Girls’ basketball: Laguna Hills dealt a historic loss

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Laguna Hills set a state finals record Saturday afternoon, but not the kind it will be bragging about tomorrow.

The Hawks were outscored 17-2 in the fourth quarter and wound up with the fewest points ever in a state championship game, falling to Oakland Bishop O’Dowd, 62-24, at Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento.

Senior forward Celia Marfone led Laguna Hills with 12 points and 11 rebounds and junior guard Maddy Ziering-Smith added two steals and 10 points, including six-for-six at the free throw line, for Laguna Hills (26-9), which was playing in the state finals for the first time since 1997 when it won the Division II crown led by Cal-Hi Sports State Athlete of the Year Tayyiba Haneef-Park.

The Dragons (30-3) raced to an early 10-0 lead and were ahead 18-6 after the first quarter. They increased the margin to 34-14 by halftime and 45-22 after three quarters. Junior forward Kendall Waters finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds and freshman guard Aisia Robertson added 13 points for Bishop O’Dowd, which out-rebounded the Hawks 42-21 and shot 48.1% from the field.

Laguna Hills went 10-for-10 from the foul line but made just seven of 39 shots from the floor (17.9%), including 0-for-11 from three-point range.

Next up is the Division III boys final between Mission Hills Alemany and San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral.

-- Steve Galluzzo