Two of this week’s honorees are Ty Harper (left) from Santa Clarita Christian & Madison Parry from Del Oro (Loomis). Photos: Darcy Brown / signalscv.com & Twitter.com.
For the final quartet of players of the week from the 2019-20 season, the trick has been not just to find deserving candidates but those who don’t have section playoff games on a Tuesday night. All four, in fact, are on teams that already have clinched berths in section finals (including one on Monday night). These four represent the Santa Clarita Valley, Irvine, Fresno and the Sierra Foothills. Congrats to all boys & girls players this season who’ve been featured.
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Note: For these honors, we consider CIF Central Section players for Northern California. This feature switches to baseball/softball next week. To nominate anyone, email markjtennis@gmail.com. We pick the winners on Monday nights.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Boys Basketball Player of the Week
Ty Harper (Santa Clarita Christian, Canyon Country) Jr.
We’ve had more than one Southern California Player of the Week that was also the Los Angeles Daily News Athlete of the Week but the previous winners were from the San Fernando Valley area, but for this week’s SoCal Boys Player of the Week we head east over the hills to the Santa Clarita Valley where we find Ty, and now he’s hit a trifecta after adding a statewide award to the local award and an offer from USC that was reported in late January.
Harper started last week with a solid 16-point effort in a 60-44 CIF Southern Section Division 2AA quarterfinal victory over Fairmont Prep of Anaheim. Then, the 6-foot-3 combo guard had 30 points in an 89-83 overtime victory over Chaminade of West Hills, and the Cardinals needed every bit of Harper’s efforts.
With the victory, Santa Clarita Christian is now moving on to its third straight CIFSS title game when the top seed meets St. Francis of La Canada at noon on Saturday at Azusa Pacific University.
Last year, Santa Clarita Christian lost in the CIFSS Division 3AA title game to Rolling Hills of San Pedro before bowing out in the Southern Regional Division II second round. Two years ago, the Cardinals won the Southern Section 5AAA championship before going all the way to Sacramento and capturing the CIF Division V state championship with a win over Argonaut.
Harper was not on those two teams since he was living in Arizona, but maybe this year the Cardinals can fly high once again with Ty leading the way to another state championship.
O’Malley lets it fly from beyond the 3-point line and will try to connect at a high level again during CIFSS D3AA championship. Photo: Tim Burt / ocsportszone.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Girls Basketball Player of the Week
Shannon O’Malley
(Crean Lutheran, Irvine) Sr.
We return to Orange County once again this season for our Southern California Girls Player of the Week. There we honor Shannon, whose three-point shooting recently has looked like it was shot out of a cannon.
Last week, in a 64-60 quarterfinal victory over Laguna Hills, the Saints’ senior guard had 31 points on eight three-pointers, but it was down the stretch that O’Malley had her best tallies.
Trailing 37-36 after three quarters, O’Malley ignited a rally with four of her eight treys coming in the final period. The win sends Crean Lutheran into the CIF Southern Section Division 3AA title game on Saturday morning at Azusa Pacific University against top-seeded Santa Monica.
For the Saints to march past Santa Monica will take more than the efforts of O’Malley, so we’re also giving a shoutout to sophomore teammate Taylor Feldman.
After the Laguna Hills win, the Saints faced Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach in the semifinals. Once again they trailed by a point entering the fourth quarter, but behind Feldman and O’Malley they got it done again in a 51-45 victory. Feldman finished with 19 points and O’Malley was right behind her with 18 points.
O’Malley, a four-year varsity standout, has helped Crean Lutheran to a 26-4 record heading into its section final.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Boys Basketball Player of the Week
Joseph Hunter (San Joaquin Memorial, Fresno) Soph.
Our Northern California Boys Player of the Week is from “The Valley” as the locals call the CIF Central Section, and as usual when we have a selection from The Valley we remind readers that for all our Player of the Week features for all sports the CIF Central Section is considered Northern California.
Joseph Hunter is one of the top Class of 2022 prospects in Northern California. Photo: @SJMBasketball1 / Twitter.com.
He may only be a sophomore, but Hunter has been right on target, and although no one is going to forget Jalen Green, who transferred to Prolific Prep for his senior season, the Panthers are still near the top of Fresno County and a big reason has been the play of their 6-foot-4 wing. In fact, with Hunter as the centerpiece, the Panthers even bettered their 9-1 league record from last year by going 10-0 this season.
Now, after following in Green’s footsteps as this year’s County – Metro Player of the Year, he adds a statewide honor to his resume.
Last week, in a thrilling 73-70 win over crosstown No. 2 seed Clovis North in the first-ever CIF Central Section Open Division semifinals, Joseph helped third-seeded San Joaquin Memorial to the minor upset after Hunter had a steady aim and hand with 23 points. Teammate Jaden Geron also had 23 points. Some of Hunter’s other recent outings have been: team-best 17 points vs. Sanger; 23 points and eight assists vs. Fresno Edison; 29 points vs. Fresno Bullard; and a triple-double of 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists vs. Madera.
Now, Hunter will lead San Joaquin Memorial into the title game against top-seeded and crosstown Clovis West in the first-ever CIF Central Section Open Division championship. Hunter and his teammates will be looking to avenge an 82-75 loss to Clovis West at that team’s Nike Central Valley Invitational in December.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Girls Basketball Player of the Week
Madison Parry (Del Oro, Loomis) Sr.
We head northeast on Interstate 80 about 25 miles from downtown Sacramento and the state capitol, and there we find a girl who has been a four-year starter for the Golden Eagles and has been a consistent contributor from the time she was a freshman.
For Madison, it’s not so much about what she did last week, although she was steady just like she always is, but what she has meant to Del Oro all season and in her four-year varsity career, and this could be our last chance to honor her so Parry is the pick this week.
Last week against Sacramento, the 5-foot-10 wing had 20 points and seven rebounds in a 62-58 overtime win in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division II quarterfinal victory for the No. 3 seed over No. 6 seed Dragons.
She wasn’t really needed much in an opening round 53-13 win over Golden Valley of Merced, but she made the most of her 21 minutes after finishing with a double-double 11 points and 13 rebounds with three assists and three steals.
Already this week in the semifinals, Parry played through foul trouble and finished with 15 points and nine rebounds and two steals in 22 minutes of a minor upset when Del Oro beat No. 2 seed Laguna Creek of Elk Grove, 53-51. The Cardinals entered that game with a 27-2 record.
According to sources, Parry wasn’t the only Madison to sparkle against Laguna Creek this week, and we know the senior would like to give a shout out to her sophomore teammate, Madison Butcher, a 5-foot-10 wing, who had 19 points and seven rebounds and with Parry in foul trouble she played all 32 minutes and was a key to the victory.
As for Parry’s overall numbers heading into a showdown with top-seeded Antelope in a Thursday section championship, Madison is averaging team highs of 16.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals a game, and she’s second with 2.3 assists per game. She’s also shooting the three-ball more frequently this season and has 40 of the 62 she’s converted in her career.
Win or lose on Thursday at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, the Golden Eagles will be moving on to the Northern Regionals, and whatever Parry scores and pulls off the glass against Antelope will add to her current 1,766 career points and 1,091 rebounds.
Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend
