NEWS AND NOTES FROM PRESS ROW: Basketball season finally ends on Saturday with Whitney girls playing for state title

March 12, 2025

By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X

The last area basketball team still standing will play its last game on Saturday, 118 days since beginning the season with a 60-23 win over Covina High. That would be the Whitney High girls squad, which proved many wrong by advancing to the CIF State Division 4 championship game for the first time in school history.

Whitney, which rallied in the fourth quarter to get past Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary High 47-42 this past Tuesday night in the Southern California Regional finals, will face Half Moon Bay High at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. The Cougars defeated Lowell High 49-47 in the Northern California Regional Finals. Half Moon Bay and Whitney were seeded second in their respective Division 4 brackets and will be seeking their first state championship.

Whitney, which finished in first place in the 605 League for the program’s 10^th league crown since 2003, has set a school record with its 27 wins opposite nine losses and has won 14 of its past 16 games. The Wildcats eliminated Pilibos High 74-32, Chatsworth High 57-38 and Granada Hills Charter High 45-39 in the regionals before the CSHM game.

The starting five is led by sophomore Alyssa So, who has scored 90 points in the four regional games and senior Haylie Wang (62 points) along with seniors Sarai Carter, Rachel Moyher and Allie Yamaguchi, who are known for their defense and rebounding.

All nine losses have been by nine points or fewer including a 62-61 affair to Kamiak (WA) High, and three-point setbacks to Rancho Cucamonga High and Long Beach Poly High.

Half Moon Bay enters the state finals with a record of 23-7 and defeated St. Patrick-St. Vincent High 52-45, West Campus High 52-47 and Rio Linda High 58-40 in its first three regional contests. The Cougars finished in third place in the Peninsula-Bay League of the CIF-Central Coast Section and three of their seven losses were by a combined eight points while the other four losses were anywhere from 10-14 points. Half Moon Bay is led by Delaney Dorwin and six-foot center Zoey Lemonge, the only players scoring in double figures.

BASEBALL

Artesia High, which fell to South El Monte High 7-3 this past Tuesday, is off to a 5-2 start as it will host Cerritos High in the 605 League opener on Friday at Angel Stadium. The Pioneers will then host Anaheim High on Saturday and Foothill Tech on Monday.

Cerritos lost to San Marino High 8-1 this past Monday to drop to 3-6. The Dons went to Mayfair High on Mar. 13 and will travel to Downey High on Monday.

Gahr High is winless in five games, scoring five runs after getting blanked in the first three games. The Gladiators won’t be in action until Mar. 25 when they face Corona High in the first game of the Boras Classic.

John Glenn High snapped a six-game losing streak to begin the season with a 9-1 win over South Gate High last Friday. The Eagles hosted Long Beach Cabrillo High on Mar. 13 and will go to Valley Christian High on Monday.

La Mirada High is off to a 6-1 start that includes three wins in Gateway League action. The Matadores doubled up Warren High 4-2 this past Tuesday and faced the Bears again on Mar. 13 before going to Bellflower High on Friday.

Norwalk High even its overall record after eight games and its Mid-Cities record after two games with an 8-1 win over Paramount High this past Tuesday. the Lancers will host Dominguez High on Friday, Santa Fe High on Saturday, Lynwood High on Tuesday and Rim of the World High on Thursday.

Valley Christian High has lost a pair of games to begin this past week, the latest a 7-2 setback to Long Beach Wilson High this past Tuesday. The Defenders fell to 4-7 as they will host Providence High on Friday before travelling to Providence on Tuesday.

Whitney has won two straight games after losing the first two of the season but the Wildcats haven’t played since Mar. 1, a 19-0 thrashing of St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy. Whitney will host Santa Ana Valley High on Friday, Compton High on Monday and Wilson on Thursday.

SOFTBALL

Artesia saw its four-game winning streak snapped last Saturday when it lost to Downey 12-2 and Northview High 8-4 in the Santa Fe Tournament. The Pioneers (4-3) will face Arroyo High in the first of two tournament games on Saturday, then host Anaheim on Monday.

Cerritos is 2-3 and visited Sunny Hills High on Mar. 13 ahead of its road contest against Fountain Valley High on Tuesday while Gahr, which tied South Hills High 3-3 on Mar. 4, is 2-4-1 as the Gladiators visited Downey on Mar. 13 and will go to Huntington Beach High and Paramount High on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.

Glenn has won its first four games and entertained Bellflower High on Mar. 13 before going to Saddleback High on Tuesday while La Mirada, back from the Dave Kops Tournament of Champions where it went 4-1, welcomed Fullerton High on Mar. 13 in its home opener on its new field turf surface. The Matadores (8-3) will also host Kennedy High on Wednesday.

Norwalk tied Arroyo High 10-10 last Saturday and is 2-5-1 as the Lancers hosted Sultana High on Mar. 13 and will be home to Sunny Hills on Friday. Norwalk will then visit Segerstrom High on Tuesday.

V.C. began the season with seven straight wins but that was snapped by Crescenta Valley High this past Wednesday in a 11-2 defeat. The Defenders will go to Capistrano Valley Christian High on Monday and Lakewood High on Thursday while Whitney dropped to 3-2 after Buena Park High blanked the Wildcats 10-0 this past Monday. Whitney was home to Bolsa Grande High on Mar. 13 and will welcome Estancia High on Friday and Western High on Tuesday before going to Oxford Academy on Thursday.