Girls’ Basketball Preview: La Cañada aims for fifth league title, lengthy postseason journey
Once again, the La Cañada High girls’ basketball team is out to defend its grip on the Rio Hondo League title.
A fifth successive league title is the primary goal for the Spartans, but a playoff victory will be the following step after a bump up to CIF Southern Section Division I.
Flintridge Prep will have its share of talent this season, as the Rebels look to maintain their league dominance.
Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy also has its sights set on a league championship and some success in the playoffs.
Here is a closer look at the teams.
LA CAÑADA
“Our goal is to win the Rio Hondo League, and we’d like to win a playoff game or two,” La Cañada coach Owen Keenan said. “We got moved up to Division I due to our success last year against a couple of other Division I schools like Valencia and Glendora.”
The Spartans underwent another undefeated league run to win their fourth straight championship, but were knocked out of the Division II-AA playoffs by Leuzinger, 54-52, in the first round at home.
La Cañada finished 23-5 and 8-0 in league, an adding to an undefeated league streak that’s spanned five years and 41 contests.
The Spartans will have to do without all-league honorable mention Morgan Tsujihara, who suffered an ACL injury over the summer. The senior lead the team in steals (2.8 per game) a season ago.
However, a trio of seniors in Lori Khashaki, Annie Abnous and all-league first-team selection Emmie Lew should help steer La Cañada throughout the season. Lew averaged 10.3 points and 5.3 rebounds last season.
“I expect that Emmie is going to lead us, both on and off the court,” said Keenan, who expects the rest of the team to make substantial contributions. “She’s going to be a vocal leader and a leader by actions, as well.”
Returning as juniors for the Spartans are guards Alyssa Miyamoto, Bethany Co, Madison Tea and all-league second-team honoree Lauren Scoville.
“She rarely misses a shot in practice,” said Keenan of Scoville, who averaged 8.4 points and seven rebounds last season. “We’re hoping that translates into the game. My assistant, Nick Alequin, and I keep looking at each other and ask, ‘Can we get her to do that in a game?’”
Also in the mix should be junior Sophia Salinas, who returns following an ACL injury last season. Coming up from junior varsity and adding to the defensive scheme will be junior Melissa Le.
The Spartans will also add size with a pair of sophomores in 6-foot-1 forward Kylie Sears and an athletic 5-10 transfer from Nebraska in Gwynn Schliesser.
Keenan’s lone freshman will be a competitive one: Mia Oakley-Stilson, the younger sibling of former league player of the Tess Oakley-Stilson, who is a sophomore at Glendale Community College.
“Her basketball IQ is really, really good,” said Keenan of the freshman. “She’s a really good passer and she just does a lot of things really well. We really like her a lot. She has same the competitiveness as her sister.”
The Spartans’ title defense begins on Jan. 8 with a league home game against San Marino.
FLINTRIDGE PREP
Over the past five seasons, the Flintridge Prep girls’ basketball team has enjoyed a wealth of success.
The Rebels have built a foundation that’s led to five straight Prep League championships, two CIF Southern Section championship appearances, one CIF title and several trips to the state tournament.
Things continue to look promising for Flintridge Prep, which went 25-4, 12-0 in the Prep League before reaching the Division II-A semifinals. Flintridge Prep lost to No. 1 seed and eventual champion Lakeside, 60-51. The Rebels also took part in the CIF State Division II playoffs, falling to No. 1 Mark Keppel, 73-58, in the second round.
With more experience this season, the Rebels are hungry to continue their league mastery and take another run at a CIF title. The Rebels will now reside in Division II-AA.
“I think we showed a lot last season and we lost to a pair of top-seeded teams that were excellent,” said Flintridge Prep co-coach Kevin Kiyomura, who shares the duties with Jayme Chan. “We showed people what we are capable of doing and that’s what we want to continue.
“We can be very successful and we like the group that we have.”
Flintridge Prep will bring back several key players, including senior forward Kaitlyn Chen. Chen averaged 18.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.7 steals per game last season and was named an All-CIF first-team selection and league player of the year.
Chen will be joined by senior guard Andie Kim, senior forward Alex Kyriakakis, junior guard Sofia Gonzalez, junior forward Emma Stellar, sophomore guard Ashlyn Zhang and freshman guard Ashley Chen.
“Kaitlyn is one of the best players in our division and we know we can always count on her,” Kiyomura said. “We’ll have plenty of talent to surround her.”
FLINTRIDGE SACRED HEART ACADEMY
The Tologs will compete in the Sunshine League for a second season in a row. Last season, Flintridge Sacred Heart went 17-10, 4-4 in league for third place behind Marymount and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and lost, 53-43, to Workman in the first round of the Division IV-AA playoffs.
Flintridge Sacred Heart coach Ty Buxman, whose team will remain in Division IV-AA, said he’s optimistic the Tologs can contend for a league championship.
“Our goal is to win a league championship, but it’s not going to be easy with teams like Louisville and Marymount out there,” Buxman said. “We have a pretty good core of returners and they have a lot more experience. We’ll see how we continue to develop.”
Flintridge Sacred Heart will be paced by senior guards Jenna De Vera and Manami Hayashi and sophomore forward Faith Ellis.