Winning any kind of championship in high school sports is not exactly an easy task. How about winning two back-to-back, and back-to-back in different divisions?
The Santana High School girls basketball team accomplished that somewhat rare feat on Feb. 26 by defeating second-seeded Escondido Adventist Academy, 46-27, at Otay Ranch High School.
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The Lady Sultans did it as the No. 9 playoff seed.
“It’s a lot harder because everyone is gunning for you,” Santana head coach Mark Leflar said in regard to recording a CIF repeat. “You can’t be complacent just because you’re on top. The girls knew this and were disciplined. They were on the road for all four playoff games. They brought it home. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The Lady Sultans defeated Del Lago Academy,46-26, to win last year’s San Diego Section Division V championship en route to a 25-7 season finish in the Southern California regional playoffs.
Santana took a 19-12 record into Tuesday’s regional opener at Montebello Schurr (16-14).
The Lady Sultans made sure they had the upper hand early against Escondido Adventist by taking a commanding 24-9 halftime lead.
Santana stretched its lead to 27-15 before the Lady Hawks dug down with some genuine grit and challenged the East County leaders. Escondido Adventist (22-7) closed the once formidable 15-point gap to nine points at 34-25 just seconds into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Sultans returned to what they do best, intercepting high balls, grabbing rebounds and hitting from three-point range, to just as suddenly spurt ahead 46-23 on the scoreboard.
Santana substituted liberally with 1:31 remaining in the game having made a statement.
“We knew they were going to come out and play tough,” Leflar said.
Sophomore Sam Mora led Santana on the floor with 19 points, including 15 points on five three-pointers, while junior Harper Diaz was next up with 12 points. Junior Ashlyn Darrow logged eight points while sophomore Olivia Magneta collected four points and sophomore Brynn Warren dropped in three points.
Mora keyed Santana with 16.5 points per game this season while Diaz averaged 8.4 points per game and Darrow averaged 6.9 ppg. Warren, who received the team’s sportsmanship award, average 6.0 ppg.
Diaz and Mora were part of last year’s Division V championship team.
“Obviously, we knew this was going to be our toughest game this season, so we wanted to be super smart and not give them the chance to hang with us,” Diaz said. “We knew coming in we had to play all-out. We knew the third quarter would be the game. We had to give it our all.
“To win it in two different divisions is just amazing.”
“It’s amazing going back-to-back,” Mora concurred.
The CIF title is the first for Darrow. She called it an amazing experience.
“It’s a tribute to all the girls on the team,” she said “All the hard work in practice paid off. I can’t wait for state.”
Santana, which finished tied for second place in Grossmont Valley League play, tipped off the playoffs with a 57-20 win over No. 8 Coronado. The Lady Sultans built a prodigious 31-7 halftime lead (20-4 after the opening quarter). Mora poured in 19 points while Warren added 10 points.
The Lady Sultans promptly eliminated No. 1 Hilltop, 48-28, in the ensuing quarterfinals. Mora deflated any attempted Hilltop comeback from a 22-14 halftime deficit with five second-half three-pointers.
Darrow finished the game with 16 points, Mora with 15 points and Diaz with 13 points as the Lady Lancers finished an otherwise standout season with a final 19-7 record.
Santana secured a berth in the division championship game with a 52-43 semifinal win at No 5 Point Loma. The visitors opened up a 21-15 halftime lead and won by nine points. Mora led the winners with 16 points while Magenta tallied 14 points.
Coastal Ocean League champion Escondido Adventist defeated No. 15 Canyon Crest Academy, 50-35, in the opening round, then topped Metro-Pacific League champion Chula Vista, 36-35, in the quarterfinals. The Lady Hawks terminated No. 14 Southwest’s upset bid with a 50-36 victory in the semifinals.
State of mind
The Grossmont Hills League champion Grossmont Lady Foothillers (22-5) advanced as far as the Open Division semifinals, bowing 56-53 to equally upset-minded Westview in a match-up of Nos. 6 and 7 seeds. The host Lady Wolverines (20-9) tip-toed out of the gym to advance to the division final against top-seeded Francis Parker (20-9).
“We fell just short in the semifinals by three points in what was a hard-fought, competitive game from start to finish,” Grossmont coach Grace Campbell said. “I couldn’t be more proud of how our girls battled in that moment. It easily could have gone either way, and they showed tremendous composure and heart on that stage.
“What this group accomplished in the Open Division shouldn’t be overlooked. As a No. 7 seed, there weren’t many people who expected us to get out of the first round especially after knocking off the No. 2 seed (62-54 over Mater Dei Catholic). Historically, you just don’t see 7 or 8 seeds advancing deep in the Open bracket, and that alone says a lot about this team’s grit and belief. That win shifted the narrative immediately and showed that we belonged.
“To then turn around and face Westview and compete possession-for-possession speaks volumes. Despite the loss, we broke so many milestones this season from proving ourselves in the Open Division to earning a spot in state playoffs and putting Grossmont basketball back on the front page.”
The Lady Hillers were scheduled to take on Hamilton (20-10) in Tuesday’s opening round.
“Now, our focus shifts to the state playoffs,” Campbell said. “The message to the team is simple: we’ve already proven we can compete with anyone. The standard doesn’t drop. We regroup, refocus, and continue playing the brand of basketball that got us here together, tough and confident.”
