Bellarmine-Jefferson girls’ basketball returns to championship game

BERMUDA DUNES — Since garnering the top seed, the Bellarmine-Jefferson girls’ basketball team has bulldozed its way through the CIF Southern Section Division V-A playoffs.

It’s led to the Guards clearing a path to the championship contest by way of an average margin of victory of 31.5 points in their first three postseason games.

Bellarmine-Jefferson did some more plowing Saturday night, when it used a huge run in the first half to garner a convincing 67-30 semifinal road victory against Bermuda Dunes Desert Christian Academy.

The Guards, who mounted a 31-5 first-half run, received an impressive effort from Claire Borot, as the junior finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks.

Bell-Jeff (24-3) will meet second-seeded Chadwick(19-6) in the title game on Friday or Saturday at a time and venue to be determined. Chadwick picked up a 52-31 semifinal win against third-seeded Sherman Indian.

The Guards also received 16 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals from Cosette Balmy. Bell-Jeff got 13 points, seven rebounds, seven steals and three assists from Dalila Rincan and seven points and eight rebounds from Kayla Ginyard.

Following a 140-mile trip to the Coachella Valley, Bell-Jeff broke open a close game in the first quarter against Desert Christian (24-6). The Guards, who began the playoffs with wins against Thacher and Trinity Classical Academy, ended the first quarter on a 20-5 run to forge a 23-9 lead. They then began the second quarter on an 11-0 surge to make it 34-9 with 2:46 to go in the half.

“We’ve struggled a little bit early in the first quarter in our first two games,” said Bell-Jeff Coach Claudia Villa, whose team has won 18 games in a row. “We wanted to go out there tonight and get off to a good start and then we had that huge run.

“They were prepared right away and they weren’t going to let anything stop them. They really blossomed tonight playing in front of a large and loud crowd. It’s a testament to the team getting back to the championship game.”

Bell-Jeff lost to Price in the Division VI title game last season. Now, the Guards will look to win their first CIF crown since 2009, when they captured the Division V-A title.

Borot finished with 15 points in the first half to stake the Guards to a 40-18 halftime lead.

“The offense and defense was great,” Borot said. “That got us pumped, because we were able to get some baskets after we got the steals.

“I think we were able to play physical and stay aggressive. I made some shots early in the game and I felt good.

“It’s great to get back to the championship game again. We get another chance and we want to do our best to get the title.”

Borot had 11 points in the first quarter, including a three-pointer from the right side to give the Guards a 9-4 lead with 3:57 left in the period. She made a short jump shot midway through the second quarter to make it 30-9.

Desert Christian, which took second in the Victory League before playoff wins against San Jacinto Valley Academy and California Military Institute, got 10 points each from Kaylee Espinoza and Ashley Klopfenstein.

“We knew Bell-Jeff had a lot of speed and our job was to try to slow them down,” Desert Christian Coach Johnny Huerta said. “They got a lot of steals and turned them into points off the transition and we just couldn’t catch them.

“It’s a great learning experience for our team going up against a team like that. You just gain experience from games like this.”