Morningside’s Mastery of Chino Continues

For the second time in less than a week, Morningside High met Chino in a girls’ basketball playoff game.

And, just as they did in Saturday’s Southern Section championship, the Lady Monarchs won.

Using 12 points from Tyesha Whiting and 10 apiece from center Janet Davis and guard Tina Thompson, the Monarchs slid past visiting Chino, 51-44, in a Southern California Division I semifinal game at Morningside Thursday night.

The Monarchs (31-2) advance to championship game at 7:15 p.m. Saturday at the Sports Arena, where they will play Fresno Clovis West (27-2). Morningside, which has won four consecutive Southern Section titles, is going for its third consecutive state championship. Chino finished 29-5.

“This is kind of a hump game for us,” Morningside Coach Ron Randle said. “We’ve got a lot of girls with playoff experience on this team and everyone of them wants to get back to Oakland. That chance is still alive.”

The Monarchs had to crawl back from several deficits to advance.

Chino, which has appeared in the Southern Section championship game four times in six seasons, took a 10-4 lead with 2:33 remaining in the first quarter.

But the Monarchs scratched back to tie the score, 18-18, then sprinted ahead, 23-20, at halftime.

Morningside extended its lead to 32-25 midway through the third quarter, but Chino rebounded to take a 33-32 advantage into the fourth quarter.

The Monarchs then went ahead to stay on Whiting’s layup with 7:40 remaining. But it was not easy.

“Chino is a very good team,” Randle said. “But a lot of our players rose to the occasion. A lot of them have playoff experience and know what to do in that situation. Hopefully, the best is yet to come.”

Chino pulled to within 40-39 with 3:35 left, but Akiba Flanagan’s basket gave the Monarchs some breathing room. Morningside then outscored Chino, 9-3, over the final two minutes to notch the victory.

Morningside had defeated Chino, 52-47, on Friday.