High school basketball championships: Saturday’s games

Saturday’s high school basketball championship games

BOYS

City Section

Division III

Woodland Hills El Camino Real (16-13) vs. Verdugo Hills (23-7), 1 p.m. at Los Angeles Roybal High—Verdugo Hills won its first league title since 1959 and hasn’t slowed down. Chris Dees, a 6-7 junior, has been dominant in the playoffs with his rebounding and shot blocking. El Camino Real comes from the tough West Valley League and has a standout in Tre Holden.

Division I

Westchester (26-3) vs. Woodland Hills Taft (24-4), Saturday, 8 p.m. at Galen Center—Matchups don’t get much better than this. Teams full of talent, with marvelous guards, height, tradition and veteran coaches. Taft Coach Derrick Taylor has never beaten Westchester’s Ed Azzam in the playoffs, and he needs to figure out how to handle the Comets’ stingy man-to-man defense. If it comes down to star power, Taft has USC-bound Bryce Jones and Texas commit DeAndre Daniels. Westchester has Arizona-bound Jordin Mayes, plus highly recruited Dwayne Polee Jr. and Reggie Murphy. Don’t be surprised if these teams meet again in the state playoffs.

Southern Section

Division 3A

Gardena Serra (29-2) vs. Compton Centennial (25-5), Saturday, 9 a.m. at Honda Center—This should be one of the best games of the weekend if the players are awake for their early morning clash. Serra guard Keith Shamburger has been a force in the playoffs. Centennial guard Deonte Burton gets to show what he can do shooting in an arena setting.

Division 2AA

Murrieta Valley (26-4) vs. Compton (18-12), Saturday, 10:45 a.m. at Honda Center—Justin Gudger, a 6-3 junior guard, has emerged as a standout, scoring 20 points in an upset of Alta Loma and 22 points in another upset of No. 1 Summit. Compton’s young players, led by Anthony January, have matured over the course of the season.

Division 2A

Rialto Eisenhower (27-5) vs. Pasadena (24-6), Saturday, 12:30 p.m. at Honda Center—Eisenhower has an 18-game winning streak, and its guards know how to play well in big games. Alex Varner and Bryan Bock are the key players. Pasadena point guard Chris Bridges will try to orchestrate an upset.

Division 1A

Santa Monica (24-6) vs. Lawndale Leuzinger, Saturday, 2:15 p.m. at Honda Center—After losing four games early, Santa Monica regrouped and regained its form from summer ball, when it was challenging and beating top teams. James Montgomery and Solomon Singer helped the Vikings beat top-seeded Chino Hills. Leuzinger will try to make amends after losing in last year’s final to Thousand Oaks. Point guard Aqeel Quinn helped Leuzinger oust No. 2 Los Angeles Loyola, 72-59.

Division 1AA

Santa Ana Mater Dei (28-1) vs. Etiwanda (23-8), Saturday, 6:30 p.m. at Honda Center—After losing in the final the last three years, Mater Dei is motivated to win this one. The Monarchs’ trio of Pac-10-bound guards—Tyler Lamb, Keala King and Gary Franklin Jr.—have proven difficult to beat because they don’t have bad games as a group. Etiwanda’s strength is its man-to-man defense, along with 6-5 Byron Wesley, who has become a force on offense during the playoffs. Playoff wins over Corona Centennial and Long Beach Poly make Etiwanda a dangerous threat to the Monarchs.

Division 3AA

Huntington Beach Ocean View (27-3) vs. Santa Ana Foothill (28-2), Saturday, 8;30 p.m. at Honda Center—Ocean View has played a tougher schedule and has one of the best one-two combos in the Southland in Anthony Brown and Avery Johnson. Foothill has lots of chemistry and good balance, but it would be a big upset if Ocean View loses.

GIRLS

City Section

Division III

North Hills Monroe (23-7) vs. Lake Balboa Birmingham (17-9), Saturday, 11 a.m. at Roybal—Birmingham has played a tough schedule, has wins against Taft and Chatsworth, and three players who average double digits. Monroe has momentum after winning 13 consecutive games, and is led by junior forward Ani Avanessian, who averages 16 points.

Division I

Harbor City Narbonne (22-9) vs. Carson (21-8), Saturday, 6 p.m. at Galen Center—These Marine League rivals have split their meetings this season, with Carson grabbing a 52-51 win on Jan. 20 and Narbonne taking a 53-47 victory on Feb. 8.

Southern Section

Division 4AA

North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake (29-1) vs. Torrance Bishop Montgomery (26-6), Saturday, 9:30 a.m. at Long Beach State—Mission League champion Harvard-Westlake has only lost to nationally ranked Mater Dei this season and is led by senior point guard Nicole Nesbit, who is averaging 15 points a game, and senior forward Nicole Hung, who is averaging 17. Bishop Montgomery is paced by sophomore Devon Brookshire, who is averaging 13 points.

Division 3AA

Agoura (29-0) vs. Inglewood (26-5), Saturday, 11:15 a.m. at Long Beach State—For the first time in the school’s history, Agoura claimed the Marmonte League title and advanced to the Southern Section finals. Inglewood is hoping to put a blemish on Agoura’s record and come away with a championship losing to Santa Ana Foothill in last year’s title game.

Division 2A

Santa Ana Mater Dei (27-1) vs. Irvine Woodbridge (27-5), Saturday, 1 p.m. at Long Beach State—Mater Dei is the defending Division 2A champion; Woodbridge won Division 3AA last year. Mater Dei, ranked No. 3 in the nation by MaxPreps, lost two players to injuries and one to a transfer, but with junior guard Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and sophomore point guard Jordan Adams, the Monarchs are hard to stop.

Division 4A

Los Angeles Windward (18-9) vs. Santa Maria St. Joseph (25-4), Saturday, 2:45 p.m. at Long Beach State—Fourth-seeded Windward upset top-seeded Bell-Jeff in a semifinal and has scoring power in freshman guard Courtney Jaco and sophomore center Imani Stafford. St. Joseph won the Division 5AA championship last year and has four players averaging in double digits.

Division 2AA

Brea Olinda (28-2) vs. Villa Park (24-6), Saturday, 6:30 p.m. at Long Beach State—Defending champion Brea Olinda is ranked No. 2 in the nation by MaxPreps and has won both games against Villa Park this season. Brea Olinda is quick and deep and led by senior point guard Nicole Ballestero.

Division 1AA

Long Beach Poly (27-2) vs. Corona Santiago (26-5), Saturday, 8:15 p.m. at Long Beach State—Poly finished the regular season ranked No. 3 in the Southland by The Times; Santiago was No. 5. Jasmine Lister averages 19 points a game to lead Santiago. Poly has six Division I prospects and five players averaging just under 10 points a game.

—Eric Sondheimer and Melissa Rohlin