National elites battle for CIF-SS Open Division girls basketball title
Ontario Christian, ranked No. 2 nationally by MaxPreps, faces U.S. No. 5 Sierra Canyon and South Carolina-bound star Jerzy Robinson on Saturday night at Toyota Arena.
Black News 
A year ago, the Ontario Christian girls basketball team was the No. 1 seed and advanced to the CIF-SS championship game.
On the surface, it’s the same situation this year, but it feels quite different.
This time, Ontario Christian (31-1) is the defending CIF-SS champion when it plays No. 3 Sierra Canyon (29-2) Saturday night at 8 p.m. at Toyota Arena.
“Ontario’s so good and everybody’s chasing them right now, that’s the truth. So, we’re going to go into that game confident, go into that game prepared,” Sierra Canyon coach Alicia Komaki said after beating Etiwanda on Tuesday. “We’re going to prepare for them the best we can and give them a game.”
Ontario Christian, which defeated Etiwanda for the title last year, is ranked No. 2 nationally by MaxPreps, while Sierra Canyon is fifth. But the Knights have been more dominant, having beaten each of their last eight opponents by at least 20 points, and have won 10 straight overall. Sierra Canyon twice had wins by five points or less in the playoffs, against Centennial and Etiwanda.
The teams have not played since last season, when Ontario Christian defeated the Trailblazers in the CIF Southern Section and CIF State playoffs, 62-52 and 69-57, respectively.
“It’s going to be extremely hard. We’re going to do a lot of film watching and practice prepping. It’s going to be tough, but it’s also going to be fun. I believe in this group and we’ll be prepared for them,” Knights coach Aundre Cummings said after Tuesday’s win over Sage Hill.
The Knights are led by junior Kaleena Smith, who averages 32.5 points, 7.1 assists and 4.9 steals per game, sophomore Tatiana Griffin (22.3 points, 8.1 rebounds), junior Dani Robinson (16.2 points, 4.1 assists), and freshman Chloe Jenkins (15.0 points, 11.4 rebounds).
Ontario Christian’s defense will be looking to slow down Trailblazers senior South Carolina-bound guard Jerzy Robinson, who had 24 points and 12 rebounds on Tuesday.
“She’s a great player and is going to South Carolina for a reason,” Cummings said. “I told our girls we need to be SEC ready for her Saturday night.”
Robinson said she knows for Sierra Canyon to win its first CIF-SS Open Division title since 2023 it will need to be earned.
“I think California has the best basketball in the country … the Southern Section, then to play (Archbishop) Mitty or the best teams up north,” Robinson said. “We know every game is a championship. We know Ontario Christian is a great team and they’ll play super hard and confident. We’re going to come out there and match it.”
A big key for the Trailblazers might be the play of a pair of sophomores, Rosie Oladokun and Cherri Hatter, who scored 14 and 11 points respectively against Etiwanda. Komaki hopes that performance is an indication they can handle the pressure of playing for a CIF-SS title in a larger arena.
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