Woodbridge Seethes Over Seeding

Woodbridge Coach Eric Bangs, whose 26-0 team was one of four in the Southern Section that went undefeated, was among those who cast a wary eye at the Southern Section girls’ basketball pairings released Sunday.

For several weeks the Warriors were No. 3 in the section’s Division I-A rankings, behind Ventura Buena (25-0) and Troy (23-4). But the selection committee seeded Woodbridge No. 4, behind Ventura (19-5).

That means Woodbridge could face Buena, the top-ranked team in the state, in a semifinal showdown.

“We’re in the wrong half of the bracket,” Bangs said. “If we had lost a game or two and dropped to sixth, we’d have been better off.”

Woodbridge received criticism for not playing as tough a schedule as some of Orange County’s top teams. However, Woodbridge did play Edison, a common opponent of Ventura’s. Woodbridge beat Edison, 61-41, and Edison beat Ventura, 36-32.

Paul Castillo, assistant commissioner, said the section’s preference is to keep seeded teams from the same league on opposite sides of the bracket. Buena and Ventura were 1-2 in the Channel League.

That explanation didn’t sit well with Bangs because Moreno Valley and Riverside North, both from the Ivy League, are seeded second and third in Division I-AA.

“That was a mistake on our part, an oversight,” Castillo said. “It was my mistake.”

Two Orange County teams, San Clemente in I-AA and Brea Olinda in II-AA, were seeded No. 1, and Brethren Christian was a hidden No. 1. Brethren is the top-ranked team in Division V-AA but finished fourth in the Olympic League, and will play a wild-card game against Fairmont on Thursday. The winner of that game plays at San Gabriel Academy, the Coastal Life League champion, in the first round. Fairmont beat San Gabriel Academy by 34 points earlier this season.

County teams seeded No. 2 were Esperanza, behind Lynwood in Division I-AAA; Rosary, behind Torrance Bishop Montgomery in III-AA; and Calvary Chapel, behind Playa del Rey St. Bernard in IV-A.

Sea View League runner-up Irvine is No. 4 in Division I-AA and faces Marina, the second-place team from the Sunset League, in one of the county’s top first-round matchups.

The other top matchup involves the third-place Sea View team. Laguna Hills (16-11), the last team to beat Esperanza, faces Sonora (21-5).