REDONDO BEACH – With one of the elite backcourt tandems in the state in Jackie Polk and Carrington Davis, Rialto High provided a reminder Saturday against Sage Hill that regardless of what division the Knights are placed in for the upcoming CIF-Southern Section girls basketball playoffs, there is significant potential for another deep postseason run.
Polk, a junior, had 32 points and six steals, with Davis – a UC Davis-bound senior guard – adding 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals for the Knights, who built a 16-point, first-quarter advantage and never relinquished control to secure a 66-56 victory at the Palisades Riptide Showcase at Redondo Union High.
Rialto (21-4), which captured the Division 4-AA title in 2023, won its 10th in a row since suffering one of two setbacks against a Southern Section opponent this season Jan. 6 against Brentwood (20-6).
Rialto girls basketball team | Photo courtesy of Rialto
The Knights, who were also defeated Nov. 23 by Flintridge Prep (18-1), had their other two losses come in December against Highlands Ranch of Colorado and Bingham High from Utah at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Arizona.
Sage Hill (18-8), competing without leading scorer Amalia Holguin, had sophomore forward Kamdyn Klamberg step up in the absence of the junior guard, contributing 27 points and eight rebounds.
Eve Fowler, a freshman forward, had 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Lightning, who gave up 14 of the first 16 points in the contest and trailed 21-5 with 1:13 remaining in the opening quarter.
Polk had 11 first-quarter points and Davis scored seven points to help Rialto capitalize on several early Sage Hill turnovers.
The Lightning cut the deficit to 26-23 midway through the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Klamberg, but Rialto limited Sage Hill to a pair of field goals the rest of the half and stretched the advantage to a 12-point lead at the break.
Polk and Davis combined for 30 of Rialto’s 40 first-half points, with Destiny Rabino adding a pair of 3-point field goals.
The Knights produced an eight-point run during a two-minute stretch early in the third and grabbed their biggest lead at 55-34 with three minutes left in the quarter.
Sage Hill, which overcame freshman Addison Uphoff aggravating her left ankle during the quarter, responded by scoring 11 unanswered points to close the third.
But the Lightning could only cut the deficit to a six-point margin twice in the final 75 seconds, with Polk making six of eight free-throw attempts for Rialto down the stretch.
Rabino added 11 points for the Knights, with Uphoff scoring six points for Sage Hill, which had a 10-game winning streak snapped.
Fairmont Prep 55, Westlake 39: The Huskies (20-8) held Westlake without a field goal in the fourth quarter and limited the Warriors (22-5) to just seven points in the second half at the Palisades Riptide Showcase at Redondo Union High.
Adyra Rajan, a junior, made six 3-pointers and finished with 22 points and nine rebounds for Fairmont Prep, which held Westlake to only two field goals in the second half after trailing 32-29 at the break.
Rajan, the state leader with 142 3-point field goals, surpassed 300 for her career Jan. 29 in a San Joaquin League victory at Avalon on Catalina Island.
Rajan enters the postseason with 308 career 3-pointers and is one of 35 girls basketball players in California prep history to make at least 300 during her career.
Fairmont Prep girls basketball | Photo courtesy of Fairmont Prep
Sarah Aldeguer, a junior forward, added 15 points and 14 rebounds for Fairmont Prep, which rebounded from losing three times in a five-game stretch in mid-January to conclude the regular season with three consecutive victories.
Maria Mejia added eight points and Lesina Afu contributed seven points for the Huskies, who built on a 42-37 advantage following the third quarter by opening the fourth with seven unanswered points.
Mathis Dritz made two free throws with 2:23 remaining for Westlake, accounting for the only points in the fourth for the Warriors, who had their 15-game winning streak halted.
Taylor Swanson led Westlake with 18 points, including 15 in the first half, and Dritz scored 10 points, with Madison McDonald adding seven points for the Warriors.
Mira Costa 63, El Segundo 49: Sophomore guard Kylee Yeh scored a career-high 35 points for the Mustangs (18-9) and Jada Martin produced 15 points – all in the second half – to help Mira Costa prevail at the Palisades Riptide Showcase at Redondo Union.
