And then there were 48. That’s how many high school basketball teams continued practice schedules this week with dreams of a state title. The majority of that number gets cut in half on March 18 as 24 boys teams and 24 girls will attempt to take the last step to the state finals — which take place March 25-26 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. We’ll have preview glances for each of the regional championship games taking place in Northern and Southern California this Saturday. First up, the NorCal girls.
Here’s how they’ll roll out:
Thursday, noon: NorCal Girls
Friday, 8 A.M.: NorCal Boys
Friday, noon: SoCal Girls
Friday, 4 P.M.: SoCal Boys
CIF Girls Basketball Southern Regional Championship Matchups
OPEN DIVISION
Jasmine Jones of Long Beach Poly. (Nicc Jackson/@wcgbmedia via CalHiSports.com)
MATCHUP: No. 1 Clovis West-Fresno (31-2) vs. No. 2 seed Long Beach Poly (26-3), March 18, 4 p.m. at The Pyramid at Long Beach State
HISTORY: Cal-Hi Sports No. 2 Clovis West has never even played for a Southern Regional championship while Cal-Hi Sports No. 3 Long Beach Poly will look to improve on a 7-3 record in SoCal title games.
CLOVIS WEST KEYS TO VICTORY: Against top teams the Golden Eagles have been near or above their 74.1 points per game scoring average, and if they can score at least 70 points and play solid team ball with the kind of defense they have shown — except in the second game against Centennial-Las Vegas when they lost 70-46 at the MLK in Stockton — coach Craig Campbell and his girls should win again just like they did in a 70-67 overtime victory over Poly at the Nike TOC.
LONG BEACH POLY KEYS TO VICTORY: If USC-bound 6-3 post Ayanna Clark becomes unstoppable inside, and other players like Loyola Marymount-committed Jasmine Jones and flashy guard Danae Miller play well, Poly could well be looking at an eighth SoCal title. Either way, with Poly and Clovis West so close we think this will be a duplicate of the first meeting in December and go to an extra period.
PREDICTION: Clovis West 67, Long Beach Poly 64 OT
DIVISION I
Ventura star Aubrey Knight will play at Colorado next season. (Twitter.com)
MATCHUP: No. 1 Windward-Los Angeles (28-4) vs. No. 3 Ventura (25-7), March 18, Noon at the Pyramid at Long Beach State
HISTORY: Windward is 3-0 in Southern Regional title games but two of those were in Division IV. They were also the first Southern Regional Open Division champions when the 2013 team beat Mater Dei-Santa Ana 81-71 in the inaugural year of the division. Defending CIFSS Div. I-AA champion Ventura has been on the short end of three SoCal title games, twice in Div. I and once in Div. II. Their most recent title game was a loss to Serra-Gardena in the 2015 SoCal Div. I final.
WINDWARD KEYS TO VICTORY: Simply said, it’s Cal-Hi Sports reigning State Freshman of the Year Charisma Osborne. Of the four SoCal Div. I semifinalists that were ranked by Cal-Hi Sports, the Wildcats were the highest at No. 16 because they are the best one-girl team in the state still alive in the top playoff divisions. The supporting cast for head coach Vanessa Nygaard needs to play well, like in their four wins over Sierra Canyon-Chatsworth, but Osborne has to be on.
VENTURA KEYS TO VICTORY: Coach Ann Larson likes to play defense, and if she can find a way to slow down Osborne, keep the score low, and seniors Svannah Paige and Aubrey Knight play well, the Cougars could be playing for a first ever state championship.
PREDICTION: Windward 58, Ventura 51
DIVISION II
Duke-bound Jayda Adams is the player who makes Mater Dei go. (Mater Dei High School)
MATCHUP: No. 1 Orangewood Academy-Garden Grove (22-9) vs. No. 2 seed Mater Dei-Santa Ana (23-8), March 17, 4:30 p.m. at Vanguard University
HISTORY: Orangewood Academy is a new kid on the block with respect to Southern Regional title games while Mater Dei has been in the fourth-most ever — but has a checkered 6-5 record across several divisions. The last time the Monarchs were in the SoCal finals was they lost to eventual state Div. II state-champion Cajon-San Bernardino. Two years ago they defeated Chaminade-West Hills in the Open Div. regional final.
