Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) treated its CIF Southern Section Open Division game Saturday like a history lesson. The Trailblazers, the No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Top 25 girls basketball rankings, made sure history didn't repeat with a 70-57 win over No. 9
Etiwanda (Calif.).
Last year, Etiwanda defeated Sierra Canyon 69-57 in the Southern Section finals before the Trailblazers returned the favor a week later to advance to the CIF finals, beating Archbishop Mitty for the state title.
Sierra Canyon led 32-26 at half and stretched it to 55-43 at the end of the third period before
Aliyahna Morris nailed a three-quarter court heave at the buzzer to make the score 55-46 entering the final eight minutes.
Kennedy Smith and Watkins traded buckets midway through the fourth as Sierra Canyon held a 60-48 lead with just under four minutes left. The Eagles cut the deficit to seven, 64-57, with under 90 seconds left, but couldn't pull any closer.
Both Etiwanda and Sierra Canyon will be bracketed in the CIF Southern California Open Division regional along with San Diego Section champion No. 5 La Jolla Country Day. They'll all be looking for a trip to Sacramento's Golden 1 Center on March 11 for the CIF Open Division finals.
In 2022, Etiwanda entered the Southern Section finals 28-0 while the Trailblazers were 26-2 leading into the game. Sierra Canyon took an early lead, but the Eagles battled back for the win behind 23 from
Sa'lah Hemingway and 19 from then-sophomore Smith. In the CIF regional finals 10 days later, Watkins poured in a game-high 29 as Sierra Canyon advanced to the state finals. In the finals, Watkins scored a game-high 23 as the Trailblazers beat Mitty 85-61. Watkins was named the MaxPreps Player of the Year last season.
Juju Watkins scored 24 points at No. 1 Sierra Canyon beat No. 9 Etiwanda 70-57 Saturday in the Southern Section Open Division finals. (Photo: Louis Lopez)
