Ontario Christian girls basketball team secures Senior Night win at home ahead of national showcase at Hoophall Classic

ONTARIO – The potential distractions were present Monday night for the Ontario Christian High girls basketball team, which was trying to avoid looking ahead to a significant national showcase opportunity with a formidable challenge right in front of the country’s top-ranked lineup.  

The emotion of Senior Night and the final regular-season home game, a quality opponent in Rancho Christian and a looming trip across the country to compete Friday at the Army National Guard Hoophall Classic presented by Spalding were all obstacles the Knights needed to navigate in order to continue to build their momentum.

Post-game interviews

Following a brief letdown at the end of the first quarter, Ontario Christian didn’t let up the rest of the way, scoring the first eight points of the second quarter and never relinquishing control to produce a 95-69 nonleague victory.

Ontario Christian (22-1) won its eighth in a row, with Rancho Christian (15-4) losing to the Knights for the second straight season, including an 87-50 setback last year.

Rancho Christian girls basketball | Photo courtesy Rancho Christian

Kaleena Smith, a sophomore, had 29 points, 12 assists and three steals for Ontario Christian, which is scheduled to travel to Springfield, Mass., to square off against Christ the King from New York (9-3) at 3 p.m. EST Friday at Blake Arena.

The Knights recovered from allowing seven consecutive points during the final two minutes of the opening quarter, resulting in Rancho Christian grabbing a 23-22 lead entering the second.

Ontario Christian responded with 10 unanswered points during a two-minute stretch to close the first quarter and start the second and the Eagles never got closer than five the rest of the night.

Smith had 20 first-half points, contributing to a 53-35 lead for the Knights at the break.

Alanna Neale, one of two seniors on the Knights’ roster honored Monday along with Danika Tolentino, scored 16 of her 24 points in the second half, including 10 in the fourth quarter.

Freshman Tatianna Griffin produced a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, in addition to recording a pair of steals, helping Ontario Christian extend the advantage to 76-49 entering the fourth.

Sydney Douglas, another freshman standout for the Knights, contributed 12 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots.

Dani Robinson added seven points, five assists, four rebounds, three steals and three blocks for Ontario Christian, which led by as many as 33 points in the final three minutes.

The Knights are traveling to their third out-of-state event this season, previously competing in November in Texas and December in Arizona.

Etiwanda and Archbishop Mitty are also California girls basketball programs scheduled to compete during the five-day Hoophall Classic showcase in Massachusetts.

Rancho Christian, which plays Thursday at Moreno Valley (14-5) in an Ivy League first-place showdown, received 20 points from Julia Wilson, in addition to Ebony Taylor-Smith scoring 14 points, Alyson Boyd adding 13 points and Bella Cosme contributing 11 points.