Ontario Christian delivers early knockout to Sage Hill to earn CIF Southern California Open Division girls basketball championship, first state finals berth

Kaleena Smith, a junior point guard, led four Ontario Christian players in double figures with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, as the second-seeded Knights produced a 73-51 girls basketball victory against No. 4 Sage Hill in the CIF Southern California Regional final of the Open Division state playoffs in Ontario.

Dani Robinson, a junior guard, contributed 17 points and four assists, sophomore Tatiana Griffin had 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists, with freshman Chloe Jenkins adding 14 points, seven rebounds and six steals for Ontario Christian, which led 34-4 following the first quarter and increased the advantage to a 54-18 margin at halftime to secure the first regional championship in program history.

Amalia Holguin, a Texas-bound senior point guard, had 25 points in her final prep contest for Sage Hill and sophomore Eve Fowler scored 14 points for the Lightning, who advanced to the Open Division regional final after competing in the Division 1 state championship game last season.

The Knights will compete March 14 in their first Open Division state final against Archbishop Mitty at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

Ontario Christian produced a 96-87 double overtime win Jan. 10 against Archbishop Mitty at the Kay Yow Showcase at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, with Smith scoring 50 points for the Knights in the come-from-behind victory.