NEWPORT BEACH – Amalia Holguin continued to step up in the biggest moments as the junior guard has done all season for the Sage Hill girls basketball team, especially in the second half Tuesday night in the Southern California Regional final against Windward School.
But the unsung heroes for the Lightning throughout the Division 1 state playoffs have been the school’s athletic training staff for having freshmen Eve Fowler and Addison Uphoff capable of playing significant minutes, and they did so again down the stretch, helping second-seeded Sage Hill score the final 11 points of the contest to secure a 52-41 victory against the No. 4 Wildcats.
Uphoff, who recovered from a serious foot injury in early February, had 12 points – including the go-ahead three-point play with 2:08 remaining – and Fowler, sidelined for two games in the CIF-Southern Section Open Division playoffs with a sprained ankle, added nine points and a game-high 17 rebounds to support Holguin leading all scorers with 24 points, in addition to eight rebounds for the Lightning (23-11), who advanced to their first state final since 2022.
Sage Hill will square off at 6 p.m. Friday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento against Northern California Regional winner Carondelet (29-6), a 56-51 winner Tuesday against Stockton St. Mary’s (20-14).
The Lightning are competing for the program’s first Division 1 state championship after winning the Division 2 title in 2022.
Sage Hill girls basketball team | Erik Boal photo
Carondelet is making its first appearance in a state final since 2010, seeking the school’s first crown since a Division 2 championship in 2004.
Windward (21-11), which suffered only its second loss in eight all-time appearances in the Southern California Regional final, rallied from a nine-point, third-quarter deficit to tie the score at 41-41 on a 12-foot jump shot by New York University-bound senior Olivia Lagao with 2:25 remaining.
But Uphoff responded on the ensuing possession with a layup and a free throw to give Sage Hill a 44-41 advantage with 2:08 left and the Lightning held Windward scoreless the rest of the way.
Holguin, who scored 17 second-half points, broke the Wildcats’ full-court press to convert a layup with 1:34 remaining for a five-point Sage Hill advantage, then made her fourth 3-point field goal of the night from the left wing with 56 seconds left to increase the lead to 49-41.
Free throws by Uphoff, junior Alyssa Cuff and Fowler in the final 35 seconds accounted for the final margin for the Lightning, as Windward missed its last 11 field-goal attempts in pursuit of its first appearance in a state championship game since reaching the Division 1 final three years ago.
Lagao, a member of the 2022 Wildcats’ roster that lost to Richmond Salesian in the Division 1 state championship, led Windward with 16 points, including four 3-pointers, after scoring 20 points – featuring six 3-pointers – in a 79-55 regional semifinal victory Saturday at top-seeded Fairmont Prep (23-11).
Samari Bankhead, a Central Florida commit, added eight points, freshman Amel Cook contributed seven points and five rebounds, with sophomore Charis Rainey producing five points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats, who trailed 24-21 at halftime.
Following a 21-point, nine-rebound effort Saturday in a 59-39 regional semifinal win against No. 6 Brentwood (27-9), sophomore Kamdyn Klamberg contributed six points and 15 rebounds Tuesday for Sage Hill.
In addition to her late free throw, Cuff also grabbed six rebounds for Sage Hill, which overcame an early 5-2 deficit by scoring 11 unanswered points, and the Lightning never trailed the rest of the contest to earn a third victory this season against Windward, including a pair of wins in November.
Despite Sage Hill enduring a scoreless stretch of more than six minutes during the third and fourth quarters, as Windward produced an 11-2 run to pull even on two occasions, the Lightning persevered to secure their fourth consecutive victory – allowing 41 points or fewer in each state playoff win – after losing all three pool-play contests in the CIF-Southern Section Open Division playoffs.