SBLive's Southern Section girls basketball top 25: No. 1 Sierra Canyon vs. No. 2 Etiwanda is finally here
It's time for the CIFSS championships. The long-awaited Open Division finals rematch between top-ranked Sierra Canyon and reigning champion Etiwanda is going down at the Honda Center on Saturday, as is the Division 1 title game between Orange Lutheran and Marlborough.
Here are SBLive's Southern Section girls basketball rankings for the week of Feb. 13-19. The rankings are released weekly throughout the season.
READ: Last week's rankings
1. Sierra Canyon (29-0 – 1st)
In outscoring Bishop Montgomery, Ontario Christian, and Sage Hill by a combined 243-98, Sierra Canyon completed the most dominant run through Open Division pool play since it was instituted. Now SC looks to break through for a section title
2. Etiwanda (29-2 – 2nd)
To the surprise of no one, Etiwanda has earned the right to play for back-to-back Open Division titles. It looked very sharp in a 71-58 victory over Mater Dei to close pool play.
3. Mater Dei (28-3 – 3rd)
For the second straight season, Mater Dei was ready to play some of its best ball of the year during pool play. After a 67-54 victory over Windward, it crushed Santiago, which defeated MD in November, 94-38. Despite losing a well-contested battle against Etiwanda after that, Mater Dei has now returned to SBLive's statewide top five for the first time since the Santiago loss.
4. Sage Hill (21-9 – 4th)
By going 2-1 in Open Division pool play, Sage Hill has almost guaranteed itself an Open Division appearance in the state playoffs as well.
5. Ontario Christian (27-4 – 5th)
Despite starting pool play with tough losses, OC edged out Bishop Montgomery on Saturday in a historic win. The victory was the Knights' first Open Division win ever, and Chloe Briggs dropped 42 points to become the all-time CIFSS leading scorer.
6. Santiago-Corona (22-9 – 7th)
After getting annihilated by Etiwanda and Mater Dei, Santiago bounced back to beat Windward by 18 points. The win came only a month after Santiago fell by 21 against Windward.
7. Windward (18-9 – 6th)
Open Division pool play was tough for the Wildcats, as they lost all three games by double-digits. Nonetheless, they remain a top-seven team in the section without any doubt.
8. Brentwood School (26-6 – 9th)
Back in the top eight, and back in the CIFSS finals. Brentwood School will be a minor favorite in the 2-A championship against Leuzinger.
9. Marlborough (22-8 – 18th)
Jumping up Marlborough nine spots for beating only one higher-ranked team was certainly a choice, and not an easy one. Spots 9-18 could not be clustered any more tightly, and there are probably 20 different orderings that would've made as much as sense as any others.
Even though the Mustangs fell flat down the stretch of league play, the power rankings game comes down to recency, especially in the playoffs. And in beating Rosary Academy by nearly 20 points, Marlborough took down the No. 8 team, which had previously had some of the steadiest-rising stock in the section up until then. That made four double-digit victories in four playoff games for the Mustangs, who'd previously rolled against Vista Murrieta, Woodbridge, and Oaks Christian. Also, by keeping Rosary near its previous ranking, bumping Marlborough to No. 9 allowed for the most logical shaking out of the other several teams in that cluster.
Was it too high of a jump? Or will Marlborough rise even more? All will be sorted out in the weeks to come.
10. Rosary Academy (23-7 – 8th)
The Royals' hopes at a Division 1 title died a painful death as Rosary lost 63-44 to Marlborough. But don't be surprised to see the Royals bring their A-game come the regional playoffs, which is practically a yearly tradition for them.
11. Orange Lutheran (23-7 – 15th)
For the second straight season, the Lancers found another gear right at the start of the postseason. The reigning 2-AA champions have taken down Brea Olinda, Sonora, Harvard-Westlake, and Chaminade for the right to meet Marlborough at the Honda Center on Saturday.
12. Los Osos (24-4 – 12th)
Here's an insane stat: Los Osos' 61-52 victory over Moreno Valley in the 3-AA semifinals was only its second single-digit win of the season, and first since November.
13. Bishop Montgomery (20-7 – 13th)
As the last seed in the Open Division, the Knights would've had to pull a major upset in order to rise during the section playoffs. They nearly did that in a 74-70 loss to Ontario Christian, but their primary shot to improve their stock will be during the Southern Region Division I playoffs.
14. Chaminade (19-13 – 14th)
The Eagles took down Mira Costa, M.L. King, and Lynwood in the D1 playoffs before falling to Orange Lutheran in the semifinals. Having punched their ticket to regionals, they'll be a team no one wants to face in Division I.
15. Lynwood (19-11 – 10th)
With the Knights' season presumably over, it'll be interesting to watch Lynwood's stock as the rest of the postseason winds on. Lynwood went under the radar this season for a lot of losses against elite teams and a couple losses that were impacted by injuries. The Knights were outstanding when healthy, and could either rise or fall from here on out based on transitive results.
16. Leuzinger (25-4 – 11th)
A drop of five spots for a team that's thrashed all four of its playoff opponents, including Village Christian? For now, Leuzinger's stock is still tied to Lynwood's after Lynwood knocked off Leuzinger 57-53 on Jan. 28. And Lynwood fell to Chaminade in its second playoff game.
On the other hand, that Lynwood loss is nearly a month in the past, and it was also a non-league game mixed in late in league play on the second night of a back-to-back. From a rankings perspective, Leuzinger has a great chance in the coming weeks to bury that loss in the past and rise – starting with the 2-A finals this Saturday against No. 2 Brentwood.
17. Harvard-Westlake (20-10 – 18th)
Before falling in a close one against OLu, Harvard-Westlake wailed on Camarillo and Oxnard to pick up two D1 playoff victories. With only one key player graduating in 2023, H-W should continue rising back up the ranks year in and year out.
18. Village Christian (25-6 – 16th)
The Crusaders came up well short against Leuzinger in the 2-A semifinals, but consider this. They clinched a regional playoff bid where they'll almost certainly be in Division II, and this year, many of the Southern Section heavyweights that would usually be Division II for regionals might get bumped up to Division I. So Village Christian might have quite a few more playoff games left.
19. Oaks Christian (19-7 – 19th)
Despite falling 41-30 to Marlborough to end its season, Oaks Christian retains its spot inside the top 20.
20. Corona Centennial (20-11 – 20th)
The Huskies were inactive last week with their season over.
21. La Salle (29-3 – Bubble)
After beating Canyon (Canyon Country) by 17 points, La Salle is now the top-ranked 2-AA team in our rankings. It'll be anybody's game on Saturday against Hart for a title.
22. Hart (28-3 – 22nd)
The Indians took down San Juan Hills in a thriller to punch their ticket to the 2-AA finals. They'll have their work cut out against them against a reigning 3-AA and Southern Region III champion that just beat Hart's league rival, Canyon, by 17 points.
23. Canyon-Canyon Country (20-8 – 21st)
Canyon was one win away from a regional playoffs bid before losing 53-36 to a buzzsaw in La Salle.
24. Esperanza (25-5 – 23rd)
The Aztecs nearly upset Rosary Academy in the quarterfinals, losing 44-38.
25. Long Beach Poly (22-8 – 25th)
With its season over, Poly was inactive last week.
ON THE BUBBLE:
Flintridge Prep, Alemany, San Juan Hills, Fairmont Prep, Redondo Union, Rancho Christian, North (Torrance)
