Sierra Canyon too much for Sage Hill in CIF Open Division girls’ basketball playoffs

Not for the first time, the Sage Hill School girls’ basketball team squared off with Chatsworth Sierra Canyon, but this time, it would be against the standard-bearer in the sport.

Sierra Canyon, ranked No. 1 in the nation by MaxPreps.com, showcased its starpower and its depth in completing a dominant run through pool play in the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs.

Senior guard Juju Watkins had a game-high 29 points to lead the top-ranked Trailblazers to an 89-45 win over the Lightning on Saturday, denying Sage Hill in its bid for a third consecutive CIF finals appearance.

The USC-bound Watkins added 13 rebounds, six assists, five blocked shots and three steals.

Sierra Canyon’s Juju Watkins, seen in the CIF State Open Division final on March 12, had a game-high 29 points for the Trailblazers against Sage Hill on Saturday.

(Nick Koza)

“Everything about her makes her special, but I’d say it’s her competitiveness,” Sierra Canyon coach Alicia Komaki said of Watkins’ signature quality. “It’s a very comforting thing when you have not just one kid like her. I have a lot of kids like her who don’t want to lose, and so when you have that comfort of knowing, like, ‘Don’t worry, we got this,’ it’s just an easy feeling as a coach.

“But everything about her is so special. We say all the time she’s a one-in-a-generational talent, and everybody gets to witness it. I think the kind of disappointing part is we have one of the best players who’s ever going to play high school basketball in our gym every day, and we don’t get sold-out crowds. It’s a little sad because we’re not going to see another player like her in a long time, and she just dominates the game.”

Sierra Canyon (29-0) will face Etiwanda (29-2) in the CIF Open Division final on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Honda Center.

Etiwanda beat Mater Dei 71-58 on Saturday to set up the rematch of last year’s Open Division championship game, which was the last time Sierra Canyon lost a game.

Amalia Holguin had 21 points, including five three-pointers, to lead Sage Hill (21-9). The freshman guard had matched Watkins with 18 points at the break, keeping the Lightning within striking distance with a 46-33 deficit at halftime.

“It was a great experience,” Holguin said of facing the No. 1 team in her first CIF postseason. “We take this and get better from it. Next year, we’ll be back.”

The section playoffs may be over for the Lightning, but the state playoffs lie ahead. Both Sage Hill and Sierra Canyon won state titles last season — the Lightning in Division II and the Trailblazers in the Open Division.

Annabelle Spotts had six points and nine rebounds for the Lightning. Emily Eadie also had 12 points, but the junior forward was largely kept off the glass. Kat Righeimer and Zoie Lamkin finished with three points apiece.

“Sierra is really, really good,” Sage Hill coach Kerwin Walters said. “Juju is out of this world, and she showed what a Division I college basketball player is. We are aspiring to get to that level. Obviously, we felt like we were ascending, and this is a little bit humbling, but the thing about being humbled, you got to go back to work and figure out how to get back to that level.”

Izela Arenas had 19 points, including seven points in 65 seconds in the third quarter to build the Sierra Canyon lead to 57-37 four minutes into the second half.

Mackenly Randolph scored 15 points for Sierra Canyon. Leia Edwards added 10 points, and Crystal Wang chipped in with eight points.

“After the first half, we went to the locker room, and my coach was like, ‘You know, we’re playing good, but we have to play great. We have to work as a team. We can’t yell at each other. We have to uplift each other,’” Arenas said. “When she said that, I felt like we really understood we had to play together as a team to get the win.”

CIF Southern Section Open Division

Sierra Canyon 89, Sage Hill 45

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Sage Hill 16 - 17 - 6 - 6 - 45

Sierra Canyon 22 - 24 - 20 - 23 - 89

SH - Holguin 21, Eadie 12, Spotts 6, Righeimer 3, Lamkin 3.

3-pt. goals - Holguin 5, Eadie 2.

Fouled out - None.

Technicals - None.

SC - Watkins 29, Arenas 19, Randolph 15, Edwards 10, Wang 8, Reynoso 4, Krstevski 4.

3-pt. goals - Arenas 2, Watkins 2, Edwards 2.

Fouled out - None.

Technicals - None.

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