Twenty-one South County soccer and basketball teams advanced to the semifinal round of the 2017-18 San Diego Section winter sports playoffs. Eight of those teams advanced to divisional championship games and five captured division titles.
It was a highly successful hardware haul for the Metro Conference, in particular, as Bonita Vista High School (girls basketball), Eastlake High School (girls soccer), Mater Dei Catholic High School (girls soccer), Olympian High School (girls basketball) and Southwest High School (boys basketball) all reeled in coveted CIF championships.
But the season didn’t end following the section’s championship weekend March 2-3.
Division champions were awarded berths in the Southern California regional playoffs. The state playoff field was filled in with runner-up teams and additional teams selected on an at-large basis.
The road to state kicked off Tuesday (March 6) for soccer teams and Wednesday (March 7) for basketball teams.
Once again, South County was well represented.
San Diego Section Division I champion Bonita Vista received the No. 1 seed in the Division III SoCal girls basketball regionals while Division I runner-up Mater Dei Catholic received the No. 9 seed in the same bracket.
Eastlake, which ended its season with a loss to Mater Dei Catholic in the Division I semifinals, received the No. 3 seed in the Division IV girls basketball regionals.
Southwest, which won the Division V boys basketball section championship, received the No. 11 seed in the Division V regionals, while Mesa League champion Mater Dei Catholic, which advanced to the Open Division semifinals, received the No. 11 seed in the Division I regionals.
Additionally, Mater Dei Catholic’s boys basketball team, a semifinalist in the Open Division playoffs, received a berth in the Division I regionals.
On the soccer pitch, Open Division champion Eastlake received the No. 4 seed in the Division I girls field while Mater Dei Catholic, the section Division IV champion, received the No. 8 seed in the Division IV regionals.
On an impressive not, four of those seven teams advanced to the next stage of the regional playoffs with opening-round wins.
Two of them — Bonita Vista and Mater Dei Catholic — will meet in a high impact encounter in Saturday’s girls basketball quarterfinals, with the winner advancing to the regional semifinals.
It’s been a special year for a special group of teams.
It’s not quite over.
Girls Basketball
Bonita Vista tipped off the regional state playoffs with a 72-52 win over the visiting Hamilton Yankees on Tuesday. The Barons scored 20 points in each of the opening two quarters to lead 40-21 at halftime. The 19-point lead was enough after the Yankees, the Los Angeles City Section champion, out-scored the hosts 33-32 in the second half.
Shyla Latone led Bonita Vista with 27 points. She took command of the game after a somewhat sluggish start by her team. Team depth came to the Barons’ rescue as the game progressed, with Julia Cosalan and Laryssa Kure each sinking 12 points. Anneth Grijalba and Isabel Rector each added seven points for the winners.
Grijalba led the defensive effort with a team high 19 rebounds and five steals. The hosts totaled 40 rebounds in the game while adding 14 steals.
Bonita Vista led 8-5 in the opening minutes of the game and nursed a 13-9 lead before ending the first period with a 7-2 run. The hosts doubled the score on the L.A. visitors, 34-17, with 2:46 left in the second quarter.
Latone awed the crowd with a three-point shot from half court to put the Barons’ offense in high gear.
Bonita Vista dropped in three treys in the third quarter to extend its dominance on the playing court. Rector sank a three–pointer to make the score 44-25. Emma Rand sank a three-pointer to make the score 53-32. Kure sank a three-pointer to make the score 56-32.
Bonita Vista did have some trouble with senior center Nina Gazzo, who towered over every player on the court. Gazzo scored 12 points behind teammates Vanessa Cruz (16 points) and Kenedee Rankin (14 points). Estimates of Gazzo’s height from Bonita Vista players, who had to contend with her, ranged from 6-4 and 6-7.
Latone, who is averaging 37.1 points per game, said she was proud of her team in posting the regional playoff win.
“It was a good game,” she said. “We didn’t come out like we needed, but I was proud of my team in getting its energy up when we needed it.”
Mater Dei Catholic (20-13) defeated eighth-seeded Flintridge Prep, 78-55, in Wednesday’s opening round as Chloe Webb poured in 28 points while teammate Marissa Sanchez dropped in 22 points
The Crusaders jumped to a commanding 31-15 lead in the first quarter and led 46-31 at halftime. The section runners-up did not take their foot off the accelerator by outscoring the host team 19-10 in the third quarter.
Webb paced Mater Dei Catholic, which sank nine three-pointers in the contest, with 15 rebounds.
