South Hills hangs on for 4-3 victory behind Amber Marinero’s three goals: Top-seeded South Hills built a big lead in the first half then hung on to beat Cypress 4-3 in a CIF Southern Section Division 3 girls soccer convert on Thursday.The Huskies (21-1-5) advanced to the semifinals for the first time in school history and will play at El Dorado next Tuesday, March 1.
“I’m really pumped for the girls,” Huskies coach Scott Mocabee said. “They’ve worked so hard this year so its great for them to reap the reward of getting to the semifinals.”
Sierra Vista back in semifinals: Given how much offensive pressure the Sierra Vista High School girls soccer team put on visiting Heritage Christian on Thursday night, it was only a matter of time before the Dons broke through and punched their ticket to the CIF Southern Section Division 6 playoffs semifinals.
Those moments came in the 31st and 57th minutes when Sierra Vista got goals by Zitali Jimenez and Bereniece Mancinas, respectively, to post a 2-0 win over Heritage Christian. The Dons improved to 25-2-1 and will play at Grand Terrace in the semifinals. Heritage Chirstian finished 15-3-3.
“We knew that first goal was going to be tough,” Sierra Vista head coach Steve Jimenez said. “Once we got that first goal, yeah, the pressure does come off your shoulders a little bit.

Thursday’s Quarterfinal results
Division 3
South Hills 4, Cypress 3
Division 6
Sierra Vista 2, Heritage Christian 0
Tuesday’s Semifinals
Division 3
South Hills at El Dorado, 3 p.m.
Sierra Vista at Grand Terrace, 3 p.m.

One of South Hills' Amber Marinero's three first half goals, this for a 2-0 lead pic.twitter.com/Ac43JZbt3R

— Fred J. Robledo (@SGVNSports) February 26, 2016

South Hills comes up short: Sonora High School’s feisty defense and the outside shooting of Lainie James helped the Raiders to a 49-40 victory over South Hills in the CIF Southern Section Division 3AA quarterfinals on Wednesday.
James knocked down four 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 20 points to help the Raiders advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2010. They will be on the road against the Esperanza-Patriot quarterfinal winner on Saturday.My teammates found me and I hit shots,” James said.
And they were tough contested shots, especially with South Hills’ Joy Krupa shadowing her throughout the game.“
She’s (James) been shooting awesome in the playoffs,” Sonora coach Melissa Barajas said. “And the girls have been great about finding her.”
Duarte in semifinals for first time: Fourth-seeded Duarte survived a scare from No. 12 El Segundo and advanced to the CIF Southern Section semifinals for the first time in school history with a 38-36 Division 4AA quarterfinal win over the Eagles on Wednesday night.
The Falcons (26-3) set a season record for wins and will play at Lompoc, an upset winner over No. 1 Marymount, at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Diamond Bar falls to Mira Costa: Mira Costa used a persistent and aggressive defense to earn a 47-33 victory over visiting Diamond Bar in the CIF Southern Section Division 1A girls basketball playoffs on Wednesday night.
Girls basketball
Rowland 50, Dos Pueblos 31 — Farrah Castillo had 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists and Tianna Eaton added 19 points, six rebounds and four steals for the Raiders (25-2) in a Division 2A quarterfinal win. Faith Castillo scored eight points and had eight rebounds, two assists and two steals for Rowland.

CIF-SS Girls Basketball Playoffs
Wednesday’s Quarterfinals
Division 1A
Mira Costa 47, Diamond Bar 33
Division 2A
Rowland 50, Dos Pueblos 31
Division 3AA
Sonora 49, South Hills 40
Division 4AA
Duarte 38, El Segundo 36

Saturday’s Semifinals
Division 2A
Agoura at Rowland, 7 p.m.
Division 4AA
Duarte at Lompoc, 7 p.m.

Damien’s major upset bid falls short: Bishop Montgomery High School sophomore David Singleton split two defenders and threw up a 3-pointer with time running out in regulation that hit off the backboard and rimmed out, sending the game into overtime.
Singleton had a much better look with time running out at the end of overtime a couple of feet behind the 3-point arch with his team down by one point, this time knocking it down with 2.7 seconds left, giving Bishop Montgomery a 58-56 win over Damien in the CIF Southern Section Open Division quarterfinals on Tuesday night at El Camino College.

Bonita crushes Palm Desert: Bonita got its running game going early and ran Palm Desert right out of the gym with a 74-47 win in a quarterfinal CIF Southern Section Division 3AA boys basketball playoff game on Tuesday night.The Bearcats (24-5) advanced to Friday’s 7 p.m. semifinal at No. 2 Calabassas.
The shortest player on the floor, senior Tyler Poepping, was red hot in the first quarter, scoring 13 points, including 3 for 3 from the 3-point line.
“I’m always the shortest guy, always,” Poepping said. “I found my shot and was in rhythm so I just kept shooting.”
Diamond Ranch 66, Tahquitz 58 — Roman Silva had 25 points and 12 rebounds, Giraun Benjamin had 17 points and Tyler McLean scored nine points, 12 rebounds and five assists for the Panthers (22-8) in a Division 3A quarterfinal victory.

