El Dorado girls basketball too hot for La Cañada in Division 4 final

AZUSA – El Dorado’s girls basketball team almost did not make it into the CIF Southern Section playoffs.

The Golden Hawks were 12-14 with two regular-season games remaining. They were not going to finish high enough in the final Crestview League standings to be an automatic qualifier for the playoffs. So El Dorado had to win its final two games of the regular season to finish with a .500 overall record in order to qualify for an at-large berth.

El Dorado won both of those games, received an at-large berth and got hot in the playoffs.

The Golden Hawks concluded their run in CIF-SS playoffs by beating La Cañada, 41-27, in the Division 4 championship game Friday at Azusa Pacific University.

It is the school’s second CIF-SS girls basketball championship. Its other one came in 1976, the third year that girls basketball championships were awarded in the Southern Section.

Much like the regular season, El Dorado (19-14) finished strong in the Division 4 final. The Golden Hawks outscored the Spartans, 13-2, in the fourth quarter.

El Dorado senior Delaney Shiring was the only player Friday to score in double figures. Shiring, who committed to Pomona-Pitzer, scored 19 points including four 3-point baskets and had a team-high five rebounds. She also had five assists.

Golden Hawks senior Kennedy Wood had six assists.

La Canada (19-13) was led by Diya Ahr’s seven points.

The season continues for both teams next week in the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs. The regional brackets will be released Sunday.

Coach Matt Raya said the Golden Hawks raised their game to its highest level at the best time of the season to do so.

“Once we got in,” Raya said, “we started to play our best basketball.”

For Raya, winning the championship at El Dorado was personally special. The school gym is named for his father, Joe Raya, who was the school’s athletic department equipment man for decades. His late brother, Gary, was the El Dorado girls basketball coach in the 1990s.

“Since I was 6 years old I’ve been part of the El Dorado athletic department,” Raya said. “As ball boy, water boy. To hang a championship banner in the gym named for my dad, that’s going to be an unbelievable thing.”

El Dorado was hanging on to a 28-27 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Karis Wu made a 3-pointer to make it 31-27. Shiring also made a 3-pointer to push the lead to 34-27.

Shiring made another 3 to stretch the lead to 37-27, and the momentum belonged to the Golden Hawks for rest of the game.

El Dorado was 7 of 21 on 3-point shots. La Canada was 2 of 19 behind the arc.

The Golden Hawks’ only deficiency Friday was on the boards. They gave up 15 offensive rebounds to the Spartans. But that was not enough to stop El Dorado from winning a fifth playoff game and its first CIF-SS girls basketball title in 40 years.