Sierra Canyon falls to Etiwanda in final
RIVERSIDE >> Both the Etiwanda and Sierra Canyon girls basketball teams experienced early jitters playing in front of a large crowd at Cal Baptist University with the CIF Southern Section Open Division title on the line.
But even with the early nerves, when shots weren't falling, Etiwanda stayed true to its identity of being a physical team that hustles on both sides of the court.
The 50-50 balls went Etiwanda's way. The calls in the paint tilted in the Eagles' favor. The hard-nosed defense led to a flurry of Sierra Canyon turnovers.
The overall physicality was the main factor in Etiwanda's 65-44 victory of the Trailblazers on Friday, leading to the program's second CIF-SS championship in three seasons.
Sierra Canyon head coach Alicia Komaki said the game was the “worst basketball game” in her Sierra Canyon career.
“Etiwanda is always more physical than us,” she said. “They're a physical program. That's a staple of their program.” After the initial few minutes passed, the Eagles started to find their rhythm on 3-pointers. Mykelle Richards
hit two 3-pointers and Aliyahna Morris made one to give Etiwanda an early cushion.
The Trailblazers fought
their way back in the second quarter with Mackenly Randolph and Jerzy Robinson leading the way.
The duo was able to score in the paint and even got their hands on some secondchance opportunities. Randolph had nine offensive rebounds and Robinson had seven. But their shots were seemingly always contested.
Etiwanda's Grace Knox and Kennedy Smith stood tall in the paint, making things difficult for Sierra Canyon all night.
Both players even took a shot to the face during the action, but they weren't phased, as they got back up and stayed in the game.
“Me and Kennedy have good body types that we know how to use. Just be strong with our bodies,” Knox said. “And I think just being able to read what they were going to do, learning their habits and how to defend them.”
“Our goal was to come out with energy and play hard,” Smith said. “They play really hard so we had to match their energy and I think that shook them up a little bit.”
Knox led the Eagles in scoring and rebounding, logging a game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds. Smith finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Richards and Morris added 13 points apiece.
Robinson led Sierra Canyon 17 points and 15 rebounds. Randolph finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds.
The Trailblazers could meet the Eagles again in the CIF State Open Division tournament.
Etiwanda defeated Sierra Canyon for the CIF-SS Open title in 2022, but lost to the Trailblazers in the semifinals of the state tournament. Sierra Canyon won the Southern Section Open crown in 2023, but lost to the Eagles in the state playoffs.