Senior guard Shaena Brew of Etiwanda gets into the lane and looks to score during CIF Open Division state final vs Archbishop Mitty. Photo: Sam Stringer.
Etiwanda completes its third straight run to the CIF Open Division state title with a win on Saturday over Archbishop Mitty. It’s not the first three-peat or four-peat in state history, but it’s the first since the CIF went to an Open Division in 2013. Caruthers also repeats as a CIF state champ (this time in D2) and Whitney of Cerritos shines with D4 crown.
Note: We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. Next week’s final state rankings in all divisions boys and girls, expanded overall final rankings and some of our exclusive upcoming all-state teams (including juniors, sophomores and frosh) will be for Gold Club members only. Sign up today for our Gold Club for $4.99 per month or as low as $2.08 per month for a yearly subscription. For details, CLICK HERE.
Note: Our lead girls basketball analyst, Harold Abend, did the breakdowns for Open girls & D2 girls. Editor and publisher Mark Tennis did D4 girls.
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The buzz phrase “the third time is a charm” was very appropriate for the winning team when referring to the 2025 CIF Open Division state championship on Saturday evening at the Golden 1 Center.
However, for the losing team, the fourth time was anything but charming as Cal-Hi Sports No. 2 ranked Etiwanda defeated No. 3 Archbishop Mitty of San Jose 75-59 for its third straight CIF Open Division state championship. At the same time, it sent Mitty down to defeat in its fourth consecutive Open Division title-game appearance.
Thirteen teams have won at least three straight CIF state championships, and five teams have won four consecutive titles, including Long Beach Poly winning four straight before competitive equity in the old enrollment based Division I state championship. However before Saturday, only Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth and Etiwanda had won two straight CIF Open Division championships. Now, after the Etiwanda victory over Mitty, the Eagles are flying higher ever than any other girls basketball team in California history with their unprecedented third-straight Open Division state championship.
Etiwanda’s McDonald’s All-Americans — Grace Knox and Aliyahna “Puff” Morris — were spotted in the hallway after the game waiting for the second of two post-game press conferences to begin. Photo: Mark Tennis.
“Through our early struggles this season these girls put an effort physically, mentally and spiritually to be one of the best teams in the state of California,” remarked Etiwanda head coach Stan Delus. “And even through our adversity we overcame things, and to see what happened tonight and to finish off this way after the way we started is a testament to them and I just to tell them ‘thank you’ for every day that they gave me their all.”
With previous Cal-Hi Sports State Freshman, Sophomore and Junior Player of the Year and McDonalds All-American Aliyahna “Puff” Morris, and fellow senior McDonald’s All-American Grace Knox banged up early on, a sprained wrist for Morris and back problems and other maladies plaguing Knox then and even up until now, Etiwanda had a rough start but the Eagles finished by soaring out of the Golden 1 Center by making history and possibly establishing itself as one of the greatest program in California girls basketball history.
Junior Arynn Finley, who along with Morris, played on all three Open championship teams, led Etiwanda (28-5) with a game-high 21 points with four rebounds and she made 4-of-5 three pointers in an NBA arena where some high-schoolers have shooting problems.
Morris got a lot of attention from the Mitty defense of legendary Monarchs’ head coach Sue Phillips and that also left an opening for Shaena Brew. The senior point guard added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, plus five rebounds and five assists.
Morris didn’t have her best night shooting and didn’t make a three-pointer, but she was 6-for-8 on the rest of her shots and finished with 12 points, plus she dished out a game-high seven assists. Knox played a key role in the third quarter and finished with a double-double 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The fifth double-digit scorer of the epitome of a combined team effort was sophomore Chasity Rice with 13 points and five rebounds.
“They’re a total team,” Phillips remarked. “They can score at all three levels, share the ball and don’t make mistakes on defense. They deserved to win today.”
Mitty led 7-4 early on but the first three-pointer by Finley tied it at 7-7 and a basket by Rice gave Etiwanda a 9-7 lead, and although Mitty got close, the Monarchs never tied the game or led in it again.
Etiwanda stretched its lead to 30-18 in the early second quarter, but Mitty made the first of its two big runs and a 13-2 run got it to 32-31 before Etiwanda scored the last five points to take a 37-31 halftime lead.
The 5-0 run to end the half turned into an 18-4 run early in the third and at 50-35 and the way the game was flowing for the Eagles it was looking like a three-peat was eminent.
Mitty scored the next four points to cut the deficit to 50-39 but 11 points would be as close as the Monarchs would get. In a game of runs, at that point a 9-2 run gave Etiwanda its second 20-point lead before Mitty had an 11-2 run that made the score 63-52.
