The 2022-23 San Diego Section basketball playoffs were particularly exciting for local hoops fans as six South County teams advanced to the finals and four came home with covered CIF championship trophies.
Foremost in this year’s storyline is Mar Vista High School’s girls team winning the Division V championship in grand upset fashion. Seeded 10th in the bracket, the Lady Mariners upset the No. 7 seed Escondido Adventist (55-34 in the first round on Feb. 15), No. 2 seed High Tech High San Diego (38-36 in the quarterfinals on Feb. 18), No. 6 seed Mission Bay (50-33 in the semifinals on Feb. 21) and the top-seeded Valhalla Lady Norsemen (44-32 in the championship game on Feb. 23).
Not bad for a team that finished in second place in the Metro-South Bay League standings — and for a school that had never won a CIF girls basketball championship in its 71-year history,
“It’s all up to the girls,” Mar Vista coach Dwight Cousins said. “They did it. It’s been them from the beginning. The focus has been to get to know each other, how everyone plays, what each one can do, what each one can bring to the court to help others. It’s a family. Cohesion – it works.”
The Lady Mariners had everything working while taking an early 10-3 lead on the Lady Norsemen. Mar Vista led, 14-5, at the end of the opening period, which only seemed to wake up their opponent in the second quarter as the East County team narrowed the score to 16-14.
But Mar Vista (13-12) regained some momentum to lead. 25-14 at halftime. The Lady Mariners put on another extended scoring spurt to take an 18-point lead into the final quarter.
Senior Kimberly Curran keyed the Division V champions with 26 points. She seemed everywhere on the court at once, zig-zagging around defenders as if she had radar.
She was a treat to watch. But everyone from the Imperial Beach school brought their A-game.
“I knew we could do it, “said Curran, who earned the sportsmanship award for her team. “We’ve been working hard in practice and in games. We didn’t give up.”
Senior Rae Reyes led Valhalla (15-17) with 12 points.
“The girls stood up to the challenge (of being the top seed),” VHS coach Dave Sledge Jr. said. “It’s all about the girls. They worked hard.”
Junior Alexa Amaya received the sportsmanship award for the Lady Norsemen, who finished 3-7 in Grossmont Valley League play during the regular season.
Valhalla defeated 12th-seeded Southwest El Centro, 55-31, in the semifinals as Reyes dropped in 17 pionts.
Valhalla winter sports teams made the finals in girls water polo (Division I) and girls basketball, the quarterfinals in boys basketball (Division III) while the boys wrestling team won its second consecutive Grossmont Valley League dual meet title and has won 10 consecutive league duals.
Photos by Scott Hopkins
San Diego Section Winter Sports Champions Honor Roll
Boys Basketball
Open Division: (1) St. Augustine 85, (3) Montgomery 35
Division I: (3) La Jolla Country Day 65, (1) Mission Bay 56
Division II: (2) Lincoln 59, (1) Otay Ranch 54
Division III: (1) Victory Christian Academy 72, (3) Ramona 67
Division IV: (3) Imperial 68, (8) San Pasqual 56
Division V: (8) Classical Academy 83, (6) Santana 78
Girls Basketball
Open Division: (1) La Jolla Country Day 86, (7) Del Norte 27
Division I: (1) Mater Dei Catholic 58, (2) Imperial 43
Division II: (2) Torrey Pines 52, (9) Oceanside 41
Division III: (4) Montgomery 57, (2) Granite Hills 40
Division IV: (1) Palo Verde 47, (2) Central Union 43
Division V: (10) Mar Vista 44, (1) Valhalla 32
Boys Soccer
Open Division: (3) St. Augustine 1, (1) San Dieguito Academy 0
Division I: (5) Point Loma 3, (2) Sweetwater 0
Division II: (1) La Costa Canyon 1, (2) Steele Canyon 0
Division III: (3) Bishops 3, (5) Mt. Carmel 2
Division IV: (1) La Jolla Country Day 5, (2) Morse 0
Division V: (1) Preuss UCSD 3, (2) Palo Verde 1
Girls Soccer
Open Division: (1) Westview 1, (6) La Costa Canyon 0
Division I: (7) West Hills 2, (1) Carlsbad 1
Division II: (3) Patrick Henry 2, (4) Francis Parker 1
Division III: (6) Monte Vista 3, (8) San Diego 2
Division IV: (1) Clairemont 2, (6) High Tech High San Diego 2 (OT)
Division V: (1) Madison 1, (2) Southwest El Centro 0
Girls Water Polo
Open Division: (1) Bishop’s 19, (2) Helix 6
Division I: (1) Coronado 7, (2) Valhalla 4
Division II: (5) Torrey Pines 8, (3) Bonita Vista 5
Division III: (1) Mt. Carmel 16, (3) Our Lady of Peace 3
CIF BASKETBALL FINALS
Girls Division III: The fourth-seeded Montgomery Aztecs captured this year’s CIF title — the first-evert in school history — with a 57-40 victory over second-seeded Granite Hills on Feb. 23 at Mira Mesa High School.
Boys DIVISION II: In a matchup of top seeds, No. 2 Lincoln (30-2) prevailed, 59-54, over No. 1 Otay Ranch (21-12) last Friday. Otay Ranch eliminated No. 9 Eastlake, 62-51, in the quarterfinals and No. 4 Scripps Ranch, 65-61, in the semifinals.
