Etiwanda withstands late Mater Dei rally in 63-60 victory to reach fourth consecutive CIF-Southern Section Open Division girls basketball championship game

RANCHO CUCAMONGA – For the past three months, Etiwanda has had to practice patience, and the Eagles needed to demonstrate composure once again Saturday night in the CIF-Southern Section Open Division girls basketball playoffs.

Mater Dei has showcased a significant amount of resilience during the past month, and the Monarchs displayed plenty of perseverance in the second half of the final Open Division pool-play game against reigning champion Etiwanda.

The Monarchs rallied from a 19-point, third quarter deficit to tie the score with three minutes remaining, but Arynn Finley made a clutch bank shot in the lane with 16 seconds left, and the second-seeded Eagles were able to prevent No. 3 Mater Dei from setting up a potential tying 3-point attempt down the stretch, holding on for a 63-60 victory.

Post-game interviews

Etiwanda (25-4), which has won 21 in a row, advanced to the Open Division championship game for the fourth consecutive year and will finally earn a rematch with top-seeded Ontario Christian (28-1) at 8:30 p.m. March 1 at the Toyota Arena in Ontario.

Ontario Christian produced a 74-66 victory Nov. 23 against Etiwanda in the final of the Harvard-Westlake tournament.

Mater Dei was seeking its first appearance in an Open Division final since winning the title in 2021, even more impressive considering the Monarchs (28-3) lost junior standout Kaeli Wynn for the season with a dislocated right kneecap Jan. 25, in addition to Southern Utah-bound senior Devyn Kiernan being unable to compete Saturday as a precaution after suffering significant contact to her nose and back of the head while trying to secure the ball Wednesday against Fairmont Prep.

Despite the Monarchs’ limited roster, they rallied after trailing 51-32 with four minutes remaining in the third quarter, scoring 11 consecutive points during a two-minute stretch.

Mater Dei girls basketball team | Photo courtesy of Mater Dei

Etiwanda still led 55-47 entering the fourth quarter, but Mater Dei continued to battle back, scoring eight unanswered points during another two-minute span to pull even at 59-59 with three minutes left.

Aliyahna “Puff” Morris, a Cal commit and McDonald’s All-American, helped the Eagles regain the advantage on a rebound putback with 2:46 remaining.

After neither team could grab the momentum during the next two minutes, Iowa signee and McDonald’s All-American Addie Deal hit one of two free-throw attempts for Mater Dei to cut the deficit to 61-60 with 43 seconds left.

On the ensuing Etiwanda possession, the Monarchs were able to deny LSU commit and McDonald’s All-American Grace Knox receiving the ball, resulting in Finley driving into the key with the shot clock winding down and banking in a 10-foot shot to extend the Eagles’ lead to three points.

Mater Dei called multiple timeouts and tried to run several inbound plays for Deal in the final 16 seconds, but Knox blocked a potential 3-point attempt in the left corner, and Finley forced a turnover, before Etiwanda ran out the clock to secure its fourth consecutive postseason victory against the Monarchs.

Finley scored a game-high 17 points, with Shaena Brew and Morris both contributing 15 points apiece for the Eagles, who received eight points from Chasity Rice and six points from Knox.

Amaya Williams, a Grand Canyon commit, along with UC Irvine-bound Nohe’Alani Stores, sophomore Harmony Golightly and Deal all scored 14 points each for the Monarchs.

Etiwanda overcame an early eight-point deficit against Mater Dei to grab a 17-14 lead following the first quarter, with the Eagles making seven of their 10 3-pointers in the opening half to stretch the advantage to a 10-point margin at the break.

Mater Dei hit four 3-point field goals, with Deal adding nine assists, Golightly contributing four assists, along with Williams and Stores combining for 13 rebounds.