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Dan Albano reacts to Orange County’s showing in the CIF-SS girls basketball finals and looks ahead to the CIF Southern California Regional:
1. How did Orange County’s depth fare in the CIF-SS finals?
Outstanding. Orange County teams went a combined 4-2 with St. Margaret’s (Division 3), El Dorado (Division 4), Savanna (Division 6) and Kennedy (Division 7) claiming titles.
The four championships are the most for the county since 2012.
The county’s champions also won an average of 19.5 points.
Savanna and Kennedy captured their first section titles.
2. Was there an under-the-radar factor that pushed any of the teams to the title?
Strength of schedule. Savanna added tougher nonleague games to its schedule, and it paid major dividends.
The Rebels played and lost big against Troy (Division 1), Beckman (Division 1) and Portola (Division 2) among others.
“It gave the girls an opportunity to make a choice,” Savanna coach Ramez Michail said, “to stick together and keep improving or to give up.”
“I’m so proud of each and every single one of our girls, coaches and parents for seeing it all the way through.”
St. Margaret’s coach Josh Markum and his players credited their title, in part, to playing in the Pacific Coast League. The Tartans placed third in the league.
“It was a tremendous help,” point guard Taylor Francois said. “We’ve been playing tough competition all leading up to the playoffs.”
3. How was the support for the finalists?
Pretty good. Orange coach Sara Esparza said district member Villa Park reached out to wish the Panthers good luck in the Division 8 final against Schurr.
“That’s was really, really cool,” Esparza said of the Spartans, who are led by coach Brad Willis. “And we’ve had a few other teams and coaches from our (Grove) League reach out and congratulate us. Some of our league opponents came to one of our playoff games to support us. We felt the love from the basketball community.”
In Division 6, Savanna received a chorus of “Let’s go Rebels!” after it won the opening tip against Warren at Azusa Pacific University.
4. If there was an Orange County MVP for the finals, who would have won?
Kennedy freshman Ta’Niya Paul. She narrowly missed a triple-double with 13 points, 21 rebounds, eight assists in a 55-28 win against Golden West League rival Laguna Hills.
Paul grabbed nine offensive rebounds and went 6 for 10 from the floor in 25 minutes.
St. Margaret’s freshman Jayden Witten finishes as the runner-up with 19 points in a 57-41 victory against Murrieta Valley. She made 7 of 13 shots from the floor.
El Dorado’s Delaney Shiring is an honorable mention with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists in a win against La Canada.
5. Can Mater Dei beat visiting Windward on Tuesday in the Division I regional without coach Jody Wynn?
Yes, but it doesn’t look easy despite the seeding.
Wynn appears set to serve a one-game suspension for her ejection at Sierra Canyon on Feb. 21 in the CIF-SS Open Division quarterfinals.
Top-seeded Mater Dei features an experienced coaching staff with assistants Jesse Vargas and James Parker. Vargas is a candidate to take the lead with his long ties to the program.
No. 16 Windward (18-13) shouldn’t be overlooked. The Wildcats knocked off top-seeded and host Ventura 48-45 in the CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinals. Ventura beat visiting Mater Dei 46-42 in late January.
Windward also features a standout guard in Charis Rainey. The junior is a big-time scorer and rebounder.
And while the loss of Wynn is impactful, the Monarchs’ offense is another concern. They averaged 42.7 points in the Open Division. Yes, that’s against tough competition but the output falls below the team’s average of 60.4.
6. Who are a few sleepers to watch in the regional playoffs?
If healthy, look for No. 4 Fairmont Prep to make a run in Division I. They Huskies played a challenging schedule and will have home court advantage for at least the first two rounds. They also own a victory against No. 1 Mater Dei.
Also keep an eye on No. 6 Rosary in Division II. If the Royals win their opener Tuesday, they could get a second shot at No. 3 Crescenta Valley, which edged Rosary 45-44 in the Division 2 semifinals in the section playoffs.
And finally, No. 12 Kennedy has a chance to knock off host No. 5 Palisades on Tuesday in Division IV.