HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYOFF PREVIEWS : Santa Clara Zeros In on Title

Only one thing stands between Santa Clara High and its fourth consecutive Southern Section basketball title: Pius X.

The schools will meet in the Division IV-AA championship game at 7:30 tonight at Ventura College.

Top-seeded Santa Clara has not had an easy run through the playoffs, winning its past two games by a combined six points. In a semifinal, the Saints defeated St. Anthony, a third-place team from the Camino Real League, 62-60.

Up next is the Camino Real’s No. 1 team.

For an indication of how Santa Clara (24-3) might fare against third-seeded Pius X (22-5), check the only common opponent. Pius X won at St. Anthony, 68-64, on Jan. 15 and at home, 82-68, on Feb. 7.

“They were tough,” Pius X Coach Dennis Gienger said. “We played them right down to the wire. The second game wasn’t as close, but they led at the end of three quarters by four. Then, somehow, they hit a wall.”

Santa Clara, meanwhile, seized the lead in the second quarter Tuesday and held off a furious third-quarter comeback.

Art Barron, who scored 33 points in Santa Clara’s first two playoff games, was limited to a pair of three-point baskets against St. Anthony, but Stevie Amar and Isaiah Mustafa scored 20 and 18 points, respectively, to pick up the slack.

Amar averages a team-high 16 points and 8.1 rebounds a game. Mustafa is second in scoring with a 12.9 average and Amar is third in scoring (10.3), first in assists (4.3) and has a team-high 47 three-point baskets.

Add Chris Cole (8.9 points per game), the Southern Section Division IV-AA player of the year last season, and the Saints have four returning starters from last year’s division champion. That is in sharp contrast with tonight’s opposition.

Two seniors, two juniors and a freshman start for the Warriors, and a second freshman is among their top seven players. All five of Pius X’s starters are averaging better than 10 points a game, led by junior swingman Michael O’Quinn.

Other championship games:

SOUTHERN SECTION

GIRLS’ DIVISION V-AA

Pasadena Poly will look to its balanced offense while Holy Martyrs will rely on its defense in tonight’s 7:30 game at Cerritos College.

Holy Martyrs comes into the game 24-2; Pasadena Poly is 16-9.

Holy Martyrs’ top three scorers--guards Karineh M. Abramians and Linda Dukmajian and forward Aline Algibarmakian--each averaged about nine points a game in leading their team through an unbeaten Liberty League campaign.

But scoring is secondary, Holy Martyrs Coach Varant Vartabedian said. “Defense has gotten us through the playoffs,” he said.

Another factor in the Armens’ favor is experience. The team’s four senior starters have taken part in playoff quarterfinals in each of the past three seasons.

The schools have met before, Holy Martyrs taking a 41-37 decision on Dec. 2. In their most recent playoff meeting, Pasadena Poly beat Holy Martyrs in last season’s quarterfinals.

Sophomore guard Courtney Kanegae of Pasadena Poly remembers that game well. A knee injury suffered in the contest led to major reconstructive surgery. But she has come back strongly, averaging 18 points a game in the playoffs.

Lisl Cochran-Bond, a 5-foot-10 forward, has averaged 20 points a game in the playoffs.

CITY SECTION

GIRLS’ 3-A DIVISION

Roosevelt High Coach Lorenzo Garcia remembers his team beating a sophomore-dominated Granada Hills squad in an early-round City playoff game in 1990.

“I knew, in the back of my mind, (Granada Hills) would be a power in the Valley,” Garcia said.

Those Granada Hills sophomores have grown into seniors and they will lead the Highlanders into this afternoon’s game against defending champion Roosevelt at 2:30 in the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

Karen Berkowitz has led Granada Hills (12-6) to three playoff wins, scoring 89 points in the process. Berkowitz, a 5-4 guard, had 41 points and eight three-point baskets in a 66-50 quarterfinal victory over Garfield last Friday. She is averaging 22 points a game.

Forward Shelise Tilleman has provided excellent defense for the Highlanders inside. Yvonne Zandi, a 6-0 center, Kim Guilder, a 5-4 guard, and Jeanine Jex, a 5-8 forward, complete the starting five.

Roosevelt has four players, all reserves last season, back from its championship club. The team has posted an 18-5 record this season by dominating the boards and playing aggressive defense.

Denise Caudillo, a 5-7 sophomore who plays on the wing, has averaged 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists to lead Roosevelt.

Center Lisa Jacobs, a 5-9 junior, and forward Andrea Estrada, a 5-9 senior, have combined to average 22 rebounds a game.

David Coulson and staff writer Wendy Witherspoon contributed to this story.