No. 1
Ontario Christian (Ontario, Calif.) and No. 10
Etiwanda (Calif.) will battle for the Southern Section Open Division title after each took care of business in a pair of MaxPreps Top 25 showdowns to end pool play on Saturday. The finals are set for March 1 at Toyota Arena in Ontario.
The Eagles, the two-time defending state champion, downed No. 4
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 63-60 with a huge defensive stand in the final seconds.
The two games took place 15 miles apart in Southern California's Inland Empire.
Arynn Finley of No. 10 Etiwanda hit a key bucket down the stretch as the Eagles beat No. 4 Mater Dei 63-60 on Saturday in one Southern Section Open Division pool play final. No. 1 Ontario Christian beat No. 7 Sierra Canyon 62-52 in the other pool play final. The Eagles, the two-time defending state champions, take on the top-ranked Knights on March 1 for the section title. (FILE PHOTO: Brian Bautista)
Ontario Christian led 31-25 at half as sophomore Smith paced the Knights with 11 points in the first 16 minutes.
Jerzy Robinson carried the offensive load for the Trailblazers, finishing with a game-high 24 points, including 15 of 16 at the free throw line.
The Knights led 46-38 entering the final quarter and got big buckets from Griffin and Smith before
Alanna Neale hit on two straight possessions to give them a 56-43 lead. The dagger, however, came a few possessions later when Neale stole the ball and flipped it into the front court. Smith grabbed the errant pass as she was leaping out of bounds and found a streaking Griffin for the bucket and the 58-47 lead.
Across town, the Monarchs and Eagles were going toe-to-toe down the stretch in a game that saw wild swings. Mater Dei opened an 8-0 lead to start the game only to see Etiwanda fight back and grab a 19-point lead in the third period.
But Mater Dei trimmed an eight-point deficit entering the fourth period to tie the game at 59 with under three minutes to play.
Cal commit
Puff Morris hit a bucket to give Etiwanda the lead back. Deal hit one of two free throws with 42 seconds left before
Arynn Finley canned a floater in the lane for the 63-60 advantage. The Eagles then blocked a series of 3-point attempts and LSU-bound
Grace Knox tipped away an inbounds pass as the two-time defending state champions advanced.
Shaena Brew led Etiwanda with 18 points, Finely added 17 and Morris chipped in 15. Deal, Williams, Golightly and
Nohelani Stores each had 14 for Mater Dei.
The Southern Section's top bracket has been one of the most difficult over the past decade and winning the crown is noteworthy, but not a golden ticket to reach the state finals.
In 2021-22, Etiwanda beat Sierra Canyon for the section title, but fell to the Trailblazers in the Southern California finals. The following year, Sierra Canyon won the section title but had the script flipped by the Eagles who then won their first state title.
Last year, Etiwanda not only won the Southern Section title over Sierra Canyon, but handled the Trailblazers in the SoCal finals en route to their second straight Open Division crown.
Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian led the top-ranked Knights to a 62-52 win over No. 7 Sierra Canyon on Saturday. Smith had a team-high 21 points. (FILE PHOTO: Dennis Lee)