ORANGEWOOD ACADEMY KEYS TO VICTORY: The Spartans were awarded the No. 1 seed due to a split with a Fairmont Prep-Anaheim team that was in the Open Division and had a 59-56 win over Mater Dei. One would think the three top scorers who played well in both the win and loss to Fairmont Prep, senior Estefania Giner (13.2 ppg average), senior Carolina Montes (11.6 ppg average) and junior Gabriela Rosas (9.6 ppg average), will need to do so again
MATER DEI KEYS TO VICTORY: Coach Kevin Kiernan has been here before. Besides guiding Mater Dei in seven SoCal title games with four wins, he was 4-1 in Div. II SoCal championship games at Troy-Fullerton. His 12 appearances are second only to the 13 of Terri Bamford of La Jolla Country Day, and coaching in these games and going for career coaching win No. 723 could be a factor in Kiernan’s favor. The biggest factor will be can Duke-bound wing Jayda Adams take over and lead the Monarchs and supporting cast like 6-2 junior Emma Torbert to a win and a shot at another state title?
PREDICTION: Mater Dei 58, Orangewood Academy 53
DIVISION III
MATCHUP: No. 6 seed Serra-San Diego (23-10) at No. 1 Rosary Academy-Fullerton (28-5), March 18, 6 p.m.
HISTORY: Rosary has been in a Southern Regional Division III title game twice and came up empty both times, losing in 1999 to Harvard-Westlake-North Hollywood and in 2001 to Bishop Montgomery-Torrance. Serra is making its first appearance in a SoCal Regional title game.
ROSARY ACADEMY KEYS TO VICTORY: Coach Richard Yoon knew his Royals girls would likely be in Div. III for the state playoffs so he scheduled a very tough non-league schedule and still went a very respectable 4-4 in the Trinity League. They lost a close game to Ventura and kept things close in one of their two league losses to Mater Dei. Because of that type of scheduling, the Royals are 74 spots ahead of Serra in the power rankings.
SERRA KEYS TO VICTORY: The Conquistadors were blown out by Mission Hills-San Marcos and La Jolla Country Day but only lost 65-52 to NorCal Div. I finalist Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills. As for a common opponent, they beat Mater Dei-Chula Vista by 12 points at home and lost by four on the road. Rosary was 56-54 winner over Mater Dei at the SoCal Holiday Classic.
PREDICTION: Rosary 61, Serra 58
DIVISION IV
MATCHUP: No. 3 Village Christian-Sun Valley (31-3) at No. 1 Los Osos-Rancho Cucamonga (26-3), March 18, 6 p.m.
HISTORY: Both teams are making their first Southern Regional title game appearance.
LOS OSOS KEYS TO VICTORY: This is a case where competitive equity stands out for Los Osos, a Div. III enrollment school that had to drop down to Div. IV due to the CIFSS having so many teams ahead of them in the pecking order. Prior to the playoffs, they only played a couple of teams from outside the Inland Empire but they have played mostly large schools including Etiwanda twice in Baseline League play and that should help.
VILLAGE CHRISTIAN KEYS TO VICTORY: Prior to the playoffs, the Crusaders had a steady diet of small schools, but in a current 15-game winning streak they do have a win over Oaks Christian-Westlake Village which started the streak and is probably their best win of the season. Head coach Jon Sampang will need to coax the best game of the season from his girls to win.
PREDICTION: Los Osos 57, Village Christian 52
DIVISION V
MATCHUP: No. 5 seed Rolling Hills Prep-San Pedro at No. 3 seed Bellarmine-Jefferson-Burbank (28-3), Saturday, March 18, 7 p.m.
HISTORY: This is the only Southern Regional division where the top seed did not make it to the title game, but Bellarmine-Jefferson has been in two previous SoCal title games with a 1-1 record. Rolling Hills Prep has also been in two title games but will be looking for its first victory
BELLARMINE JEFFERSON KEYS TO VICTORY: Coach Claudia Villa has scheduled light, so it’s hard to figure just how good her Guards really are. Their best game may be a 38-27 loss to Div. IV finalist Village Christian — but that was in late November and they only scored 27 points. The Burbank girls will need to score more than that to win.
ROLLING HILLS PREP KEYS TO VICTORY: The Huskies league is very weak, but they did play a couple of good teams early on, including Mark Keppel-Alhambra in a 16-point loss. Since a loss to University Prep-Redding the week before Christmas, Rolling Hills Prep has strung together 28 straight wins — but they haven’t seen anyone like Bellarmine-Jefferson. It will take their best game of the season to advance to Sacramento next week.
PREDICTION: Bellarmine-Jefferson 47, Rolling Hills Prep 41