Mitty (27-4) had four players in double-figure scoring led by sophomore Ze’Ni Patterson with 17 points with three three-pointers. Junior Abigail James had 11 points and six rebounds off the bench, and junior Emma Cook and freshman forward Maliya Hunter each had 10 points, with Hunter adding seven rebounds.
Mitty’s Maliya Hunter established herself as one of the state’s top freshmen this season. Photo: Sam Stringer.
“I thought today we matched them in the first half, but that third quarter killed us,” Phillips said. “Some day I truly believe we will win one of these.”
Since Mitty returns all players that started on Saturday next season, made it to the Open state final once again even without injured 2024 State Sophomore of the Year McKenna Woliczko (who suffered a knee injury in January), that some day for Phillips could be as early as next season.
We had Etiwanda No. 1 in the preseason rankings, and that’s where they are going to finish, but after a 4-4 start some national and even local rankings and analysts dropped the Eagles off the radar screen. After seeing Morris with a taped wrist and having trouble because of it, and Morris not all full strength, and it coming in only a 74-66 loss to Ontario Christian in the third game of the season we never dropped the team any lower than No. 3, even after the other three losses to national-level teams.
Since an 88-79 loss to New York No. 1 and national power Long Island Lutheran back east in mid-December, Etiwanda went 23-1 from there with the lone loss, 65-63, in the CIF Southern Section Open title game to state No. 1 Ontario Christian and in a game it had won and lost on free-throws in the final seconds. The Eagles got a win over Ontario Christian last Tuesday in the regional finals in a game played after the most recent state rankings were compiled.
“The significance of the Open Division is just to get here you have to go through four of the national top teams,” Delus said. “I think that’s what’s made it more special.”
“I can’t even really put into words how it feels to win three straight Open state championships,” Morris said. “I can just say I’m blessed and thankful to God for giving me the opportunity. It hasn’t really sunk in yet but I’m just thankful.”
“It feels great, and to be a big contributor tonight, but I couldn’t have done it without all my teammates and coaches,” said Finley as she looked around the platform at the post-game press conference.
“Even though I’m not a hundred percent I tried to focus on what my role was,” said Knox about her big third quarter. “I wanted to play to my full ability and give everything I had for my team.”
At the beginning of the season and right after the first loss to Ontario Christian Delus had said he would rather lose early and win in March and he reiterated it at the press conference.
“I don’t look at early losses as significant,” said Delus in conclusion. “I look at the growth process, and they finished strong when it didn’t look good early.”
It’s looking really good now as Etiwanda, a public school from the Inland Empire, has etched its name into California girls high school basketball history.
Caruthers girls gather for their CIF state championship photo after their win vs Rancho Bernardo on Saturday in Sacramento. Photo: Mark Tennis.
D2 Girls
Caruthers 56, Rancho Bernardo (San Diego) 37
If the California high school basketball community didn’t already know about the Caruthers girls basketball program, it certainly does now after the Blue Raiders, who represent a community of around 2,500 residents just under 20 miles south of Fresno off Highway 41, has now won their third CIF state championship and second straight with an impressive victory over Rancho Bernardo in a game they led 38-12 in the early third quarter.
Not only was it the third state championship in three appearances for Caruthers (26-6), but each one came in a different division after the Blue Raiders won in Division V in 2019 and in Division III last year.
Besides Caruthers, only seven other teams have won three state championships in three different divisions, with St. Mary’s of Stockton topping the heap by winning in four different divisions, Open, D2, D3 and D4. Sierra Canyon has won in Open, D4 and D5, Windward has won in Open, D1 and D4, Sacred Heart Prep has wins in D1, D4 and D5, Oakland Tech has won in D1, D3 and D4, Brea Olinda has wins in D1, D2 and D3, and Harvard-Westlake for D2, D3 and D4.
Emmi Almeida was the leading scorer for Caruthers in her second CIF state final with 21 points. Photo: Mark Tennis.
The difference is while the Open Division is competitive equity-based, besides Caruthers, only Sierra Canyon won all its championships based on competitive equity. All the other multiple winners did it in an enrollment-based system. Going up the stepladder from Division V to Division III to Division II in such a short timespan makes the accomplishment of Caruthers even more special.
“We’re super excited to be back at Golden 1,” said Caruthers head coach and 2024 Cal-Hi Sports State Coach of the Year Anna Almeida. “We didn’t know if we’d get back here and never believed it would be at the Division II level, but that was the goal, and here we are.
“It’s crazy to think about it that our first one was in D5 and now we’re in Division II,” Almeida continued and then joked. “I don’t even want to think about next year (possibly D1). I hope the CIF gods are nice to us.”
