Watkins-led Sierra Canyon dominates in Open playoffs
Top-seeded Sierra Canyon defeated Ontario Christian 80-18 in the second round of pool play in the CIF Southern Section Open Division girls basketball playoffs Wednesday night at home thanks to 32 points and 17 rebounds from USC signee Juju Watkins.
The Trailblazers shut out the Knights 26-0 in the second quarter to create a 48-7 lead at halftime. Izela Arenas added 20 points and Mackenly Randolph pitched in 13 points.
Ontario Christian’s Chloe Briggs scored 15 of her team’s 18 points and is now just 31 points away from breaking Cheryl Miller’s all-time CIF Southern Section scoring record (3,446).
Watkins, who scored 60 points earlier this season against Notre Dame on Senior Night, did not play in the fourth quarter Wednesday
Sierra Canyon moved to 28-0 overall and 2-0 in the pool play ahead of the final pool-play game Saturday against Sage Hill at 7 p.m. The winner of that game will advance to the Open Division final at the Honda Center on Feb. 25.
DIVISION 1
CHAMINADE 70, LYNWOOD 63 » Natalie Patrick-Aguilar led Chaminade with a team-high 17 points as it advanced to the semifinals. It will play at Orange Lutheran on Saturday night. Payton Montgomery had 13 points and Laila Carrillo added 12 points, and Hunter Hudson pulled down 19 rebounds for Chaminade. The Eagles have won seven straight.
ORANGE LUTHERAN 65, HARVARDWESTLAKE 60 » The Wolverines finish the season 20-11.
MARLBOROUGH 41, OAKS CHRISTIAN 30 » The Lions finish the season 19-7 and Marmonte League champions with first-year coach Keani Albanez. DIVISION 2AA
HART 62, SANTA MONICA 44 » Morgan Mack led Hart with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists. Laney Grider added 16 points and six rebounds to help the Indians advance to the semifinals. They’ll play San Juan Hills. DIVISION 2A
VILLAGE CHRISTIAN 47, RIVERSIDE POLY 45 » The Crusaders were led by Layla Davis’ 13 points and 10 rebounds along with 10 points and eight rebounds from Bryanne Lopez-Wood. Village Christian will take on host Leuzinger in the semifinals Saturday.
Sierra Canyon’s Mackenly Randolph had 13 points in the Trailblazers’ 8018 victory over Ontario Christian.
DIVISION 3AA
LOS OSOS 58, LOUISVILLE 42 » Miye Kodama led Louisville with 13 points as the Royals finished the season 15-8 after winning the program’s first league title since 1991.
DIVISION 3A
CAMPBELL HALL 40, TRINITY CLASSICAL ACADEMY 32 » The Vikings will take on the winner of Anaheim and Chino in the semis.
DIVISION 5A
OAK PARK 73, NEWPORT CHRISTIAN 29 » The Eagles will travel to West Valley High for the semifinals.
CANYON COUNTRY » Canyon girls basketball coach Jessica Haayer says you can’t think a game is over until there’s less than three minutes left.
“And then it becomes, you’ve got to cut a lead down,” she said.
A disciplined La Salle team built up a substantial early lead, leaving Canyon to dig deep in the final quarter. The Cowboys had their highest-scoring quarter in that final frame, but the Lancers stayed the course to win 53-36 in the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA quarterfinals.
La Salle moves on to the semifinals where it will play Redondo Union on Saturday.
“When you get a team like that, that is so disciplined to work you until they get the layup,” Haayer said, “if you’re not disciplined right back and you