CIF-SS Boys Basketball Playoffs
Tuesday’s Quarterfinals
Open Division
Bishop Montgomery 58, Damien 56, OT
Division 1A
Camarillo 65, Walnut 61
Division 3A
Diamond Ranch 66, Tahquitz 58
Division 3AA
Bonita 74, Palm Desert 47

Friday’s semifinals
Division 3A
Beverly Hills at Diamond Ranch, 7 p.m.
Division 3AA
Bonita at Calabasas, 7 p.m.
Open Division Consolation Quarterfinals
Alemany at Damien, 7 p.m.

Glendora loses heartbreaker in penalties: Lindsey Kitchen provided the game-clinching penalty kick for Yorba Linda High School in a 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Glendora in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 girls soccer playoffs on Wednesday at Citrus College.
After the teams tied, 1-1, in regulation and two overtimes, the game headed to penalty kicks.
Glendora’s Katelyn Scott, Mackinley Gregus and Alexis Rushlow all scored on penalty kicks for Glendora, tying the score, 3-3, after five rounds. But a Glendora miss and Kitchen finish with a perfectly tucked ball inside the right netting ended it all for the Tartans and sent Yorba Linda to the quarterfinals against second-seed West Torrance, a 5-0, winner over Los Altos.
West Torrance too much for Los Altos: In a game that pitted West Torrance’s high-octane offense against Los Altos’ staunch defense, it’s safe to say the offense won out.
West jumped on Los Altos early, then rode with the wind in the second half during a 5-0 victory in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs.
No. 2 West (20-4-2), the defending Division 3 champion, advanced to play at the Yorba Linda-Glendora winner in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Sierra Vista 5, Lakeside 3 — Berenice Mancinas scored twice and Maria Hernandez and Dianna Garcia both scored a goal and had an assist for the Dons (23-2-1) in a CIF Southern Section Division 6 second-round win.
South Hills 7, Paramount 0 — Amber Marinero scored three goals and Hailey Zerbel, Skylar Robledo, Madison Warren and Kristen Garcia each scored a goal and goalie Alyssa Lopez had six saves to lead the Huskies (20-1-5) to the Division 3 second-round victory.
Shadow Hills 4, Garey 0 — Goalie IIiana Gallegos had 18 saves for the Vikings (12-7-2) in a Division 7 second-round loss.

CIF-SS Girls Soccer Playoffs
Tuesday’s Second Round Results
Division 3
South Hills 7, Paramount 0
Yorba Linda 1, Glendora 1, Yorba Linda advances on PKs, 4-3
West Torrance 5, Los Altos 0
Division 6
Sierra Vista 5, Lakeside 3
Bloomington 2, South El Monte 0
Division 7
Shadow Hills 4, Garey 0

Thursday’s Quarterfinals
Division 3
Cypress vs. South Hills at Covina District, 5:30 p.m.
Division 6
Heritage Christian at Sierra Vista, 5 p.m.

Another play of the week by @skylar_robledo @SGVNSports pic.twitter.com/2jxEi3QqRR

— Daj (@AdagioCisneros) February 24, 2016

If you have any scores or stats from any local high school sporting events call them into the desk at 626-544-0992 or 0991 or scores@SGVN

Girls soccer
Sierra Vista 5, Lakeside 3 — Berenice Mancinas scored twice and Maria Hernandez and Dianna Garcia both scored a goal and had an assist for the Dons (23-2-1) in a CIF Southern Section Division 6 second-round win.
South Hills 7, Paramount 0 — Amber Marinero scored three goals and Hailey Zerbel, Skylar Robledo, Madison Warren and Kristen Garcia each scored a goal and goalie Alyssa Lopez had six saves to lead the Huskies (20-1-5) to the Division 3 second-round victory.
Shadow Hills 4, Garey 0 — Goalie IIiana Gallegos had 18 saves for the Vikings (12-7-2) in a Division 7 second-round loss.

Boys basketball
Diamond Ranch 66, Tahquitz 58 — Roman Silva had 25 points and 12 rebounds, Giraun Benjamin had 17 points and Tyler McLean scored nine points, 12 rebounds and five assists for the Panthers (22-8) in a Division 3A quarterfinal victory.

South Hills, far and away the area’s best team to start 2016, is appropriately slated at No. 2 in Division 2 with Bonita (No. 5); Damien (No. 7) and Glendora (No. 8) all in the top ten. Walnut is No. 2 in Division 3 with Bishop Amat at No. 4. San Dimas, last year’s No. 1 ranked team in the country for a part of the season, is nowhere to be found in the D-3 rankings.

Bonita baseball coach John Knott and South Hills coach Darren Murphy, with help from other area coaches, do a wonderful job putting together one of the best 32-team high school baseball tournaments in Southern California, and includes most of the area’s heavyweights like South Hills, San Dimas, Walnut, Chino Hills, Arcadia, St. Francis, and host Bonita. Check out the schedule, it all begins on February 27.

South Hills with Florida bound junior pitcher Natalie Lugo is No. 4 in Division 2 with Glendora not far back at No. 9. In Division 3, Bishop Amat has a solid team ranked No. 3 in Division 3 and San Dimas is No. 4 in Division 4. That’s it, only four area teams ranked in all the divisions.