The high school basketball season is finally over for East County teams following the Lady Foothillers’ agonizing 60-59 exit March 5 in Saugus in the second round of the Division II Southern California regional playoffs.
The one-point loss left Grossmont Hills League champion Grossmont with a final 23-6 record following an unblemished 6-0 league campaign.
The Lady Foothillers qualified for the regional playoffs by virtue of receiving the No. 7 seed in the San Diego Section’s Open Division playoffs. Grossmont upset second-seeded Mater Dei Catholic, 62-54, in the quarterfinals but saw its bid to advance to the elite championship game denied following a 56-53 loss to sixth-seeded Westview in the division semifinals.
The Lady Foothillers had to wait until the section finals were over to resume on-court action.
No. 1 Francis Parker defeated Westview, 66-50, in the Open final Feb. 28 at Frontwave Arena.
Francis Parker received the No. 3 seed in the Division I regional playoffs while Westview was seeded ninth, Mission Hills was seeded No. 10 and La Jolla Country Day was seeded 11th.
Grossmont was seeded fifth in the Division II regional bracket while Mater Dei Catholic was seeded seventh.
The Lady Foothillers took care of business with a stinging 73-57 opening-round win over No. 12 Los Angeles Hamilton (20-11) on March 3.
The victory advanced Grossmont to meet host Saugus in the second round.
The Lady Foothillers, who advanced to the state championship game two seasons ago, encountered a roadblock this year against the Lady Centurions (27-9).
“The state playoff game came down to the final possession and was a great battle on both sides,” Grossmont head coach Grace Campbell said.” Our girls competed with a lot of heart and resilience, and although we fell short by one point, it was an exciting and hard-fought game. I’m incredibly proud of how the team responded throughout the postseason and the way they represented our program.
“This season was special for many reasons. As a lower seed, our group continued to prove people wrong, including knocking off the No. 2 seed and making a deep run in the Open Division playoffs. The players bought into the team-first mentality all year, and their growth, toughness, and belief in one another really defined this group. While the loss stings, the milestones this team achieved and the culture they built will have a lasting impact on the program.”
Junior Aakash Price earned the GHL Player of the Year award while junior Jaliyah Fleming and sophomore Esther Agoh were both first team all-league selections and freshman Tiann Carpenter was a second team all-league pick.
Francis Parker (23-8) lost 85-79 to No. 2 Rancho Christian (26-8) in the semifinals while Westview (20-10) dropped a 50-37 contest to No. 8 La Salle (30-5) in the opening round.
Mission Hills (19-12) lost 54-51 to No. 7 JSerra Catholic (21-9) while LJCD (17-12) lost 72-57 t No. 6 Oak Park (22-10).
Among other Open Division qualifiers, Cathedral Catholic received the No. 9 regional seed in Division II while Victory Christian Academy was seeded 11th, Lincoln was seeded 13th and La Costa Canyon was seeded 14th.
Cathedral Catholic (23-8) edged No. 8 Camarillo (19-13) by a score of 48-47 in the first round to meet top-seeded Lake Balboa Birmingham (29-5) in the second round, a 77-69 season-ending setback for the Lady Dons.
Mater Dei Catholic (23-4) was upset, 50-36, by No. 10 St. Margaret’s (27-8) while Lincoln (14-13) lost 46-39 to Saugus. VCA (10-17) lost 58-47 to No. 6 Rosary Academy (24-11) while LCC (25-7) lost 65-63 to No. 3 Crescenta Valley (29-5).
The Lady Centurions (27-9) went on to topple No. 1 Birmingham (29-5) by a score of 64-43 in the regional semifinals to advance to Tuesday’s regional championship game against second-seeded Santa Maria St. Joseph (16-15).
The state final is March 14 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Lady Sultans
Santana (19-13) ended its season with a 52-30 first-round loss at No. 6 Schurr (19-14) in the Division V bracket. Sophomore Sam Mora keyed the No. 11 Lady Sultans with nine points while senior Olivia Magneta dropped in eight points and senior Khole Cruz contributed seven points.
The season ended on a disappointing note for the back-to-back CIF champions.
But the team’s progression from a 5-22 record, 0-8 in Grossmont Valley League, its first season under head coach Mark Leflar in 2023-24 has been remarkable.
The Santee team finished 25-7, 7-3 in league, en route to claiming the Division V section title in 2024-25 and won the Division IV title this year with runaway wins that featured four-game and five-game winning streaks.
Mora keyed the team with 16.3 points per game.
“I’m very proud of where they came from,” Leflar said.