Kylee Yeh of Mira Costa basketball | Photo courtesy of Mira Costa
The Mustangs received 16 first-half points from Yeh, but were tied at 27-27 at the break, with El Segundo (17-10) relying heavily on the production of freshmen Sofia Rozell and Avery Pintens.
Mira Costa outscored the Eagles by a 24-11 margin in the third quarter, and despite the 3-point shooting of Pintens, El Segundo wasn’t able to mount a comeback in the fourth.
Pintens had 18 points, connecting on six 3-point field goals, with Rozell contributing 17 points, including 14 in the first half.
Mira Costa won its fourth in a row entering a Bay League championship opportunity Tuesday at Redondo Union.
The Mustangs haven’t captured a league title since sharing the crown with the rival Sea Hawks in 2017.
Redondo Union 39, Shadow Hills 38: Junior guard Chloe Choy scored the final seven points in the last 41 seconds, capped by a thrilling four-point play with two seconds left to help the Sea Hawks (15-12) rally for the dramatic victory on their home court at the Palisades Riptide Showcase.
Chloe Choy of Redondo Union girls basketball | Photo courtesy of Redondo Union
Shadow Hills (21-5) extended its lead to 38-32 with 1:04 remaining following a three-point play from Skylah Archer, who finished with a game-high 25 points, including all 16 for the Knights in the first half.
Choy, who hadn’t scored in the second half, hit a 3-pointer with 41 seconds left to bring Redondo Union to within 38-35.
After Shadow Hills was unable to add to its lead, Redondo Union had the final possession and called timeout with five seconds remaining.
Choy, who led the Sea Hawks with 14 points and six rebounds, had the ball on the right wing in front of the Redondo Union bench and hit a 23-foot shot to tie the score, before being knocked to the floor by Archer upon releasing the ball from her right hand.
After being mobbed by her teammates in celebration, Choy calmly sank the deciding free throw to put Redondo Union ahead.
Shadow Hills threw a length-of-the-court pass on its final opportunity, but senior Coco Funakoshi stole the ball for the Sea Hawks as time expired to secure the come-from-behind victory.
Funakoshi added five points and six rebounds for Redondo Union, with Analiah Cardona contributing seven points for Shadow Hills, which had an eight-game winning streak snapped.
Windward 71, Palisades 41: Four freshmen accounted for 50 points for the Wildcats (15-7), including 20 points and 14 rebounds from Amel Cook, to earn the win against the host Dolphins at the Palisades Riptide Showcase at Redondo Union High.
Windward built a 26-6 lead following the opening quarter, with sophomore Charis Rainey contributing eight of her 10 points in the first eight minutes for the Wildcats.
Windward girls basketball team | Photo courtesy of Windward
Mikaella Kawahito scored 15 points, including three 3-point field goals, with Alexie Wehrle adding eight points and eight rebounds, along with Shiloh Johnson scoring seven points as part of Windward’s impressive production from its remarkable quartet of freshmen.
Braelyn Manumaleuna led Palisades (11-12) with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Sincere Aubrey added nine points and 11 rebounds, with Elly Tierney also contributing nine points and Alyssa Ramirez scoring six points for the Dolphins.
Windward plays Monday at Brentwood to decide the Gold Coast League title, with Palisades facing both Hamilton and Westchester in a three-day span to decide Western League supremacy.
Louisville 53, North Torrance 22: The Saxons (16-8) trailed only 11-7 following the first quarter, but Louisville (10-11) relied on four players scoring at least eight points to pull away during the final 24 minutes at the Palisades Riptide Showcase at Redondo Union High.
Eva Van Lokeren had 12 points, Aniya Johnson added nine points, with Khali Mitchell and Isabella Escibano both contributing eight points apiece for the Royals, who stretched the advantage to 27-13 at halftime.
Shay Tokeshi scored eight points to lead North Torrance, which has the opportunity to earn a share of the Bay League title Tuesday with a victory against Peninsula, combined with Mira Costa losing at Redondo Union.
Chaminade 73, United Christian Academy 24: Chaminade (11-12) built a 20-10 first-quarter lead, but limited United Christian Academy (20-6) to a combined five points during the second and third quarters at the Palisades Riptide Showcase at Redondo Union High.
Natalie Estrada had 12 points and Gigi Marquez contributed eight points in the setback for United Christian Academy, which trailed 40-13 at halftime.