First published in the Feb. 24 print issue of the Pasadena Outlook.
The La Salle College Preparatory varsity girls’ basketball team advanced to the CIF-SS Division 3AA semifinals after routing host Calabasas, 66-45, in a quarterfinal game on Saturday, as four Lancers registered double figures for a second straight game.
La Salle (25-2 overall record) traveled to Newhall Hart (21-6 overall) for the semifinal game last night; the result was unavailable by the Outlook’s press deadline. If victorious, the Lancers will meet either Cerritos (19-7 overall) or Yucca Valley (18-6 overall) in the CIF Finals on Saturday, Feb. 26.
Junior Ellie Chen nearly posted a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while adding three steals. Meanwhile, sophomore Ryann Riddle collected a double-double with a team-high 18 points, 12 boards and three blocks. Sophomore Audrey Chen and junior Reese Wong tallied 15 and 11 points, respectively, while freshman Kaden Cortes scored eight points.
La Salle won its second-round game over visiting Twentynine Palms, 61-52, on Feb. 16. Riddle posted a double-double with 14 points, 17 rebounds, two blocks and one steal, while Cortes scored 14 points. Audrey Chen collected 13 points and nine boards, while Ellie Chen added 13 points and five boards. Meanwhile, Wong finished with seven points and five assists.
The Lancers opened the CIF postseason in dominating fashion after routing visiting Norco, 58-34. Cortes led all scorers with 17 points, including three 3-pointers, seven rebounds and four assists. Wong recorded 15 points and four assists, while Audrey Chen had 10 points and seven boards. Riddle notched eight points and five rebounds, Ellie Chen tallied eight points and three assists, and sophomore Avery Ward had five rebounds.
FLINTRIDGE SACRED HEART
In a heated CIF-SS Division 4A matchup, the Tologs lost to visiting San Bernardino Aquinas, 50-43, on Saturday evening. Despite the loss, the Tologs reached the quarterfinals for the first time in eight years, according to head coach Ty Buxman.
Senior Faith Ellis led FSHA with a team-high nine points and seven rebounds, while freshman Ava Nawrocki posted eight points, 10 boards and two steals,
“Faith has been solid for us all year,” Buxman said. “She’s just been the rock for this team and I can’t say enough about that kid. She just always knows where to go and what to do and just puts everything on the court. I expect nothing less than what we saw tonight.”
Junior Sophia Heredia collected eight points, five rebounds, three steals and three assists. Senior Isabella Cao registered seven points and three steals, while junior Celina Maduka tallied six points and 11 boards. Junior Meghan Garrity and sophomore Isabel Risha finished with four and one points, respectively, while the former added three steals.
“It was a good season for us; we made a little run but a loss at the end of the year is always disappointing,” Buxman said. “This is a team that has been really close and really tight, and I wouldn’t trade this team for anything right now.”
FSHA defeated Lakeside High in Lake Elsinore, 45-23, in a second-round game on Feb. 16. Nawrocki poured in a team-high 14 points, Heredia scored 11 points, and Ellis and Maduka each registered 10 points.
FSHA routed host St. Monica Academy of Montrose, 77-18, in a first-round playoff game on Feb. 12 as four Tologs scored in double figures. Ellis posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds while Garrity led in scoring with 13 points. Nawrocki collected 12 points and five boards, Heredia scored 10 points, and senior Angelina Cao registered nine points. Maduka and junior Jazmin Jones each finished with four points, seniors Isabella Cao and Sofia Parker each had three points, and Risha tallied two points.
The Tologs finished as Sunshine League runners-up with a 4-4 record (13-10 overall).
POLYTECHNIC
The Panthers were eliminated from the CIF-SS Division 3A postseason after losing their wildcard game to host Diamond Bar, 58-52, on Feb. 10. Junior Paige Lim poured in a team-high 32 points, including five three pointers. Junior Sammie Yen registered 11 points, while freshmen Luciana Piro and Alexandra Lentz scored five and four points, respectively.
Poly placed fourth in the Prep League standings with a 5-5 record (11-11 overall).
FLINTRIDGE PREP
The Flintridge Prep varsity girls’ basketball team saw its season end after losing at Burroughs High in Burbank, 73-40, in a first-round CIF-SS Division 2AA playoff game on Feb. 12.
Despite junior Ashley Chea pouring in a game-high 31 points — her fifth 30-plus point effort in her last six games — the Wolves were still eliminated in the first round for a second straight season.
“I don’t think any of us expected [Burroughs] to shoot as well as they did,” Chea said. “I think we all knew this game was for the seniors and the people that have been there for us through the hard times. But it was just hard having three of our starters out. I don’t know — it’s just tough to lose this way.”
After falling behind in the first half, Flintridge Prep found some life in the second half as Chea scored 20 of the team’s 23 points, but it was too little too late as Burroughs cruised to an easy first-round victory.
Flintridge Prep senior Maddi Huie finished with four points, sophomore Kassidy Huie scored three points and Riley Hause had two points.
“This is absolutely hands-down the most resilient team we’ve had in the last 10 years,” Wolves head coach Jayme Kiyomura-Chan said.
Before the game, Burroughs head coach Vicky Oganyan asked Flintridge Prep seniors Maddi Huie, Amadi Weser and Ashlyn Zhang to participate in their Senior Night ceremonies since the Wolves couldn’t have one of their own.
“It was their senior night; Vicky called me and asked if we wanted to be included and I mean that’s just a really honorable coach over there on the other side,” Kiyomura-Chan said. “It’s really nice to have fellow coaches respect each other that much.”
Chea had a remarkable season, to say the least, as she led the Wolves in all five major categories. She averaged a double-double with 29.7 points and 11.2 rebounds while adding 2.4 assists, 3.7 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. Chea posted two 40-plus-point performances while scoring 30-plus in 11 of her 20 games played.
Before sophomore Maddie Chiu’s injury, which limited her to only 13 games, she averaged 13 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game as the Wolves’ second-leading scorer.
“We‘re looking at Maddie to be someone we rely on a lot,” Kiyomura-Chan said. “She is out right now with a stress fracture to her back but prior to that, she was giving us close to 20 points a game. If we can get anywhere close to that next year, we’ll be in a good spot.”
Senior Amadi Weser posted 3.9 points and seven rebounds-per-game averages, while Maddi Huie also collected 3.9 points per game. Kassidy Huie had 3.3 points and 3.9 rebounds, freshman Gigi Mastras recorded 2.7 points and 3.8 boards, and Hause tallied 1.9 points and 5.5 rebounds.
