The California state Division III girls basketball championship game is scheduled March 23 in Sacramento. At this point, there’s a 50-50 chance the Mater Dei Catholic High School Crusaders could be playing in it.
Mater Dei Catholic traveled to Tulare for Tuesday’s Southern California Division III regional semifinal playoff game and came home with a 71-50 victory over fifth-seeded Mission Oak.
The ninth-seeded Crusaders (22-13) advance to Saturday’s regional championship game at sixth-seeded Fullerton Sunny Hills (23-10). Tip-off is 6 p.m.
The winner advances to the state championship game.
“The girls were focused before the game and went out an executed our game plan to perfection,” Mater Dei Catholic head coach David Monroe said.
Hailey Dominguez led the Crusaders with 25 points, nailing six three pointers. Team scoring leader Chloe Webb poured in 22 points.
The San Diego Section Division I runners-up opened up a 15-8 first quarter advantage on Mission Oak (25-8) and took control of the game by piling up a 23-10 scoring edge in the second quarter to lead 38-18 at halftime.
Mater Dei Catholic came out hot in the second half by out-scoring the hosts 19-9 to expand their lead to 30 points.
The Southern California regional champion will play either sixth-seeded Sacramento West Campus (27-7) or seventh-seeded Clovis (22-12), the two teams left in the Northern California regional bracket, for the state title.
It’s been a season like no other for Southwest High School’s boys basketball team
Southwest High School’s boys basketball team made history with its runner-up finish in the 1999 San Diego Section Division I championship game. The Raiders lost, 75-62, to Metro Conference rival Bonita Vista.
Until this season, the South San Diego school had never been able to one-up that finish in the section playoffs.
“Our school and the school district have undergone many changes since that fabulous year of 1998-99,” explained Southwest coach Steve Selland, now in his 32nd year coaching the team. “At that time, we were one of the largest schools in the county, thus we were in the ultra-competitive Division I and achieved a 30-2 record, finishing runner-up for CIF.
“It was an amazing year where everything came together.
“This year, 2017-18, was a bit different. Due to lower enrollment and a poor showing in 2012, 2013 and 2014, we were moved down to Division V.
“The last few years it has been difficult to try to get a lot of guys out for basketball. At times, we have barely had enough. Then last year it started to change for the better, at least with a few quality guys who could play.
“Now this year, although we got a slow start, we really started to come together the second half of the year, playing our best basketball, catching up to teams that were far ahead of us back in November, so it has been a fun and exciting time.”
Exciting might be an understatement.
The Raiders, seeded third in this year’s Division V section playoffs, topped fifth-seeded San Diego Academy, 77-38, in an all-South County finals matchup March 1 at La Costa Canyon High School to capture the school’s first CIF championship in the sport.
The Raiders, unleashed in the Southern California regional playoffs, promptly upset two higher-seeded opponents to advance to Tuesday’s semifinal round at seventh-seeded Van Nuys High School — one win away from advancing to the state regional championship game and two wins away from advancing to the state championship game.
Southwest’s playoff odyssey ended following Tuesday’s 72-52 loss. The Raiders finished their season with a 19-13 record.
There’s no question it was a thrill-packed run — all on the road.
Southwest upset sixth-seeded La Puente, 59-53, in the opening round of regional playoffs on March 7 and followed with a cliff-hanging 63-62 win at third-seeded La Puente Nogales (26-8) last Saturday.
The win over Nogales wasn’t secured until the clock hit zeroes.
Selland called Tuesday’s regional semifinal game against Van Nuys, the Division II runner-up in Los Angeles, an “an exciting game versus a challenging opponent.”
“We knew we were going to have to play well to have a chance to beat them, and in the first half, we did,” Selland explained. “We led most of the first half, at one point by seven points, but they were relentless and played at a pace we had a hard time keeping up with.
“We did a fairly good job shutting down their leading scorer Tyree Winborn (who had 43 points in the previous game against Duarte), holding him to just 10 in the first half. But that opened up scoring opportunities for others who took advantage of that, so that by halftime we trailed 32-31.
“In the third quarter, they continued the scoring spree and we started showing signs of fatigue, missing opportunities and eventually falling behind by 12. Then, in the fourth quarter, it was more of the same.
“Our huge crowd was urging us on, trying to generate one last charge, not wanting the season to come to an end, but we were unable to match their efficiency, and Winborn made an abundance of shots, making a flurry of moves.
“The final margin was 20 points, but it was a closer game than that. However, we understood that we were defeated by a very good team, and departed for home understanding that it was a great privilege just to just in such a game. It was our third trip to L.A. in less than a week and the fatigue was showing.”
The Raiders’ scoring leaders for the 2017-18 season included Diego Edwards (17 ppg), Jaime Ortiz (12 ppg) and Issac Gonzalez (11 ppg).
Van Nuys (24-13) will play top-seeded Santa Clarita Christian (24-9) in Saturday’s regional championship game.
The Southern California regional champion will play the Northern California regional champion, either top-seeded Argonaut (28-5) or third-seeded Colfax (24-9), in the state championship game on March 23.
