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This Weekend’s Games at Arco Arena in Sacramento

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BOYS

Division I

Westchester (24-3) vs. San Mateo Serra (26-7), 8 p.m. Saturday

Westchester, looking for its fourth state title, is led by 6-foot-10 Louisville-bound center Amir Johnson, who scored 24 points in the 54-53 victory over Los Angeles Fairfax in the Southern California Regional final. Serra’s best player is 6-7 Pennsylvania-bound forward Tommy McMahon, who averages 16.5 points and 8.1 rebounds. A key matchup will be in the middle, where Serra will try to slow Johnson with 6-4, 230-pound center Will Powers, who is headed to Stanford as a linebacker.

Division II

Santa Ana Mater Dei (31-3) vs. El Dorado Oak Ridge (30-4), 6 tonight

Mater Dei matches Los Angeles Crenshaw for the most state final appearances, with eight -- four in the last seven years. The Monarchs committed 25 turnovers against the defensive pressure of Compton Dominguez but escaped with a 68-61 victory in the regional final. Oak Ridge figures to employ the same strategy, since its press helped force 22 turnovers by top-seeded Palo Alto in a 55-35 victory in the Northern California Regional final. Mater Dei has won five state titles and 18 section titles. Oak Ridge is making its first state final appearance after winning its lone section title.

Division IV

North Hollywood Campbell Hall (31-0) vs. Berkeley St. Mary’s (29-4), 11:15 a.m. Saturday

Campbell Hall will try to become the first Southern Section team to finish undefeated since Oxnard Santa Clara in 1990. The matchup to watch is Campbell Hall’s Joe Ford against St. Mary’s Larry Gurganious -- both are 6-5 senior forwards. Ford signed with Pacific and Gurganious with Gonzaga. The Panthers beat top-seeded Kentfield Marin Catholic, 66-52, in the Northern California Regional final, avenging a 57-52 loss a week earlier in the North Coast Section final. In his first varsity start, 6-2 freshman guard William Brew scored 20 points to lead St. Mary’s.

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Division V

Los Angeles Price (28-4) vs. Ross Branson (30-5), 2 today

Price extends its record of consecutive state final appearances to six but is looking to start a new winning streak after losing last season to Modesto Christian, 71-53. Branson beat Modesto Canyon, 60-48, in the Northern California Regional final, getting 23 points from 5-11 junior David Liss.Price had to rally from a 12-point deficit to defeat San Luis Obispo Mission Prep, 65-58, in the regional final. The Knights also had a close call in a 55-52 semifinal victory over Palos Verdes Estates Rolling Hills Prep, a team they had beaten by 37 points a month earlier.

-- Dan Arritt

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GIRLS

Division I

Oakland Tech (21-6) vs. Moreno Valley Canyon Springs (31-3), 6 p.m., Saturday

Oakland Tech, the four-time defending Oakland Section champion and defending state champion, has two seniors who were named to the McDonald’s All-American team, 5-foot-7 guard Alexis Gray-Lawson and 6-3 post Devanei Hampton. Canyon Springs counters with guard Jennifer Risper and guard/forward Brandi Jones-Fitzgerald, who average 34 points between them. Oakland Tech is not as balanced as Canyon Springs, and one of the complementary players for the latter -- guards Ebony Ward and Lauresha Hawkins or forwards Kendra Calvin, who is 6-2, and Ashley Lindsay, who is 6-1 -- could prove the difference.

Division II

San Jose Archbishop Mitty (29-5) vs. Fullerton Troy (32-2), 8 tonight

This is the sixth time Central Coast champion Mitty has played in the finals, and it seeks a third title. The Monarchs have won 22 in a row, including a 63-47 victory over Concord Carondelet in the Northern California Regional final, behind sophomore guard Danielle Robinson. Troy’s defense has yet to give up more than 33 points in any playoff game, behind the play of 5-0 Sara Yee and 6-1 twins Rheya and Rhaya Neabors. The Warriors, who have won 22 in a row, are making their third consecutive appearance in the finals. They won the title in 2003.

Division III

Stockton St. Mary’s (30-4) vs. La Puente Bishop Amat (34-0), 1 p.m., Saturday

Bishop Amat must contend with the state’s highest-scoring team, which is averaging 77.8 points behind 6-0 junior guard Jackie Gemelos, who is averaging 25.2 points and has committed to Connecticut. She is flanked by Renee Roberts (Pacific), the state’s career leader with 446 three-point baskets. Playing in its sixth consecutive final, St. Mary’s has won three state titles in a row and four of the last five Bishop Amat is quicker and more athletic than last year’s team, which lost, 54-45, in the final, and boasts a strong inside presence in Candice Brown and Juanise Cornell, guards who can bury three-point shots and ample depth.

Division IV

Piedmont (31-2) vs. Los Angeles Brentwood (24-6), 9:30 a.m., Saturday

Piedmont, the defending state champion, is ranked No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports and No. 4 in the nation by USA Today. The Highlanders are led by 6-4 Courtney Paris and 6-3 Ashley Paris, the Oklahoma-bound twin daughters of former 49er lineman Bubba Paris. Brentwood, which averaged 15.6 steals, may have the better backcourt, led by the unrelated Browns, senior Brianne Brown (10-point average),who’s going to Western Kentucky, and junior Tani Brown (11.4 points). Still, there’s a huge matchup problem: Brentwood’s height is limited to Lauren Edwards, a 6-foot freshman.

Division V

Los Altos Hills Pinewood (25-5) vs. L.A. Pacific Hills (28-4), 4 today

Central Coast Section champion Pinewood is led by guard Daniela Roark’s 14.5 points and 6-1 freshman Aly Geppert’s 11.0 points and 7.3 rebounds. The Panthers didn’t give up more than 40 points in any of their three Northern California Regional victories. Pacific Hills, two-time Southern Section Division V-AA champion and playing its last game under Coach Ben Ramos, is led by guard Helen Suarez’s 15.8 points. The Bruins didn’t allow an opponent more than 40 points in any regional game, and only three times this season have they given up more than 43 points.

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-- Martin Henderson

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