Highlanders on the move in Freeway League, Division 2AA

With five freshmen and just two seniors, this could have been a rebuilding season for La Habra High’s girls basketball team.
Instead, the Highlanders will finish second in the Freeway League and find themselves ranked in the latest CIF-SS Division 2AA poll.
La Habra, which starts up to three freshmen at a time, will take a 7-2 Freeway League record into Thursday’s regular-season finale at Buena Park (0-9). Its only league losses have come against Troy (21-5, 9-0), ranked No. 5 in Division 1AA, and there isn’t a single player on the roster averaging more than 10 points per game.
“This team is built on working together, and they have really great chemistry,” said fourth-year coach Jim Bohn. “Each night it’s somebody different stepping up, and the team rallies around that.”
Last season, there was a huge dropoff from leading scorers Allyson O’Brien (22.0) and Amy Wilbourn (11.9) to the rest of the lineup. This year, freshman Emma Zener leads the team at 9.8 points and is closely followed by senior Megan Chancellor (8.9), junior Lizette Martinez (7.7) and senior Kaili Peko.
“It’s a well-balanced attack,” Bohn said.
Bohn credited a tough nonleague schedule with strengthening his young team in December, when the Highlanders struggled to a 7-8 record. After going 1-3 at a San Diego-area holiday tournament, La Habra opened league play with a pair of victories on the road. It is now ranked No. 16 in the Division 2AA poll.
The Highlanders will learn their playoff fate when the pairings are released Sunday.

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Swordsmen recover from so-so first round to defend Camino Real title

St. Paul’s girls basketball team claimed its second consecutive outright Camino Real League title Tuesday when it traveled to St. Joseph and beat the Jesters 52-45. The Swordsmen closed their league schedule with a 6-2 mark and will now wait to learn who they’ll play in the opening round of the CIF-SS Division 4AA playoffs.
St. Paul held a very ordinary 2-2 league record after the first round of play, losing consecutive league games to St. Joseph (at home) and Cantwell-Sacred Heart. But the Swordsmen went 4-0 in the second round, avenging both first-round losses, and have won 11 of their last 13 games, At 21-7 overall, they are ranked No. 14 in 4AA.
St. Joseph (13-12, 4-3) held a seven-point halftime lead, but St. Paul opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run.
“We kind of took control,” said longtime coach Robert Miller, “and never trailed again.”
Adriana Gonzalez led the Swordsmen with 18 points and Clarissa Hernandez scored 12. Clarissa Perez and Tia Banks added excellent defense on the Jesters’ Ally Painter and Dominique Culnho, especially after halftime.
“We made some plays (at the end) and did a good job defending the pick-and-roll, which we didn’t do last time (a 61-59 St. Joseph victory),” said Miller. “I’m very proud of them.”
The Swordsmen will learn their playoff opponent when the pairings are released Sunday. Division 4AA features defending State Division 4 champion Serra (No. 1) and defending State Open Division finalist Windward (No. 2).

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Cardinals still the area team to beat

Boys Basketball Top 10
1. Cantwell-Sacred Heart (18-5, 5-1)

2. La Mirada (14-9, 6-2)

3. Cal (16-6, 6-0)

4. Whittier (15-7, 4-2)

5. Santa Fe (10-11, 3-3)

6. Pioneer (13-9, 3-3)

7. La Habra (14-8, 3-3

8. Montebello (12-10, 4-2)

9. Whittier Christian (15-7, 3-2)

10. El Rancho (13-9, 2-4)

LEADERS
Scoring

David Desatoff, La Habra, 16.8
Adam Cooley, La Habra, 16.6
Joey Covarrubias, CSHM, 15.9
Kendall Lauderdale, La Mirada, 15.9
Kyle Henderson, Pioneer, 15.1
O’Shae Williams, Pioneer, 13.9
Jake Rivera, Whittier Christian, 13.7
Guillermo Blas, Whittier, 13.6
Zachary Gray, La Habra, 12.8
Armen Makarian, Schurr, 12.2