Webb is averaging 20.1 points per game this season while Sanchez is averaging 14.1 points per game. Webb is also averaging 10.0 rebounds per game.
The Bonita Vista-Mater Dei Catholic winner faces either fifth-seeded Mission Oak (24-7) or 13th-seeded Carson (21-12) in Tuesday’s semifinals at 7 p.m.
Eastlake (22-7) dumped 14th-seeded Providence, 75-36 in Wednesday’s opener, behind 20 points from Haylee Owen and 15 points from Auren Isaacson.
Owen also collected six assists and eight steals while Isaacson dished out nine assists. Haley Felberg and Kalah Bateman led the Titans with four rebounds each.
Eastlake hosts sixth-seeded Rolling Hills Prep (27-2) in Saturday’s quarterfinals. Tip-off is 6 p.m.
Rolling Hills Prep defeated Cathedral City, 76-61, to win the Southern Section Division IV championship.
The Eastlake-Rolling Hills Prep winner advances to meet either second-seeded Foothill Tech (24-6) or seventh-seeded Immanuel (24-9)
Four San Diego Section teams were drawn into the state’s Division IV playoff field. Section Division II champion Olympian, seeded ninth in the regionals, lost, 63-39, at eighth-seeded Cathedral City while 11th-seeded Vista, the section Division II runner-up, dropped an 81-51 decision at sixth-seeded Rolling Hills and 13th-seeded Christian, the section Division III champion, lost, 70-50, at fourth-seeded Knight.
Olympian, which received 18 points from Cynthia Green and 10 rebounds from Shaniyah Ranbin, finished its season 17-13. Green also had eight rebounds and two steals in the regional playoff setback.
Christian finished 22-10 while Vista finished 15-17.
Boys basketball
Southwest made a return to the San Diego Section championship round for the first time since recording a runner-up finish to Bonita Vista in 1999. The Raiders captured the Division V championship on March 1 to win the school’s first CIF boys basketball championship.
Southwest, playing under longtime head coach Steve Selland, proved it wasn’t ready to turn in its gear quite yet after recording a 59-53 upset win at sixth-seeded La Puente in Wednesday’s regional playoff opener.
The 11th-seeded Raiders, who improved to 18-12, move forward to take on third-seeded Nogales (26-7) on the Nobles’ home court in Saturday’s quarterfinals. Nogales defeated 14th-seeded Calvary Baptist, 77-70, in the opening round.
“This first CIF championship four our school’s boys basketball team not only brings pride to our school community, but it spotlights the hard work and discipline that this team exudes that has brought them success,” Southwest High School principal Lee Romero noted. “Speaking to the principal from La Puente High School after our first win in the CIF state regionals, he complemented on how disciplined our boys’ play was and the quality of our coach.
“This season marks coach Selland 32nd year as head coach for our boys basketball Team and his first CIF (section) championship. The Southwest High School community and alumni are proud of our boys and of our beloved coach Selland.”
Mater Dei Catholic ended its season with a 69-54 loss at sixth-seeded Chino Hills in Wednesday’s opening round. The Crusaders finished an otherwise stellar season 24-8.
The first half was close. Chino Hills led 18-17 after the first quarter and 35-31 at halftime. However, the hosts opened up a 14-point lead after outscoring Mater Dei Catholic 21-11 in the third quarter.
Trey Anderson averaged 16.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in 30 contests this season for the Crusaders.
Fifteen section teams remain in contention for state championships —eight in the girls bracket and seven in the boys bracket.
Boys teams still in contention include sixth-seeded San Marcos and 10th-seeded La Jolla Country Day in Division II; eighth-seeded Francis Parker, 12th-seeded Mount Miguel and 13th-seeded Christian in Division IV; and Southwest and fifth-seeded San Diego in Division V.
Girls teams still in contention include third-seeded Mission Hills and fourth-seeded La Jolla Country Day in Division I; third-seeded San Marcos and 15th-seeded Cathedral Catholic in Division II; Bonita Vista and Mater Dei Catholic in Division III; Eastlake in Division IV; and 11th-seeded San Dieguito Academy in Division V.
Girls Soccer
Eastlake hosted fifth-seeded Santa Margarita, the runner-up in the massive Southern Section Division I playoff field, in Tuesday’s regional playoff match.
Santa Margarita won 2-0 to eliminate Eastlake (19-6-3).
