Hello, high school sports fans. The prep basketball season is headed for its final stages, which means it’s time to start thinking about who should win player of the year honors. So, which boys and girls basketball players should be considered? I would like to hear from you.
Soccer semifinal Tuesday is rapidly approaching and three Whittier-area teams are involved. In Division 3 boys soccer, El Rancho High School will make the trip to Century. La Mirada and La Serna, the area’s two remaining girls soccer teams, will also take the field. La Mirada will visit Downey in Division 4 while La Serna will host La Quinta in Division 5.
Here is Tuesday’s CIF-SS schedule:
CIF-SS PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY, FEB. 26
Girls Soccer
Semifinal games
Division 4
La Mirada at Downey, 5 p.m.
Division 5
La Quinta at La Serna, 3 p.m.
Boys Soccer
Semifinal game
Division 3
El Rancho at Century, 3:30 p.m.
By Eric Terrazas, Staff Writer
IRVINE – La Serna High School started strong but Troy had the better finish in Saturday’s CIF-Southern Section Division 4 girls water polo championship game at William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center.
Troy earned a 9-5 win for its first CIF-SS crown in school history. Shannon Grossman and Alison Lany led the way for the second-seeded Warriors. Grossman scored four goals while Lany added three in the fourth quarter.
Gabby Pierandozzi and Katie Hill each scored twice to pace La Serna, which finished 21-11.
Hill’s second goal gave the fourth-seeded Lancers a 4-2 lead with 4:42 remaining in the third quarter. La Serna, however, couldn’t sustain its momentum as Troy took control by scoring seven of the game’s last eight goals.
The Freeway League champion Warriors (25-8) started their winning surge with four consecutive goals. After Grossman recorded back-to-back goals to tie the game at 4-4, Minna Mattis gave Troy the lead for good when she scored with 26 seconds remaining in the third.
Lany, Troy’s leading offensive player, then made her presence felt in the final quarter. Troy was clinging to a 6-5 lead with 4:07 left when she helped secure the victory by scoring the game’s final three goals.
Read more: High School Girls Water Polo: La Serna falls short of ultimate prize
By John Sherrard, Correspondent
MONTEBELLO – It’s been 11 years since the Cantwell Sacred Heart High School girls basketball team was in the CIF-Southern Section finals.There won’t be a return appearance to the title game this season for the Cardinals as they lost 49-45 to visiting St. Monica in the Division 4A semifinals Saturday night.
But it wasn’t without a valiant effort.
Trailing by 10 points with 3:40 remaining in the game, the Cardinals went on a 7-2 run, highlighted by a long 3-pointer by senior guard Priscilla Rodriguez, to cut it to 43-38 with 1:38 left.
However they traded baskets the rest of the way and fell to Camino Real League opponent St. Monica.
Cantwell (18-10), which last won a CIF-SS championship in 2002, was led by a game-high 19 points from junior guard Sylvia Garcia.
St. Monica (26-6) was led by senior Briana Harris with 15 points.
“We’ve done that (comebacks) all year long,” Cantwell coach Omar Villalta said. “Defensively that is our positive, but what took the air out of us was we couldn’t hit shots down the stretch.
Read more: High School Girls Basketball: Cantwell Sacred Heart foiled in bid for title game
By Keith Lair, Staff Writer
VENTURA – Priscilla Hidalgo stepped up when she was absolutely needed.
The senior guard took a charge call and then drove the length of the floor to score a layup with 0.3 seconds remaining to give
St. Paul High School a 41-39 victory at St. Bonaventure in the CIF-Southern Section Division 4A basketball semifinals on Saturday.
“At the beginning of the game, the plan was to drive and dish,” Hidalgo said. “I drove and did not see anybody there. I looked at the clock and said, `I have to go up strong.’
“I was looking at the shot and said, `Please go in.’ I heard the whistle, I heard cheering, I closed my eyes and crossed my fingers.”
The top-seeded Swordsmen, tied at 39, were called for an illegal pick at the top of the key with 35.6 seconds to play. McKenna Hill, the fourth-seeded Seraphs’ top player, dribbled 35 feet away as the clock dwindled to 12 seconds on the game clock and 7 seconds on the 30-second clock. She drove to the basket, but Hidalgo stepped in front of her just in time to draw a charging foul with 10.7 seconds remaining.
“The moment started from the charge,” Hidalgo said.
The Swordsmen inbounded the ball to Hidalgo, who looked over at coach Robert Miller. He motioned for her to go.
“That’s what we wanted,” Miller said. “We didn’t want to call timeout. We thought to just get her the ball. She’s going to get bumped in the open court, maybe get lucky that way, or she’s going to get her shot.