2024 Pacifica Christian Girls Basketball Showcase
The second annual Pacifica Christian Girls Basketball Showcase did not disappoint, as it showcased some of the top talent in the Southern California area. The four-game eight-team showcase included Cathedral Catholic, Bakersfield Christian, Santa Margarita, Brentwood, Centennial, Sierra Canyon, Fairmont Prep, and the host Pacifica Christian. All four games in the Triton Event Center had players with multiple college offers and created some exciting and talented basketball games.
In the first game, Cathedral Catholic out of San Deigo beat Bakersfield Christian from the Central Section by a final score of 55-39. Last season the Dons of Cathedral Catholic clinched the Western League Title and the CIF San Diego Section Division 1 Title. Their opponent was the back-to-back defending CIF Central Section Champions of Bakersfield Christian. Senior Southwestern Oklahoma State University commit Maddie Moeller had 24 points, including 14 defensive rebounds for the Dons. Sophomore McKinnley Hanlon had 11 points and six rebounds. Cathedral Catholic held the lead for most of the time, but the Eagles of Bakersfield Christian stayed in the game, outscoring the Dons in both the second and third quarters.
In the second game, the host Pacifica Christian took on Trinity League Santa Margarita. The visiting Eagles advanced to the Division 2A Semi-Finals last season as well as the Regional Semi-Finals. At half the Tritons trailed by two, but it wasn't until the fourth quarter that the Eagles pulled away with the game, beating the host Tritons 46-36. Santa Margarita was led by Freshman Elle Palmer who had 13 points, while sophomores Bella Emanuel and Grace Anderson had 11 and 10 points respectively. The Tritons were led by Vivian Villagrana and Angie Martinez, both of whom had nine points, and defensively by Junior Kassandra Aguiniga who tallied eight rebounds.
In the third matchup, Brentwood out of Los Angeles took on Centennial out of Corona in what would be a thrilling game. Brentwood are back-to-back Division 1 CIF Champions as well as went undefeated in the Gold Coast League. They battled it out with the open division powerhouse of Corona Centennial who were Big VIII League Champions last season. The Brentwood Eagles came out a little slow in their season opener as they trailed 20-8 at the end of the first quarter and it appeared that nobody was stopping the offensive duo of Tierra Taylor and Cydnee Bryant from the Huskies. But the tables turned in the second and third quarter as Brentwood slowly inched their way back into the game, edging out the Huskies 52-49. The Eagles were led by Sophomore Reena White who had 19 points and eight rebounds, draining five threes. Payton and Kelsey Sugar were consistent throughout the game as they combined for 15 points and 13 rebounds. Senior Lev Feiman was in foul trouble early, limiting her minutes but still managed to make an impact, scoring 12 points. Centennial with only six players due to transfer sit-out periods and health reasons distributed most of the points between Tierra Taylor who had 19, Cydnee Bryant with 14, including 18 rebounds, and Journey Wilson with 10.
In the highly anticipated showcase game, Sierra Canyon faced off against Fairmont Prep. Sierra Canyon who went 31-3 last season and 10-0 in the Mission League, competed in the Open Division last season and appeared in the CIF Finals as well as the Regional Finals. Fairmont Prep who is coming off a 22-9 season, advanced to the CIF Division 2AA Quarterfinals last year. The Trailblazers were without their star Jerzy Robinson, but it proved to not be an issue offensivley as they beat the Huskies 81-63. Junior Emilia Krstevski was dominate per usual with 22 points and 16 rebounds while Junior Payton Montgomery had another double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Defensively the Trailblazers shut down Fairmont Prep's leading scorer Adyra Rajan who only had two threes and 10 points. It was sophomore Kayla Priest who led the Huskies with 20 points.