Girls Basketball: Cardinals Rule


Above: Whittier High’s Jeana Magana, left, and Yazmin Acosta help make the Cardinals an area power this season. (Leo Jarzomb / Staff Photographer)

The race for the Del Rio League girls basketball title has been painted Whittier High School red the past few seasons, and that’s not expected to change this winter.
The Cardinals, who have won the league title each of the past four seasons – including a perfect 10-0 league mark twice since 2008-09 – are expected to stay atop their perch in the battle for league and area supremacy.
But Whittier, which returns two of its top three scorers, including one first team All-Area player, is expecting to receive challenges from St. Paul, which advanced to the division semifinals, and La Habra, which hovered around .500, to lead the pack of hopefuls.
El Rancho, Schurr, Cantwell and Whittier Christian also are expected to be improved.
The leader out of the gate will be the Cardinals, who went 21-7 and 10-0 last season to win a league title before exiting the CIF-Southern Section Division 2AA playoffs with a loss to West Ranch of Valencia.
The Cardinals hope to be back for more.
“We just want to continue what we’ve been able to establish (in recent years),” Whittier coach Willie Pittman said. “We have some key returners back and the girls know (after the past few seasons) expectations are much higher for them.”

Key players for Whittier will be seniors Jeana Magana, the top returning All-Area player, and Yazmin Acosta. Magana should be the Cardinals’ No. 1 option after averaging more than 15 points a game last season, witt Acosta, who averaged 10.5 points, a viable No. 2 threat.
Whittier also will rely on junior Monique Salcido, who takes over at point guard for Destiny Chavez, who graduated. Pittman also likes the progress of junior Brenda Salazar and senior Ashley Genie.
“We’re looking forward to the season, but I think the key for us is how well we do in the first two tournaments,” Pittman said. “We’ve been able to beat the teams we’re supposed to beat. Now we want to beat the teams we need to beat, which will set us up for being a seed (in the playoffs).”
Here’s a brief look at the rest of the area top five:
No. 2 St. Paul (19-12)
The Swordsmen, who advanced to the Division 5AA semifinals, were hit hard by graduation. They lost 2011 Area Player of the Year Marissa Rend n and second-team member Brittni Tapia.
But St. Paul, which has won at least 20 games in three of the past four seasons, has been one of the elite programs in the area and always finds ways to reload.
The Swordsmen will be challenged in the rugged Del Rey League but could find happiness in the postseason again.
No. 3 La Habra (13-14)
The Highlanders might be one of the most improved teams in the area and could make some noise in the Freeway League.
La Habra’s source of optimism lies in the return of three of its top four scorers, including junior Allyson O’Brien, who is expected to improve upon last season’s average of 14.4 points a game.
Another key player for the Highlanders is senior Kayla Judkins, who averaged 9.6 points, and junior Amy Wilborn, who averaged 6.7.
No. 4 El Rancho (14-12)
The Dons, who return two of their top four scorers from last season, could challenge Whittier for Del Rio League supremacy.
The leader is Khadidja Diakite, who have averaged 12.4 points last season. But the Dons also feature Patty Ayala, who averaged 6.1 points. They lose the services of junior Cielo Gomez, who will miss the season because of a knee injury. She averaged 9.3 points last season.
“I think we’ll be better, maybe even better next year,” El Rancho coach Randy Shigezane said. “Last year was our first winning season in five to six years, so we’d like to continue that.
“Khadidja is a hybrid forward. She can rebound, handle the ball and is one of the better athletes in the area. She gives us flexibility. Hopefully we can finish in the top half of the league, which we haven’t done in a few years.”
No. 5 Schurr (14-11)
The Spartans could push Almont League power Keppel for the league title.
Schurr is led by seniors Lauren Kunimoto, who averaged 8.8 points last season, and Lauren Takemoto, who averaged 8 points.

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