Rebounds
Gligorije Rakocevic, CSHM, 9.6
Kendall Lauderdale, La Mirada, 9.4
Armen Makarian, Schurr, 7.5
David Desatoff, La Habra, 6.7
Balsa Dragovic, CSHM, 6.6
Jake Rivera, Whittier Christian, 6.4
Armen Makarian, Schurr, 6.3
Dezmon Murphy, La Mirada, 6.3
Adam Cooley, La Habra, 6.1
O’Shae Williams, Pioneer, 6.0
Teran Massengill, Pioneer, 6.0

Assists
Lucio Bolado, La Mirada, 4.8
Christian Labadie, Whittier Christian, 4.2
Joey Covarrubias, CSHM, 3.7
E.J. Mejia, CSHM, 3.5
Ryan Esslinger, Whittier Christian, 3.1
Dominic Saldana, Whittier, 3.1
Armen Makarian, Schurr, 2.9
Justin Jaimez, La Habra, 2.7
Guillermo Blas, Whittier, 2.4

Girls Basketball Top 10
1. Cantwell-Sacred Heart (13-9, 3-2)

2. St. Paul (18-7, 3-2)

3. Cal (9-9, 5-1)

4. El Rancho (14-9, 5-1)

5. Santa Fe (10-10, 4-2)

6. La Habra (12-9, 5-1)

7. Schurr (13-7, 5-1)

8. Whittier Christian (12-9, 3-2)

9. Whittier (8-14, 2-4)

10. Montebello (13-9, 3-3)
LEADERS
Scoring

Vivian Lara, Santa Fe, 19.1
Tiffani Martinez, Montebello, 16.7
Vivian Martinez, Cal, 15.7
Sydney Lopez, Whittier Christian, 15.7
Destiny Morales, Pioneer, 15.0
Sylvia Garcia, CSHM, 14.8
Sarah Gurrola, El Rancho, 13.7
Emma Zener, La Habra, 10.0
Annabelle Martinez, El Rancho, 9.7
Verenice Gomez, Whittier, 9.3
Destiny Cardona, Santa Fe, 9.3

Rebounds
Ashley Flores, Cal, 10.9
Annabelle Martinez, El Rancho, 10.2
Bianca Montano, Whittier, 9.6
Cassie Fischer, El Rancho, 9.4
Sydney Lopez, Whittier Christian, 8.9
Vivian Lara, Santa Fe, 7.3
Cassandra Hair, Whittier, 6.6
Jasmine Young, Cal, 6.0
Desiree Reyes, Santa Fe, 5.6
Jocelyn Martinez, Cal, 5.7

Assists
Sarah Gurrola, El Rancho, 6.3
Emerald Rivera, Cal, 3.9
Lizette Martinez, La Habra, 2.8
Vivian Martinez, Cal, 2.3
Jazzlyn Aveles, Whittier, 2.2
Destiny Cardona, Santa Fe, 2.1
Verenice Gomez, Whittier, 2.0
Sonia Gonzalez, El Rancho, 1.9
Sydney Lopez, Whittier Christian, 1.8
Vivian Lara, Santa Fe, 1.8

Boys Soccer Top 10
1. Montebello (12-2-5, 5-1)

2. Cal (11-2-2, 4-0-1)

3. El Rancho (9-6-3, 3-1-2)

4. Pioneer (13-2-4, 4-2)

5. Santa Fe (8-6-1, 3-3)

6. Schurr (7-10, 4-2)

7. Cantwell-Sacred Heart (6-6-2, 4-1-1)

8. La Mirada (7-6-2, 3-3-1)

9. La Habra (4-5-2, 1-3-1)

10. La Serna (5-8-7 1-4-1)

Girls Soccer Top 10
1. La Mirada (19-1-1, 7-0)

2.La Serna (9-8-3, 4-1)

3. Cal (9-6-4, 4-1)

4. Montebello (10-4-4, 4-1-1)

5. El Rancho (11-2-1, 2-1-1)

6. Schurr (6-10-2, 3-2-1)

7. La Habra (4-8-4, 1-3-1)

8. Santa Fe (2-6-1, 1-2)

9. Cantwell-Sacred Heart (4-12-1, 1-1)

10. St. Paul (3-7-1, 1-1)

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