Mission Hills wins back-to-back CIF-San Diego Section Open Division girls basketball crowns with 60-51 victory over Francis Parker, secures record fifth Open title overall

OCEANSIDE – Following the graduation of five starters from a championship lineup and the loss of Destiny Walker, the program’s lone senior, to a knee injury before the season even started, Mission Hills demonstrated it still had more than enough reinforcements to add to a remarkable legacy in the CIF-San Diego Section Open Division.

Francis Parker School also faced its share of adversity in pursuit of winning the first Open Division girls basketball title in program history, having two starters sidelined for the majority of the season with injuries, but the Lancers could have never anticipated how significantly they would be challenged Friday at Frontwave Arena.

Post-game interviews

Gigi Ong, the team’s starting point guard, was sidelined the entire second half after encountering a hard fall on a layup in the second quarter that resulted in the sophomore hitting her head on the floor, with freshman forward Isabella Riddle needing to be helped off the court following a severe knee injury with 2:32 left in the contest, all of which became too much for the top-seeded Lancers to overcome.

Mission Hills, the No. 3 seed, received a career-high 23 points from sophomore Maleena Nava and the Grizzlies never trailed the entire night to secure back-to-back Open Division crowns with a 60-51 victory.

Both teams will continue competing in the state playoffs Tuesday, with the pairings to be released Sunday.

Mission Hills (23-8), which has won eight in a row since a 54-53 loss Jan. 28 against Westview, became the first school in section history – regardless of gender – to capture five Open Division championships, along with titles in 2015-17 under veteran coach Chris Kroesch, who has six section crowns overall, including a Division 1 banner in 2014.

The Grizzlies also prevailed by a 65-61 margin Dec. 13 against Francis Parker (20-9), which advanced to its first Open Division final after winning the Division 2 crown last season.

The Lancers overcame injuries to sophomore Brieana Brown and junior Kaia Desmond to reach the Open Division championship game, but the losses of Ong and Riddle, in addition to freshman Brianna Mendez fouling out with 2:44 remaining left Francis Parker coach Courtney Clements with few options to explore on an already thin roster.

Riddle had 15 points and 15 rebounds, before falling to the ground in significant pain underneath the Mission Hills basket on the ensuing possession after Mendez fouled out, and eventually being placed in a wheelchair to receive further assistance after lengthy evaluation from the Francis Parker team trainer and on-site medical personnel.

Ironically, it was Riddle who was called upon to shoot a free throw on behalf of Ong with 1:07 left in the second quarter after Francis Parker’s sophomore standout was visibly shaken up following her awkward fall after making a layup that resulted in her watching the remainder of the game from the Lancers’ bench.

Kaitlyn Raagas, a junior, had 14 points, including four 3-point field goals, and Mendez contributed 13 points – knocking down three 3-pointers – and five rebounds for Francis Parker, which trailed by a 32-29 margin at halftime.

Peyton Mason, a freshman, added six points for the Lancers, who cut a nine-point deficit entering the fourth to 53-47 with 4:30 remaining, but Francis Parker wouldn’t get any closer.

Bay Cordova, a sophomore, had 12 points and five rebounds, with junior HC Harding contributing 12 points and six rebounds, in addition to making a pair of 3-point field goals to add to her section-leading mark with 130 3-pointers this season for the Grizzlies.

Kalea Bacho also hit two 3-point field goals and scored eight points for Mission Hills, which enters the state playoffs with 406 3-pointers as a team, pursuing the California prep record of 425 achieved by The Bishop’s School of La Jolla in 2017.

Nava punctuated the victory and her career-high performance on a layup with 1:33 left for the Grizzlies, who received another 3-pointer by Izzy Medina and seven rebounds from Lyndsey Rogers.