Santa Margarita drew a rematch with top-seeded JSerra Catholic in Thursday’s regional semifinals, losing 4-2 in a shootout tiebreaker after the teams had battled to a 1-1 standoff through regulation.
JSerra (25-1-2) will play sixth-seeded Upland (21-3-1) in Saturday’s regional championship game.
JSerra eliminated eighth-seeded Steele Canyon, 5-0, in Tuesday’s quarterfinal round.
Eastlake had defeated Steele Canyon (12-8-6) in a shootout tiebreaker in the section finals the previous Friday.
Santa Margarita finished its season 16-9-3.
Mater Dei Catholic, the section Division IV champion, lost 10-0 to top-seeded Paloma Valley, the Southern Section Division IV champion, in Tuesday’s opening round to end its season 16-6-2. Paloma Valley (26-0-3) will host second-seeded Ventura (19-5-3) in Saturday’s regional championship game.
Five other San Diego Section teams receiving berths in the regional playoffs.
Fifth-seeded Poway lost, 3-1, to fourth-seeded Cypress while eighth-seeded Scripps Ranch lost, 3-1, to top-seeded Temecula Valley in the Division II field.
Our Lady of Peace, the section Division II champion, received the No. 3 seed in the Division III playoffs while Mt. Carmel, the section Division III champion, received the No. 7 seed. Our Lady of Peace defeated sixth-seeded Mayfair, 2-1, in Tuesday’s opening round while Mt. Carmel ended it season with a 2-0 loss to second-seeded Pacifica.
Our Lady of Peace earned a berth in Saturday’s regional championship game after recorded a 2-0 upset win over Pacifica in Thursday’s semifinals. The Pilots (23-1-2) will meet top-seeded Flintridge Prep (26-4-2) in the finals at 6 p.m. at St. Francis High School in La Canada.
High Tech North County, the section Division V champion, ended its season with a 2-0 loss at second-seeded Rialto on Tuesday. The seventh-seeded Raptors ended their season 14-4-2.
Boys soccer
Eight San Diego Section teams qualified to compete in the SoCal regional playoffs. Two will play for championships on Saturday.
- Second-seeded Torrey Pines (25-1-4) will host fourth-seeded Sotomayor (22-3-3) in the Division II championship game.
- Third-seeded Del Norte (17-5-3) will host fifth-seeded Villa Park (16-6-5) in the Division III championship game.
Torrey Pines earned the top seed in the San Diego Section Open Division playoffs but was eliminated from championship contention with a loss in the semifinals to fifth-seeded La Costa Canyon. However, the Falcons found a new spark in the regional playoffs by defeating seventh-seeded Arlington, 3-1, in the quarterfinals and sixth-seeded Montebello, 1-0, in the semifinals.
Sotomayor advanced to the regional final after topping eighth-seeded Point Loma, the section Division I champion, 3-1, in Thursday’s semifinals. Point Loma (11-9-2) had advanced following a 3-0 quarterfinal win at top-seeded Aliso Niguel (17-5-1) on Tuesday.
Del Norte, the section Division II champion, shut out sixth-seeded La Quinta, 2-0, in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. The Nighthawks then upset second-seeded Washington Union, 3-2, in Thursday’s semifinals to qualify for the division championship game.
Villa Park upset top-seeded University (22-2-3) in the semifinals after blanking fourth-seeded University City, the section Division III champion, 2-0, in the quarterfinals. UC finished its season 16-4-3.
San Diego Section Division I champion San Marcos received the No. 4 seed in the Division I regional playoffs while La Costa Canyon, the section Division I runner-up, received the No. 7 seed in the same field. Both teams ended their seasons in Tuesday’s opening round.
San Marcos lost 2-0 to fifth-seeded San Clemente while LCC dropped a 3-1 decision at second-seeded Cathedral.
San Clemente (19-56-6) went on to upset top-seeded Santa Barbara, 3-1, in Thursday’s semifinals to draw a championship game matchup against sixth-seeded Loyola, which upset Cathedral, 2-1, in the semifinals. Loyloa is 24-3-6.
San Diego Section Division IV champion Sage Creek, seeded eighth in the Division IV regional playoffs, dropped its playoff opener at top-seeded Desert Mirage 6-1. Sage Creek finished its season 10-10
San Diego Section Division V champion West Shores, seeded sixth in the Division V regional playoffs, lost 4-0 at third-seeded Aquinas in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. West Shores, which competes in the Manzanita League, finished an otherwise season of achievement with a 20-4-3 record.
