By Stephen Ramirez
Sonora and Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary high schools each advanced to CIF Southern Section girls basketball championship games last season, but both will be hard-pressed for a repeat performance this season.
Neither 2016 finalists received top-four seeds Sunday when CIF-SS released its playoff pairings.
First-round games are slated for Thursday, with the quarterfinals and semifinals scheduled for Feb. 22 and Feb. 25. The finals will be March 3-4.
All games before the finals are scheduled for 7 p.m. starts.
Sonora and El Rancho, which won its fifth consecutive Del Rio League title, appear to have the best chance in the area.
Sonora (19-7), which lost to Orange Lutheran in the 3AA title game last season, will host Cajon in a Division 1AA first-round game. The Raiders finished a solid second behind power Troy in the Freeway League. They finished the regular season, 10-2, losing only to Troy.
Sonora is led by guards Meghann Henderson and Lainie James.
El Rancho (24-4) cruised to the Del Rio League title. The Dons were only challenged by Whittier, rallying for a 40-31 win last week. El Rancho, which has won 23 of its past 24, features the inside presence of forward Amy Navarro and guard Brittany Corona on the outside. The Dons are in 1A and will host Westminster in the first round.
El Rancho advanced to the second round last season and the quarterfinals in 2015.
CSHM (14-13) is also in 1A, making the move up from 4A and a move to the Del Rey League. The Cardinals will travel to Patriot in the first round.
CSHM features the versatile Lily Perkins, who has signed with Eastern Washington. The Cardinals lost to St. Anthony in the 4A title game last season.
La Habra (17-9) and Whittier (12-15) are in 2A.
The Highlanders, who finished third in the Freeway League, will travel to Dana Hills. Whittier, which rallied to finish second in the Del Rio League, hosts Glendale.
The rest of the opening-round schedule for area teams includes Montebello (18-7) hosting No. 4 Viewpoint in 3A; Whittier Christian (18-9) and California (17-7) hosting Ontario and La Mirada (7-27), respectively, in 4AA and Pioneer (17-11) visiting Bassett in 4A.
La Mirada is traveling to a Del Rio League team for an opener for the second consecutive season. The Matadores lost to Whittier last season.
St. Paul, which won 4AA last season and had made it to the finals the previous three seasons, missed the playoffs after finishing 11-16.