Etiwanda, Ontario Christian and Sierra Canyon roll to CIF-Southern Section Open Division girls basketball victories

Etiwanda extended a pair of impressive streaks Saturday in a 96-57 victory against No. 7 Fairmont Prep in the opening pool-play game of the CIF-Southern Section Open Division girls basketball playoffs.

McDonald’s All-American and Cal commit Aliyahna “Puff” Morris had 24 points, four rebounds and four assists for the second-seeded Eagles, who won their 11th consecutive playoff game over a span of three seasons, in addition to securing their 19th victory in a row during the past two months.

Etiwanda (23-4), the reigning Southern Section Open Division champion and winner of the past two Open Division state titles, produced the highest point total in an Open Division girls basketball game since 2021, as well as the No. 3 all-time performance since the bracket was introduced in 2014.

Corona Centennial still holds the Open Division record with a 100-68 victory in 2021 against West Torrance, followed by a 97-71 triumph the same year against Windward.

Etiwanda is the only other girls basketball program in the section to score at least 90 points in an Open Division playoff game on multiple occasions, including a 90-38 victory last season against Corona Centennial.

Mater Dei is the only other school to rank in the top five in scoring in Open Division history with a 94-38 triumph in 2023 against Corona Santiago.

Etiwanda led 50-25 at halftime against Fairmont Prep, which received a game-high 27 points – including six 3-pointers – from junior Adyra Rajan.

Rajan also had six 3-point field goals and scored 31 points Jan. 16 in a 90-67 loss against Etiwanda.

Rajan, who has made 144 3-pointers in 29 games for the Huskies (20-9), achieved the most by a junior in a single season in Southern Section history, surpassing the previous mark of 143 by Allison Ayala from Covina in 2017.

Rajan also elevated to No. 9 all-time in the state for most 3-point field goals in a season, in addition to increasing her career total to 310, which is No. 35 in state history.

Sarah Aldeguer and Maria Mejia both contributed 10 points apiece for Fairmont Prep, which returned to the Open Division playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Aliyah Phillips had 18 points and four rebounds, Arynn Finley added 15 points and five rebounds, McDonald’s All-American and LSU signee Grace Knox produced 11 points and six rebounds, with Chasity Rice also scoring 11 points for the Eagles.

Shaena Brew contributed nine points, six rebounds and six assists, with Kelis Hawkins scoring six points for Etiwanda, which plays host Wednesday to No. 6 Windward (18-8).

Fairmont Prep travels Wednesday to square off with No. 3 Mater Dei (27-2).

Ontario Christian 68, Sage Hill 35: The top-ranked Knights (26-1) built a 38-14 halftime advantage in an Open Division pool-play victory against No. 8 Sage Hill (19-9).

Ontario Christian scored 13 unanswered points in the opening quarter, then followed with an 18-point run to begin the second quarter to extend the advantage to 33-9.

Ontario Christian girls basketball team | Photo courtesy of Ontario Christian

Kaleena Smith led the Knights with 21 points, seven assists and three steals, with Alanna Neale adding 14 points and 11 rebounds, in addition to Tatianna Griffin contributing 13 points and four rebounds.

Dani Robinson scored nine points and Sydney Douglas had five points and eight rebounds for Ontario Christian, which extended its winning streak to 12 in a row.

Kamdyn Klamberg led the Lightning with 15 points.

Ontario Christian plays host Wednesday to No. 5 Bishop Montgomery (21-4), with Sage Hill matching up against No. 4 Sierra Canyon (26-1).

Sierra Canyon 74, Bishop Montgomery 38: The No. 4 Trailblazers (26-1) relied on a strong third-quarter surge to pull away after holding a 32-23 halftime lead in their Open Division pool-play victory against No. 5 Bishop Montgomery (21-4).

Jerzy Robinson had 35 points and 18 rebounds for Sierra Canyon, which has won 21 in a row.

Emilia Krstevski contributed 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Trailblazers.

Sierra Canyon girls basketball team | Photo courtesy of Sierra Canyon

Jordin Blackmon, a Rice commit, scored 11 of her 17 points in the first half for Bishop Montgomery.

Sierra Canyon plays host Wednesday to No. 8 Sage Hill (19-9), with the Knights traveling to top-seeded Ontario Christian (26-1).