana Davis each had four points.   Hemet's defense was in disarray in the first quarter when it focused on Collato, leaving others open. The Warriors had a sizable height advantage in three players, but were not fast enough to keep up with the Eagles.   It took the first quarter for the team from a 90-person school in South Riverside to settle into its game. Sisters Leslie and Jamie DeKiewiet led the Warriors. Leslie tallied 15 points and had seven rebounds, while Jamie scored 12 points. 

Central Valley Christian 56, St. Anthony 50--Central Valley Christian's inside game was too much for St. Anthony to handle as the Cavaliers won 56-50 Tuesday in a Southern California Regional Division 5 first-round playoff game at St. Anthony's Jack Errian Memorial Gymnasium.  CVC's Lauren Ballou, Rachelle Verhoeven and Katrina Anker combined for 45 points and 32 rebounds. The 6-foot 2-inch Ballou finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Anker had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Verhoeven scored nine points   and had 11 rebounds.  CVC led from start to finish, but St. Anthony stayed close until late in the second quarter at 20-19, with 3:49 left in the first half after Andrea Opfer made a 3-pointer from the left corner. That's when the Cavaliers went on a 12-0 run to end the half ahead 31-19. Two baskets each by Ballou and Anker keyed the rally.  The run which ended the first half began with an eight-footer by Katrina Anker and concluded with a 10-footer by Lauren Ballou with four seconds left before halftime. St. Anthony played better in the second half, but never really threatened because it couldn't stop Ballou and Anker inside. Ballou, a 6-foot-2 center, had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks and Anker, a 5-foot-10 forward, added 17 points, 11 rebounds and a blocked shot. St. Anthony hurt itself by not getting Shawn Matthews involved more on offense. Matthews, one of only two seniors on the roster along with center Monica Schirmer, grabbed 15 rebounds but she managed to score only eight points. The lone double figure scorer for the Saints was 6-foot forward Andrea Opfer. She had 20 points, including two 3-pointers, but managed to make only 7 of 20 shots from the field. She also had eight rebounds. Schirmer had eight points and 11 rebounds and Lisa Luyben, a junior guard, finished with eight points and five rebounds. 

Pilgrim 51, La Jolla Country Day 42--Amber Cunningham scored 20 points and Sharae Benitez scored 13 for the Patriots (28-2) in the victory at Murphy. Lord during state playoff game. La Jolla Country Day 15 9 13 5 -- 42 Los Angeles Pilgrim 12 15 12 12 -- 51  La Jolla Country Day (10-23) -- Birnbaum 5, Eszlinger 12, Rentz 11, Snider 4, Kuoh 8, Scarfeo 2. Los Angeles Pilgrim (28-2) -- Benitez 13, James 6, Wang 4, Carter 6, Cunningham 20, Hicks 2. Three-point goals -- Birnbaum, Eszlinger, Benitez 3. 

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