Junior and coach’s daughter Emmi Almeida led all scorers and finished with a double-double 21 points and 11 rebounds, plus six assists and three steals. She was 9-of-14 from the field. Junior post Celeste Mack added eight points and six rebounds, senior Isabel Mendez had eight points and six assists, and seniors Mia Vaasili and Kara Higuchi made the only four three-pointers for Caruthers with each nailing two for six points apiece.
After falling behind by 26 points, Rancho Bernardo could have totally folded but to its credit the Broncos didn’t totally buckle, and they got the deficit to 47-33. That was as close as they would get.
Rancho Bernardo (26-8) got a solid effort from junior Lindsay Biddle. She played her heart out, especially in the second half, and finished with a double-double 19 points (three three-pointers) and 11 rebounds.
For Rancho Bernardo, it was its first appearance in a CIF state championship title game. The Broncos won in the CIF Southern Regionals playoffs in 2021 but that year with the state championships cancelled they played in a special 3-AA Division created by the CIF for the SoCal playoffs and defeated Mary Star of the Sea of San Pedro 72-44 for the title.
Caruthers has been playing with a heavy heart this past month. Shortly after the game when Caruthers nearly pulled off a huge upset before falling 68-64 in the CIF Central Section Division 1 playoffs on February 18 to current Cal-Hi Sports No. 21 ranked Clovis, assistant coach Larry Trigueiro, who many in the California girls basketball community considered the heart and soul of not only Caruthers, but the entire Central Section, passed away from a heart attack.
However, since Trigueiro passed, Caruthers has won its final four games culminating in the state championship.
“He meant a lot,” said Emmi Almeida about Trigueiro. “He’s the reason we’re so tight and feel like such a family. He pushed us to our limit, really pushed us to our limit. He was definitely part of this.”
“We’re the living bond of LT (Larry Trigueiro),” Coach Almeida remarked. “We had a fun practice the next day (after he died) and it was like we are LT on earth while he is in heaven.
“We picked up the pieces after he passed,” continued Coach Almeida fighting off tears. “We know that if he were alive today, seeing us win today would make him the happiest man on earth.”
D4 Girls
Whitney (Cerritos) 48, Half Moon Bay 40
Going on a 10-0 run to start the game ended up being all that the Wildcats needed to claim their first CIF state title — and the first in any sport for a school from ABC Unified School District — with a Saturday morning triumph over Half Moon Bay.
Haylie Wang had 17 points for Whitney in its D5 state title win vs Half Moon Bay. Photo: Mark Tennis / Cal-Hi Sports.
After that quick start, head coach Myron Jacobs’ squad never let that lead get cut down to below three points. The Cougars got it down to three in the fourth quarter on a conventional three-point play by center Zoey Lemoge, but they never scored again. Alyssa So made three free throws and Haylie Wang had a layup in the closing minutes.
“It’s academics first and athletics second at our school and always has been,” Jacobs said. “But for the first time we had six seniors who’ve been with us for four years. They just wanted it more.”
One of the seniors, Wang, led the Wildcats with 17 points. She also handed out five assists and had nine rebounds. So, a sophomore, hit a couple of three-pointers in that first period and ended with 15 points and six rebounds.
Half Moon Bay had a lot of success going inside to Lemoge as the junior post player led all scorers with 18 points. She also was tops in the game for rebounds with 18. The Cougars also had Xochitl Nieves (12 points) and Delaney Dorwin (10 points) reach double figures.
“I don’t know why, but we just couldn’t get out of that deficit,” said Half Moon Bay head coach Megan Smith. “Their ability to crash the boards was a big part of it. We’d play good defense for 30 seconds, then they got a rebound and got it out for a good look at a three.”
Senior and leading honors candidate Delaney Dorwin added: “It definitely was not common for us to start that way. I feel if we started out stronger than we did today it could have been different.”
The other key for Whitney’s state title was the determination it showed in bouncing back from a 41-36 loss to Cantwell-Sacred Heart (Montebello) in the CIF Southern Section D3A semifinals. The Wildcats got another chance to play Cantwell-Sacred Heart, which was the top seed, in the SoCal D4 regional championship and won in the rematch, 48-40.
“The first time we played them we shot ourselves in the foot and were 1-for-10 shooting threes,” Jacobs said. “The second time we were more prepared. We used that fire of losing to them to propel us to this.”
Half Moon Bay was the only school after the first seven games of the CIF state finals to have a band on hand to go with its rooting section.
“It’s the first time a team from our school has gotten this far and it’s a true testament to how hard we worked this year,” Smith said. “It was pretty incredible to see so many people travel here for the game.”
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
