High school girls basketball: Final California Top 25 team rankings

A week after a crushing overtime defeat at the buzzer, the Centennial girls basketball team got the game that counted most. The Huskies turned around that loss to Mater Dei in the Open Division championship of the Southern Section to defeat the Monarchs 65-51 Saturday in the Southern California title game to finish No. 1 in the final MaxPreps California Top 25 rankings.

Jayda Curry had 27 points and Londynn Jones added 18 to lead the Huskies (25-1) to the Open Division championship win while handing Mater Dei (21-1) its first defeat.

On June 10, Nalani White drilled a three-pointer right before the final buzzer to give Mater Dei an 83-80 overtime win to deal out Centennial's first defeat. In that game, Centennial led most of the way before the Monarchs caught up and eventually passed the Huskies. On Saturday, Centennial grabbed the lead early and didn't let go.

"Our defense was the difference," Curry told the Los Angeles Times.

Brooke Demetre, a Stanford commit, was held to just two points after scoring 28 in the first game for Mater Dei. Teammate Alyssa Durazo-Frescas had 18 in the defeat.

Due to the pandemic and four of the five Northern sections not even attempting playoffs, there were no state championships for a second straight year. See all 12 Southern California regional brackets and champions crowned. MaxPreps California Top 25 Basketball Rankings

1. Centennial (Corona)
Record: 25-1 | Note: Curry and Jones averaged 21.4 and 21.3 points, respectively, during the season.

2. Mater Dei (Santa Ana)
Record: 21-1 | Note: A first-round bye might not have helped the Monarchs.

3. Pinewood (Los Altos Hills)
Record: 17-0 | Note: Remarkable 50-48 comeback win at No. 6 Archbishop Mitty in Central Coast Section Open final.

4. Clovis West (Fresno)
Record: 20-1 | Note: Lost to Centennial 62-53 in Open regional semifinal.

5. St. Mary's (Stockton)
Record: 8-1 | Note: Wins over No. 6 Mitty (73-63), No. 10 Salesian (69-50). Only loss to No. 4 Clovis West (69-54).

6. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose)
Record: 13-2 | Note: Started and ended season largely the same, squandering 4Q leads against St. Mary's and Pinewood. 

7. Cathedral Catholic (San Diego)
Record: 20-4 | Note: Showed well in Open SoCal regional with wins over Harvard-Westlake (59-53) and loss to Mater Dei (66-54).

8. Harvard-Westlake (Studio City)
Record: 22-4 | Note: Lost 59-53 in first round of Open regional to Cathedral Catholic.

9. Long Beach Poly (Long Beach)
Record: 18-2 | Note: Won SS Division I, 1-A regional with ease, including 58-28 over Rosary Academy in regional final.

10. Salesian College Preparatory (Richmond)
Record: 14-1 | Note: Behind 6-1 junior Silivia Fonongaloa, Pride allowed only 42 points per game.

11. Lynwood
Record: 18-5 | Note: As eighth seed, breezed to 1-AA regional title, winning three games by average margin of almost 10 per game.

12. Etiwanda
Record: 18-5 | Note: Won two of three games in the 1-AA regional, losing in the finals to Lynwood, 58-47.

13. Bonita Vista (Chula Vista)
Record: 24-5 | Note: Lost in the SDS finals to Cathedral Catholic, 55-49, before losing first-round Open regional to Clovis West, 56-46.

14. La Jolla Country Day
Record: 16-5 | Note: Lost in first round to eventual champion Centennial in Open regional.

15. Windward (Los Angeles)
Record: 14-3 | Note: Won two of three SS Open pool-play games; Opted out of Southern California regional.

16. West (Torrance)

19. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth)
Record: 20-5 | Note: Won 14 of final 16, including one-point SS DI semifinal defeat to Esperanza.

Record: 11-0 | Note: Averaged 82.1 points per game.

21. Mater Dei Catholic (Chula Vista)
Record: 20-9 | Note: Won the 2-AA regional title as the fifth seed with resounding wins over Cajon, 75-59, Paloma Valley, 60-45 and Alemany, 56-42. 

22. Alemany (Mission Hills)
Record: 18-3 | Note: Reached the 2-AA regional final with wins over Birmingham, 63-49 and Eisenhower, 51-40, before losing to Mater Dei Catholic.

23. Antelope
Record: 9-1 | Note: Stanford 5-10 signee Jzaniya Harriel averaged 29 points per game.

24. Rosary Academy (Fullerton)
Record: 19-6 | Note: Went 2-1 in the 1-A regional, with wins over Palisades, 56-55 and Fairmont Prep, 55-49.

25. Fairmont Prep (Anaheim)
Record: 17-8 | Note: Went 1-1 in the 1-A regional, including 61-37 win over Mount Miguel.