Girls’ Basketball: Quartet ready for playoffs
Having traversed through the rigors of the regular season, four local girls’ basketball teams, Edison, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Ocean View, have made their way to the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
For Ocean View, which finished in a tie for second place in the Golden West League, the start of the postseason happens Thursday. The Seahawks, the No. 13 seed in Division 3A, play hosts to Beverly Hills at 7 p.m. The Normans (7-17) are a playoff at-large entry from the Ocean League.
Edison was runner-up to the Sunset League title. The Chargers, who handed league champ Los Alamitos its only league loss on the final night of the regular season, play at home against Beckman (15-10) in a first-round Division 1A game at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Patriots are the No. 3 team from the Pacific Coast League.
In Edison’s regular-season finale Feb. 11, junior guard Justine Modde scored the final of her nine points on a layup at the buzzer to lift the Chargers to a 55-53 overtime win over Los Alamitos. Junior Jackie Bento, who hit three three-point shots, led the Chargers (18-8) with 13 points. Senior guard Erin Hitomi and sophomore guard Jenny Kwok both scored 11 points.
Los Alamitos, which won the Sunset title with a 9-1 record, is the No. 7 seed in the Division 1AA playoffs. Edison, the No. 7 seed in Division 1A, finished one game behind the Griffins at 8-2.
Huntington also starts Division 1A postseason play at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Oilers, the third-place team from the Sunset League, are the No. 11 seed in the division and travel to face No. 13 seed Placentia Valencia.
The Oilers are 19-7 overall. The Tigers, 17-9, are the No. 2 team from the Empire League.
“Valencia is scrappy and small and will press us,” Huntington Coach Russ McClurg said. “We have a size advantage but with the season-ending injury to Kaylyn Nakaji, and possibly Sammy Gray, we will have a big challenge to overcome that loss.”
Nakaji, a sophomore guard, and Gray, a junior guard, were injured when they collided into one another during the Oilers’ 50-44 Sunset win over Marina Feb 11. Sophomore guard Frankie Wade-Sanchez led the scoring with 26 points to go with 11 rebounds.
McClurg said that Wade-Sanchez is “the key” for the Oilers against Valencia.
Fountain Valley, fourth in the Sunset League, received an at-large berth to the Division 1AA playoffs. The Barons, the No. 16 seed, are in Montebello Saturday for a 7 p.m. first-round date at Schurr. The Spartans (14-11) tied for second place in the Almont League.
“Schurr plays hard and is extremely active defensively,” said Fountain Valley Coach Cory Clarke, whose team is 18-8 overall which he said is the best overall record for the program in more than 10 years. “They mix it up playing some zone, half-court trap, a little man and press full trapping. On offense, they spread the floor and look to shoot the three. If you play tight, they will look to beat you off the dribble.”
Senior guard Michelle Wu leads the Barons in scoring at 13 points per game. Junior post Mikaila Pacis is the team leader in field goal percentage (58) and rebounds per game (five), senior guard Ashley Masuda averages 4.5 assists per game, and sophomore guard Andie Kristinat, who broke her own school record this year, goes into the postseason with 59 three-point shots.