Sierra Canyon girls basketball races past Centennial to grab spot in CIF-SS Open final

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now.

CHATSWORTH — Sierra Canyon girls basketball coach Alicia Komaki took a calculated approach to Saturday night’s do-or-die CIF Southern Section Open Division playoff game against Centennial.

The Trailblazers are the No. 2 seed and they’ve only lost one game this season. Based on that math, Sierra Canyon was supposed to win, and after a rocky first quarter, it beat Centennial, 80-53, to secure its first trip to the Open Division final since 2019.

“That’s where we’re supposed to be,” Komaki said.

Komaki knew based on her calculations that her team would win, but her players are naturally pulling off moves and plays that are unprecedented at the girls high school level.

In Saturday’s game alone, there were deep 3-pointers by a variety of players, a buzzer-beating 3 from Christy Reynoso and even an alley-oop. Juju Watkins tossed a pass in Mackenly Randolph’s direction, and Randolph soared to complete the play.

“Women’s basketball is growing and it’ll continue to grow,” Randolph said. “So, us being that wave of girls, high school basketball, that’s like putting it out for the show, (it) is very encouraging and makes you want to work harder and prove to everybody that you belong.”

It wasn’t until the second quarter that Sierra Canyon (26-1) started playing to its full potential. Centennial (25-6) took a 17-14 lead after one quarter. UCLA commit Londynn Jones hit two 3-pointers in the frame to help get the early lead.

“We highly respect them and their coaching staff and their game, and we knew we were going to have a handful stopping her in Sydni (Summers),” Komaki said.

Komaki addressed her team at the end of the quarter, and the Trailblazers came into the second quarter revived. Gone were the nerves as they outscored Centennial 26-10 in the second. Reynoso hit three 3s in the third, including her buzzer-beater, to advance the lead.

Randolph recorded a double-double of 22 points and 13 rebounds and Watkins added 23 points and seven rebounds. Christy Reynoso scored 11 points.

Sierra Canyon has a chance to be unprecedented in championships, as well as their moves, as they head into the Open Division final.

In 2019, the Trailblazers lost to Windward, 73-58. If they beat Etiwanda in the final on Saturday, Feb. 26, it’ll be the the first CIF-SS Open Division title in program history.

“No mindset,” Randolph said of the approach. “Just play composed and continue to play like we’ve been playing all season.”

Chaminade 75, Oxnard 64: Jessa Thurman tallied 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Eagles to the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals. Natalie Patrick-Aguiar had 13 points and 12 rebounds, Laila Carrillo had 15 points and Alanna Neale added nine.

Chaminade will play the winner of Camarillo and North Torrance in Wednesday’s semifinals.

La Salle 66, Calabasas 45: The Coyotes’ postseason run came to an end despite 19 points and 12 rebounds from Amia Witt. Maddy Tauro had 14 points.

Hart 89, Summit 57: Hart advanced to the 3AA semifinals.

Oaks Christian 66, Moreno Valley 34: Brooklyn Shamblin led the Lions with 25 points and Faith O’Daniel added 14 as Oaks Christian continued to roll through Division 3A.