Strong start, better finish lift Cerritos Whitney to 48-40 victory against Half Moon Bay to secure first Division 4 girls basketball state championship

SACRAMENTO – Haylie Wang attends one of the top academic schools in California in Cerritos Whitney High, but the senior had to pass tests Saturday in the Division 4 girls basketball state final that had nothing to do with her scholastic prowess.

Wang had to find ways to navigate early foul trouble to remain on the court for as long as possible in her final game for the Wildcats, in addition to exploring new options to attack the Half Moon Bay defense, most notably 6-foot junior center Zoey Lemoge.

Although Wang did eventually foul out with just over one minute left in the championship game, her 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists were significant enough for Whitney to capture the first state title in program history, as the Wildcats held Half Moon Bay scoreless during the final 3:40 in a 48-40 victory at Golden 1 Center.

Post-game interviews

Lemoge had 18 points and 18 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive glass, but Half Moon Bay (23-8) only had two other players score, with junior Xochitl Nieves adding 12 points and senior Delaney Dorwin contributing 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Lemoge produced a three-point play to cut the deficit to 43-40 with less than four minutes remaining, but the Cougars shot 2 of 16 from the field and missed all five 3-point attempts in the final quarter.

That wasn’t the only lengthy drought endured by Half Moon Bay, which saw Whitney score the game’s first 10 points in less than four minutes, before the Cougars finally got settled and rallied to face only a 16-9 deficit entering the second quarter.

Alyssa So, a sophomore guard, hit one free throw to extend the lead to 44-40 with 3:17 left and Wang contributed her final basket at the two-minute mark to increase the advantage to a six-point margin.

So capped the scoring with a pair of free throws with 31 seconds remaining, finishing with 15 points – including two 3-point field goals – and four rebounds for the Wildcats.

Allie Yamaguchi, a senior, also made a pair of 3-pointers for Whitney and contributed eight points, as she and So and senior Rachel Moyher all played the entire contest.

Moyher added four points and six rebounds, with fellow senior Sarai Carter recording four points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks, making a significant impact for Whitney after being inserted in the starting lineup by head coach Myron Jacobs during the state playoffs.

The Wildcats rebounded from a 41-36 setback Feb. 22 against Cantwell-Sacred Heart in the CIF-Southern Section Division 3-A semifinals to prevail by a 47-42 margin in the March 11 rematch in the Southern California regional final.

Whitney faced a 12-point, second-quarter deficit against Cantwell-Sacred Heart in the regional final and still trailed by a six-point margin in the third, before Wang scored 10 of her 16 points in the fourth to help the Wildcats produce a crucial eight-point run in the final 5:30 of the contest to take control.

Wang’s production in the regional championship, adding nine rebounds and five assists, was almost identical to her contributions in the state final, helping Whitney become the first public school from the CIF-Southern Section to win a Division 4 state championship.

Nine different Southern Section private schools had combined for 12 girls basketball state championships all-time in Division 4, before the Wildcats made history Saturday.

Half Moon Bay was attempting to become the first CIF-Central Coast Section program to capture a Division 4 state crown since Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep in 2006, regrouping after a 55-45 setback Feb. 27 against Harker School in the section semifinals to win four consecutive Northern California regional playoff home games.

Dorwin helped the Cougars reach their first state final by scoring the deciding basket with 19 seconds remaining in a 49-47 victory March 11 against Lowell from San Francisco to secure the regional championship under first-year head coach Megan Smith.