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In a girls basketball season full of parity in Orange County, Sage Hill and Mater Dei separated themselves from the pack late but never met on the court to settle the No. 1 ranking.
That showdown will happen in the playoffs for the second time in three years.
On Saturday, Sage Hill and Mater Dei were seeded No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, and placed in Pool D in an expanded, 12-team Open Division for the CIF-SS playoffs.
Sage Hill (24-4) will play host to Mater Dei (23-5) on Tuesday, Feb. 17 to close out Pool D play.
Sage Hill and Mater Dei have been ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in Orange County in the past two weeks. Each squad lost to a county opponent earlier in the season.
“There’s more parity amongst programs, and certainly here in Orange County, and I’m proud of that,” Mater Dei coach Jody Wynn said during the season.
In 2024, Mater Dei edged Sage Hill 56-55 in an Open Division game that pitted the top two ranked teams in Orange County. The Monarchs were No. 1 and the Lightning were No. 2.
The Open Division features four pools of three teams. Sage Hill and Mater Dei will be joined by Redondo (17-9) in Pool D.
The Lightning, winners of 19 consecutive games, play host to No. 12 Redondo to open the playoffs on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
The Sage Hill-Mater Dei clash will not only impact the county rankings but determine advancement to the quarterfinals. The winner of Pool D plays the runner-up in Pool C in the quarterfinals while the second-place finisher in Pool D faces the first-place team in Pool C, which could be No. 3 seed Sierra Canyon.
In the Open Division, teams need to finish in first or second in their pool to advance to the quarterfinals and earn an automatic berth in the CIF Southern California Regional.
In the other nine divisions, schools need to reach the semifinals to qualify for the regional.
The Open Division also features No. 8 seeded JSerra (19-6) and No. 10 Fairmont Prep (16-12).
JSerra is grouped in Pool A with top-seeded Ontario Christian and No. 9 Rancho Christian.
Fairmont Prep is slotted in Pool B with second-seeded and three-time defending state champion Etiwanda and No. 7 St. Joseph.
Orange County didn’t secure a top-four seed in Division 1 but is well represented with seven teams.
The teams are sixth-seeded Orange Lutheran, No. 7 Villa Park, No. 10 Esperanza, No. 11 Beckman, No. 20 Troy, No. 23 Santa Margarita and No. 31 Buena Park.
Esperanza (19-9) plays host to Santa Margarita (17-10) in one of the top first-round games Feb. 12.
Santa Margarita beat Esperanza 66-54 earlier in the season and will challenge the Aztecs with its height and depth.
Rosary (19-9) earned the No. 2 seed to Glendora in Division 2 and provided an interesting perspective into SBLive’s Colley Royalty Method power ratings used to formulate the playoff brackets.
Rosary beat Buena Park 57-35 early in the season and placed second in the Pacific Coast League, a much stronger league than the Buena Park’s Empire League.
Other O.C. teams that received high seeds included Marina (No. 2 in Division 4), El Dorado (No. 3 in Division 4), Tesoro (No. 1 in Division 5), Foothill (No. 3 in Division 5) and Santa Ana Valley (No. 4 in Division 8).
El Dorado, which placed fourth in the Crestview League, was among several O.C. teams to receive an at-large berth to the playoffs.