Long Beach, Laney join six high seeds in advancing to State Women's Basketball Tournament
Long Beach City College, the South's #9 seed, and Laney, the North #6 seed, performed upsets to highlight the 3C2A Women's Basketball Regional Finals played at eight locations Saturday night.
Long Beach ousted the South Region's #1 Mt. San Antonio, 59-57, while Laney got past #3 Fresno City, 66-62.
The pair join North #1 Butte, #2 San Joaquin Delta, #4 Folsom Lake and South #2 Moorpark, #3 Glendale and #4 Orange Coast, the defending state champions, in advancing to the 3C2A State Championships to be played at Mt. San Antonio College next week. The state quarterfinals take place on Thursday, Mar. 14, the semifinals on Saturday, Mar. 16, and the championship final on Sunday, Mar. 17.
3C2A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals (Thu., March 14)
at Mt. San Antonio College
(3N) Folsom Lake (22-8) vs. (2S) Glendale (28-2), 1 p.m.
(4S) Long Beach City (20-9) vs. (1N) Butte (29-1), 3 p.m.
(3S) Orange Coast (27-3) vs. (2N) San Joaquin Delta (26-4), 5 p.m.
(4N) Laney (24-4) vs. (1S) Moorpark (27-3), 7 p.m.
Here are recaps for the Regional Finals
NORTH
#1 Butte 74, #8 Cosumnes River 47: The Roadrunners, the state's #1-ranked team for most of the 2023-24 season, ran their winning streak to 26 games as they raced to a 26-7, first quarter lead and never looked back in defeating the Hawks. Butte, the Golden Valley Conference champions, had all five starters reach double digits in scoring, led by 18 (and nine rebounds) from Madalynn Bassett, who drained six 3-pointers in just nine attempts. Campbell Vieg added 13 points and 10 boards, Morgan Trigueiro 12 points and six assists, Sarah Tait 12 points and three steals, and Jocelyn Medina 11 points and six rebounds. Aubrey Prunty contributed eight points off the bench. For CRC, Karisma Morning Gun-Briggs scorA ed a team-high 14 points with seven rebounds while Ashley Gonzalez and Saray White each tallied 10 points. Butte has wins v. five of the state tourney participants and the team's only loss was against Mt. San Antonio, a team it no longer has to plan a rematch against.
#2 San Joaquin Delta 71, #7 Sequoias 45: The Mustangs advance to their 16th trip to the state tourney with a 26-point win over the Giants. A 27-7 third quarter proved to put the game out of reach. After Delta took a 28-20 lead into halftime, Selai Niu buried a trey to cap a 13-3 run and give Delta an 18-point lead as COS never threatened. Maya Chelini scored 22 points, followed by Senia Moore with 18 points (four treys) and Serenity Santos with 13. Sequoias was paced by Kyla Wandick with 16 points. Delta takes a 9-game win streak to state.
#6 Laney 66, #3 Fresno City 62: The Eagles grabbed a 20-10 lead after one quarter, then extended it to 39-24 by halftime and then held of a Fresno rally to win a mild upset over the Rams. Fresno outscored Laney, 25-14, in the third quarter but a low-scoring fourth quarter (13-13) allowed Laney to pull out the win. Tali Fa'i scored 16 points and made four steals to pace Laney, which also got 15 points by Leniyah Fulsome, 14 points and 11 boards by Jada Hunter, and 10 poins and eight rebounds by Gianna Ghio. FCC season ends despite 18 points and 10 rebounds Angela Whitfield, 15 points and six assists from Madison Johnson and eight points from Corin Camera. Laney is on a 16-game win string going into state.
