In their Del Rey League finale on Feb. 13 at Serra, the Lady Cavaliers closed league with a stunning 57-48 defeat to rival Torrance Bishop Montgomery.
Serra went into that game with an outstanding shot at being one of the top four seeds in the prestigious CIF-Southern Section Open Division. The Cavaliers made it to the Open as the No. 5 seed and drew last seed Mark Keppel High from Alhambra in the 12-team classic.
In their Del Rey League finale on Feb. 13 at Serra, the Lady Cavaliers closed league with a stunning 57-48 defeat to rival Torrance Bishop Montgomery.
Serra went into that game with an outstanding shot at being one of the top four seeds in the prestigious CIF-Southern Section Open Division. The Cavaliers made it to the Open as the No. 5 seed and drew last seed Mark Keppel High from Alhambra in the 12-team classic.
At Serra last Friday, the Lady Cavs saw to it as they already surged out to a commanding lead early, leading 14-4 after the first quarter, 29-14 by halftime and 53-27 after three periods, en route to a 71-37 rout.
It continued to be University of Southern California-bound guard Chyanne Butler that led Serra, which improved to 24-3, with a game-high 23 points, all in the first three quarters as head Cavalier coach McKenzie Hadley cleared the bench in the final period.
Caila Hailey had a double-double with 14 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. Nautica Morrow finished with nine points, five rebounds and two blocked shots off the bench. Brijaye Brackett also came off the bench to grab six rebounds.
“We came out good offensively and defensively,” Serra player Brooke Barman said. “We forced turnovers and got steals that caused layups.”
Sophia Song led the Aztecs with 12 points.
Last night, the Cavaliers traveled to No. 4 seed Etiwanda in the championship quarterfinals.
“Etiwanda has a couple of good guards and some big players,” Barman said. “We have a tough one.”
If Serra can get by Etiwanda, it could play top seed Santa Ana Mater Dei, which is ranked No. 1 in the United States (along with its boys’ squad) by some prep sports publications, on Saturday at 7 p.m.
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Cavs’ boys fall to Centennial in division opening round
By Joe Snyder
GVN Correspondent
After several seasons of success in the CIF-Southern Section Division IVAA, Serra High’s boys’ basketball team got the taste of the new and prestigious Open Division that began last Friday.
At Centennial High in Corona, the Cavaliers ran into a very physical and quick Husky team. It was 21 turnovers that proved costly in an 81-71 loss.
Centennial, which entered the playoffs as the No. 4 seed, used an effective trap defense that forced Serra into the turnovers and the Huskies were able to cash them in.
Centennial started out fast but Serra, which fell to 20-8, was able to tie the game in the second quarter and trailed 42-39 at halftime.
The Cavaliers trailed by one point (42-41) early in the third period, before the Huskies went on a 13-0 run to break the game open.
The Huskies also had two premiere players who are Division I college signees in Southern Methodist University-bound junior point guard Sedrick Barefield and Deonte North, who will be playing next season at Long Beach State University.
The two combined for 47 points as Barefield led all scorers with 26 points and North added 21.
Ron Freeman sparked the Cavaliers with 19 points and four blocked shots.
Jason Richardson chipped in a team high 21 points, 12 of those in the first quarter. Tavrion Dawson contributed 16 points and nine rebounds.
Due to the rigorous Open Division, which is definitely a California State Open Division and other divisions playoffs, Serra has, at least, one more shot as it will play in the consolation quarterfinals at home against Sierra Canyon from Chatsworth Friday at 7 p.m.
Sierra Canyon, which came into the Open playoffs after being ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section Division IVA, lost its first round game to Riverside J.W. North last Friday at home.
Bishop\Montgomery also lost its first round game to No. 7 seed Chino Hills, 69-58, last Friday at Chino Hills.
The Knights, who fell to 22-5, were led by Justin Bibbins with 21 points and Stephen Thompson, Jr. with 16.
Chino Hills was led by the Ball brothers. LiAngelo Ball led all scorers with 23 points and sophomore Lonzo Ball, who already committed to UCLA, had 15 points, 10 of those in the fourth quarter.
Bishop Montgomery visits No. 15 Cathedral in Downtown Los Angeles in the consolation quarterfinals Friday at 7 p.m. Cathedral lost in the first round to No. 2 Etiwanda.
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Sports Scoop
Torrance school girls’ basketball teams enjoy first-round sweep
By Joe Snyder
GVN Correspondent
All five Torrance schools picked up first and second round victories in girls’ basketball action last Saturday.
Bishop Montgomery, the second seed in the CIF-Southern Section Division IVAA playoffs, opened with a 60-34 home victory over El Segundo in the second round.
Six-foot-3 Cornell University-bound Janelle Odionu sparked the Lady Knights (20-8) with 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Forward Courtney Keaton tallied 10 points and 12 rebounds and forward Chelsea Lidy totaled 11 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Christine Delapina added eight points, six rebounds and four steals.
Bishop Montgomery’s next game was last night at home against St. Anthony from Long Beach, a team the Knights already defeated in non-league play early last month.
Top seed West Torrance had little trouble in winning its Division IIA opener over Baldwin Park, 83-26, last Saturday at West.
The Lady Warriors’ depth was led by Kayla Soto and Jasmine Jones with 13 points apiece. Hayley Tanabe tallied 12 points.
Pioneer League champion North Torrance also easily won its IIA opener over Norwalk, 75-34.
Katelyn Serizawa and Kylie Oshiro led the Saxons with 12 points each.
West played at Rio Mesa in Oxnard last night.
North, the No. 4 seed, played at Golden Valley in Santa Clarita last night.
Torrance, which finished second in the Pioneer, crushed Beverly Hills, 74-25, last Saturday at Torrance.
The Tartars had four players score in double figures. Jordan Sakafegawa led with 18 points. Carah Fukomoto put in 16 points. Jessica Fujitsubo had 13 points and two blocks and Jamie Kuwae contributed 10 points.
Torrance faced No. 2 seed Placentia El Dorado last night.
South Torrance also joined the winners club by downing visiting Garden Grove, 52-34.
Kasey Takahashi led the Spartans with 18 points.
North, Narbonne boys roll: North Torrance High’s boys’ basketball team began the CIF-Southern Section Division IIA playoffs with an easy 85-53 home victory over Grand Terrace from Riverside.
Chad Ashimine sparked the Saxons (22-5) with 23 points and nine assists. Adam Swanier had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Saxons were at El Dorado in Placentia last Tuesday.
The Gauchos, who are seeded No. 4 in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division I, had surprisingly little trouble with one time City and state power Crenshaw, 85-53, in the first round last Friday at Narbonne.
Keying Narbonne, the Marine League champion, was Reverend Maduakor with 18 points and seven rebounds.
Ukeneme Okenerme added 18 points and four steals.
The Gauchos, head coached by ex-Gardena High mentor Anthony Hilliard, hosted Fremont in the quarterfinals last night.
Westchester, the top seed in City Division I head coached by former Gardena High player Ed Azzam (1972), had no problem with an undermanned South East squad from South Gate in a 75-13 blowout in the first round last Friday.
New Millennium of Gardena began its L.A. City Division V playoffs at Gardena High against Annenberg in the quarterfinals last night.
Annenberg easily won its first round game over Academia Avance, 78-32, last Friday at Annenberg.
New Millennium, the No. 3 seed, could visit Ocean League foe and champion Douglass at Dorsey High in the semifinals on Friday, if it got by Annenberg.
