Samari Bankhead, Charis Rainey and Amel Cook help Windward offset exceptional effort by Julia Wilson in 81-74 win against Rancho Christian in Southern California Regional quarterfinals of Division 1 girls basketball state playoffs

LOS ANGELES – If it was to be the final career home performance for Samari Bankhead competing on Tony and Linda Rubin Family Court, then the Windward School senior forward made sure to leave a lasting impression Thursday night against Rancho Christian.

But even the remarkable performance from the Central Florida commit required significant support from the rest of the Wildcats’ lineup at Lewis Jackson Memorial Sports Center, and they all rose to the occasion to hold off an inspired second-half comeback from the visiting Eagles.

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Bankhead had 31 points, eight rebounds and five assists, with sophomore Charis Rainey adding 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, along with freshman Amel Cook contributing 16 points, eight rebounds and nine assists for fourth-seeded Windward in an 81-74 victory against No. 5 Rancho Christian in the Southern California Regional quarterfinals of the Division 1 girls basketball state playoffs.

Windward (20-10) advanced to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2022, when Bankhead was a freshman on a roster that reached the Division 1 state final, before the Wildcats lost to Richmond Salesian.

The Wildcats, who made seven of eight free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter Thursday, will play Saturday at top-seeded Fairmont Prep (23-10) in a rematch of a Feb. 22 pool-play contest in the CIF-Southern Section Open Division playoffs, with the Huskies securing a 69-65 triumph.

Fairmont Prep reached the regional semifinals for the first time since 2015 by rallying for a 63-56 overtime victory Thursday against No. 9 Harvard-Westlake (24-8).

Windward held a 54-34 lead with 4:45 remaining in the third quarter Thursday, before Gonzaga-bound senior guard Julia Wilson led the Eagles’ comeback effort.

Wilson scored 22 second-half points and finished with a game-high 33, leading a nine-point run in the third that cut the deficit to 54-43 with 2:30 left.

Windward still maintained a 15-point edge entering the fourth, but Rancho Christian’s full-court pressure defense continued to keep the Eagles within striking distance.

Following back-to-back layups by Bankhead and Cook put the Wildcats ahead by a 66-53 margin with 5:50 remaining, Wilson scored six of Rancho Christian’s eight unanswered points to help the Eagles close the gap to a five-point deficit for the first of three occasions in the final four minutes of the contest.

Layups by Wilson and freshman Naomi Kemle helped Rancho Christian cut the Windward lead to 70-65 with 2:05 left, but baskets by Bankhead and Cook, along with a free throw from Rainey during the next 70 seconds stretched the Wildcats’ advantage to a 10-point margin and the Eagles were unable to produce another rally.

Wilson added five steals, four rebounds and four assists for Rancho Christian, which had a six-game winning streak halted, including its second CIF-Southern Section title in the past three years with a 58-48 victory Feb. 28 against Brentwood School in the Division 1 final at Toyota Arena.

Rancho Christian girls basketball team | Photo courtesy of Rancho Christian

Alyson Boyd contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Eagles, who received eight points each from fellow junior Ebony Taylor-Smith and the ninth-grader Kemle.

Taylor-Smith hit a pair of 3-point field goals for Rancho Christian, finishing her junior year with 133, which ranks in the top 25 in state history for a single season.

Bankhead hit four 3-pointers, including three in the opening quarter from behind the arc, with Cook adding a pair of 3-point field goals for the Wildcats, who led 41-28 at halftime.

Alexie Wehrle, a freshman, added six points and New York University-bound senior Olivia Lagao contributed four points and four assists for Windward, which rebounded from three pool-play losses in the CIF-Southern Section Open Division to win back-to-back Division 1 state playoff contests.