#4 Folsom Lake 60, #5 CC San Francisco 56: The Falcons battled back from a 20-12 deficit in the first quarter and got a fast-break layup by Gianna Darte to take a 32-28 halftime lead. After building it to 47-39 through three quarters, San Francisco fought back and cut it to 52-51 on two free throws by Madison Thomas with five minutes left. Corrie Harrison drove for two layups in a 6-0 FLC run that iced the victory. Alysa Lopez led Folsom Lake with 21 points, including three 3s, Harrison had 15 points, and Emily Ko made a trio of 3-points for nine points. For CCSF, Thomas scored 22 points, 17 in the first half and Deonna Mayfield made 12 points.
Corrie Harrison helped Folsom Lake advance to the state tourney
SOUTH
#9 Long Beach City 59, #1 Mt. San Antonio 57: Fourth time was the charm for the Vikings, who had lost in their three previous meetings this season v. the Mounties, including a 29-point defeat in a South Coast Conference crossover game on Jan. 19. LBCC led 28-26 at halftime before Mt. SAC pulled ahead 43-41 going into the fourth quarter. Brillana Boyd, who scored 16 of her game-high 17 points in the second half, broke a 51-51 tie on a layup with 33.6 seconds left and Kimberly Cruz-Martinez sank four free throws to complete the upset. Cruz-Martinez totaled 14 points, seven assists and six steals and Jezelle Moreno double-doubled on 12 points and 11 rebounds. For Mt. SAC, Carley Bolden scored 14 points with three steals, Daisia Mitchell 13 points with seven rebounds, and Dailani Richardson hit three 3s as part of her 12 points. The Vikings were at one point 8-9 and now are on a 12-game win streak in punching their ticket to state. Mt. SAC saw a 23-game win streak snapped and lost the opportunity to play before its home fans at the state tourney.
#2 Moorpark 67, #7 Ventura 50: The Raiders notched their third win of the season over their Western State North Division rival Pirates and with Mt. SAC's loss now occupy the top region seed for the state tourney. Moorpark took a 15-4 lead after one quarter and took further control wiht a commanding 47-28 advantage after three quarters. Rebecca Saidoff poured in 27 points, raining in six 3-point bombs to pace Moorpark while Calista Arzaga (five assists), Keilani Peralta, and Mika Jarrett each scored eight points. For Ventura, Elena Ferrara drained 4-for-5 from beyond the arc as part of her 18 points and Alexa Coubal scored 17 points (5-for-5 at the line) and pulled down 14 boards. Moorpark extended its win streak to 22 games.
#3 Glendale 69, #6 Palomar 60: The Vaqueros are headed to state for the first time in program history in downing the Comets. Glendale led 20-13 after one quarter and had a 12-point lead during the second period. Palomar sliced it to 50-46 on a Mackenzie Kozina jumper but Malia Ulery would sink a 3-pointer that ended any doubt of Glendale's advancement at 61-51. Second-round hero Patil Yaacoubian once again came off the bench to lead Glendale as she scored a game-high 22 points. Ulery added 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists while Paola Gorgeiz chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds. Palomar got 15 points each from Kozina and Angelina De Leon and plus nine and six rebounds from reserve Faith Brinkman. The Vaqueros carry a 23-game win streak to state.
#4 Orange Coast 88, #5 Mt. San Jacinto 66: The Pirates continue to defend its state title of a year ago by advancing behind a 22-point win over the Eagles. OCC led 25-14 after one quarter, built the lead to 22 before MSJC cut it to eight early in the fourth quarter, 71-63. At that point, Orange Coast went on a 17-0 run, including five free throws by Hailey Estrada, that completed the victory. For OCC, Bridgette McIntyre hit five 3s on her way to 23 points, Myia Collins scored 20 points with eight rebounds, Ashari Cassell dropped in 17 points with five assists, and Jordan Arreola drilled four treys for 12 points and six boards. Orange Coast made 14 shots from long distance. Mt. San Jacinto was paced by Breyonna Bell with 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Valeria Brewer scored 14, Vika Afungia pumped in 12 off the bench, Drasoni Kyles added 10, and Jana Roman had eight points and nine rebounds. OCC is on a 17-game win streak going into state.
Release by Robert Lewis, CCCWBCA Publicist