Girls’ basketball: Windward wins Open Division crown

Jordin Canada had 14 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals to lead Windward past Mater Dei 61-46 in tonight’s Southern Section open Division final at Azusa Pacific University.

The UCLA-bound senior point guard ran the Wildcats’ offense to perfection, committing just one turnover, USC-bound center Kristen Simon and freshman Chelsey Gipson each scored 15 points and Macchi Smith added 14 for the Wildcats (24-2).

“My job was to break the press but my teammates were helping a lot by getting open,” Canada said. “We worked extremely hard to get here. They gave us a run for our money but we’ve played bigger teams before so it was no big deal. We wanted to show we can play with the best teams.”

The long-anticipated showdown between state and national powers proved to be a mismatch, as Canada’s fast-break layup and a pair of free throws by Gipson gave second-seeded Windward a 43-16 lead with 2:20 in the second quarter.

Katie Lou Samuelson scored 14 and Andee Velasco added nine for the top-seeded Monarchs (26-2), who were held to one field goal in the second quarter.

The win assured Windward the No. 1 seed in the Southern California Regionals but the Monarchs might have a chance at revenge in the regional final March 22 in Ontario.