Eight Inland high school basketball teams to play for CIF Southern Section titles

The CIF Southern Section’s boys and girls basketball championship game will take place Friday and Saturday at Toyota Arena in Ontario and Azusa Pacific University.

Eight Inland teams — six boys and two girls — are among the 40 basketball teams who have advanced to the championship round.

The Ontario Christian girls basketball team is seeking to capture the program’s second consecutive Open Division championship. The Knights (31-1) will play Sierra Canyon (29-2) in a showdown of nationally-ranked squads. That game will close out Saturday night’s session at Toyota Arena (8 p.m. tipoff).

Ontario Christian is ranked No. 2 in the nation by MaxPreps.com and ESPN.com. The Knights advanced to the Open Division championship game with wins over Rancho Christian, JSerra, Fairmont Prep, and Sage Hill. Ontario Christian is led by junior point guard Kaleena Smith (32.5 PPG, 7.1 APG, 4.9 SPG), sophomore wing Tatianna Griffin (22.3 PPG, 8.1 RPG), junior shooting guard Dani Robinson (16.2 PPG, 4.1 SPG), and freshman forward Chloe Jenkins (15 PPG, 11.4 PPG).

Sierra Canyon entered the week ranked No. 5 in the nation by MaxPreps.com. The Trailblazers reached the championship game with victories over Oak Park, Centennial, Mater Dei and Etiwanda. Sierra Canyon is led by senior shooting guard Jerzy Robinson, a McDonald’s All-American, and senior center Emilia Krstevski.

Murrieta Valley is the other Inland girls basketball team playing for a title this week. The Nighthawks (20-11) face off against St. Margaret’s for the Division 3 title Friday at 4 p.m. at Toyota Arena. Murrieta Valley is seeking the program’s second section title (2013) and reached this year’s championship game with wins over Cerritos, Lynwood, St. Monica and Oxnard. The Nighthawks are led by senior point guard Valerie Lauritzen (18.6 PPG, 3.8 SPG) and junior forward Peyton Axene (10.8 PPG, 9.1 RPG).

Five of the Inland boys teams playing are looking to claim the first section championship in their programs’ history.

Colony is the one program that has won a championship in the past (2006, 2017, and 2019). The Titans (19-12) take on Trabuco Hills (20-12) for the Division 4 title Friday at 6 p.m. at Azusa Pacific. Colony advanced to the final with wins over Beckman, South Torrance, Walnut and Shalhevet. The Titans are led by senior wing Fende Thomas (11.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG) and junior point guard Destin Strauther (11.5 PPG, 3.9 APG).

Murrieta Mesa defeated Viewpoint, Temecula Valley, Ontario Christian and Warren to reach the section finals for the first time. The Rams (22-10) will square off against Aliso Niguel (24-6) for the Division 3 championship Saturday at 1 p.m. at Toyota Arena. Murrieta Mesa is led by junior guard Fabian Ruiz and Jagger Saul.

Ramona knocked off Fillmore, Pasadena Poly, Montclair and Placentia Valencia to reach the finals for the second straight season and fifth time overall. The Rams (27-5) look to capture the program’s first title when they take on Laguna Hills (17-11) in the Division 6 championship game Saturday at 8 p.m. at Azusa Pacific. Ramona is led by senior point guard Garrett Pickens (23 PPG, 7.3 APG, 6.8 SPG) and junior wing Cary Moore (15.3 PPG, 9,2 RPG).

Rialto scored wins over Schurr, Segerstrom, Rosemead and Rowland to reach the finals for the first time. The Knights (16-14) will face Salesian (19-12) in the Division 7 championship game Saturday at noon at Azusa Pacific. Rialto is led by senior guard Amari Gary, who scored 19 points in the semifinal win over Rowland.

Colton and Pacific will square off for the Division 9 championship on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at Toyota Arena.

Colton (18-11) advanced to the finals with wins over Hesperia Christian, Newbury Park Adventist, Sherman Indian and Santa Maria Valley Christian. This is the program’s first championship game appearance since 1920.

Pacific (10-11) reached the title game with wins over Acaicawood, California Lutheran, Mesrobian and Samueli Academy. The program’s only other finals appearance was in 1998.