El Dorado girls basketball stops Marina with tough defense in semifinals

PLACENTIA — The El Dorado girls basketball team has won on the strength of its defense all season, and that defense seems to have grown even stingier in the playoffs.

The Golden Hawks relied on their defense once again for a 44-34 victory over Marina in the semifinals of the CIF-SS Division 4 playoffs on Saturday at El Dorado High School.

El Dorado is in a CIF-SS final for the first time since 2015. The Golden Hawks will play La Cañada, which defeated Canyon in the other Division 4 semifinal Saturday.

“Our defense is what has been carrying us,” Hawks coach Matthew Raya said. “I knew it was going to be tough. (Marina point guard Riley Bradley) is a heck of a player. I said if we can keep her under 15, we’re going to be good. She had 17 but I knew it was good.”

The Hawks have allowed a total of 117 points through four playoff games, an average of 29 points per game.

Against the Vikings, the Hawks allowed four points in the first quarter, seven in the third and nine in the fourth.

Marina coach Daniel Roussel said his team had also been carried by its defense at times this season.

“Tonight unfortunately, we couldn’t finish around the basket,” Roussel said. “We had a tough time making layups. But we have no quit in us. You saw a couple of times tonight, it seems they pulled away and we just kept fighting.”

Marina starting guard Cheyne Abrams picked up three fouls in the first quarter and sat through most of the third period after picking up her fourth foul.

El Dorado’s Delaney Shiring led all scorers with 22 points and was 8 for 8 from the free throw line. The Pomona Pitzer signee also had nine rebounds, including five in the third quarter.

“This year we have really grown our chemistry,” Shiring said. “We’re a young team with six freshmen coming in, but I think we have really learned to adapt and grown closer as a team and play well together.”

The Vikings got within six points heading into the fourth, but then Shiring opened the quarter with a 3-pointer, followed by a pair of free throws.

El Dorado’s Kennedy Wood and Riley Morikawa then hit 3-pointers to put the Hawks ahead 42-28 with just over four minutes remaining in the game.

Bradley scored on consecutive possessions to cut the lead to 10 with three minutes remaining, but the Hawks used up clock and took good care of the basketball and the Vikings couldn’t get any closer.