As the time clock ran out for Ontario Christian in the CIFSS Open Division final on Saturday night, Sierra Canyon players Rosie Oladokun, Jerzy Robinson and Delaney White (23) started to celebrate. Photo: Scott Kurtz / Cal-Hi Sports.
Underdog Sierra Canyon gets an epic outing from All-American Jerzy Robinson to topple state No. 1 and national No. 2 Ontario Christian in the CIF Southern Section Open Division final on Saturday night in Ontario. New Cal-Hi Sports State TOP 30 rankings will be out on Monday night or Tuesday morning and are likely to see the Trailblazers as the new No. 1. The big result still doesn’t do much to the set-up of the CIF Open state title race, other than it now looks more like a tossup between three teams from the south to likely going to face top NorCal team Archbishop Mitty. Go inside this post for highlights from other CIFSS girls finals played in Ontario.
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There were not many people that believed Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth could topple top seed and Cal-Hi Sports top ranked and national No. 2 Ontario Christian. However, despite the naysayers, the underdog Trailblazers believed in themselves, and believe they did after the No. 3 seed came charging down the stretch to pull out a 69-62 victory over Ontario Christian to win the CIF Southern Section Open Division championship.
“Absolutely we had something to prove,” said Sierra Canyon senior star Jerzy Robinson. “We knew we were the underdog but we wanted it more. We wanted it more tonight.”
With the victory, Sierra Canyon (30-2) won its second CIFSS Open Division title with the first coming in 2023. The Trailblazers went 33-1 in 2019 and won the CIF Open Division state title but were on the other end of the upset in the CIFSS Open final that season in suffering their only loss to Windward of Los Angeles.
Sierra Canyon’s Jerzy Robinson flips up a shot during team’s win in CIFSS Open Division final. Photo: Scott Kurtz.
Robinson, a South Carolina-committed 6-foot-1 senior star, won the personal battle with junior and previous Cal-Hi Sports freshman and sophomore State Player of the Year winner Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian. She also vaulted her name into a strong position to be this year’s Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year. Robinson finished with a huge double-double 32 points (3-for-5 on three-pointers) and 12 rebounds. Smith had 30 points with six rebounds and five assists.
Sierra Canyon also got solid games from senior 6-foot-5 post Emilia Krstevski and senior point guard Delaney White. Krstevski finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots, and White added 10 points and three assists, plus she was 2-for-4 on three-pointers.
Trailing 56-51 to start the fourth quarter, Sierra Canyon up to that point had only led once in the game early on when it was 4-3, and at one point the Trailblazers trailed by nine at 22-13 in the early second quarter when it appeared Ontario Christian (31-2) and Smith were in control.
Sierra Canyon got the lead down to 36-30 at halftime and although it could only chop one point off the lead entering the final period, the stage was set for a run to the finish line by a Trailblazers team that played great defense and held a Knights’ team that had been averaging over 91 points a game to its second lowest output of the season. The only other time Ontario Christian ran into a defense that stymied its scoring was in its only other loss, 57-55 to national No. 1 Bishop McNamara of Maryland.
Part of the success of the Sierra Canyon defense came from its advantage on the boards. Overall, the Trailblazers out-rebounded Ontario Christian 44-26, but in the fourth quarter when they outscored the Knights 18-6 they also out-rebounded them 12-6. Also, Sierra Canyon had five blocked shots to none for Ontario Christian.
Overall, the shooting percentages from the field for both teams were fairly equal with Sierra Canyon going 24-for-58 and Ontario Christian going 24-for-59. However, from beyond the arc, where the Knights have thrived all season, the Trailblazers were 8-for-16 to 5-for-18 for the Knights. Junior Dani Robinson (16 points) made all three of her three-pointers, but Smith was only 1-for-9, including missing three straight in the fourth quarter when Ontario Christian couldn’t seem to buy a basket. Cal-Hi Sports State 2025 Freshman of the Year Tati Griffin made the other Knights’ trey, but she looked a little hobbled and grimaced at times and only was able to muster six points and five rebounds.
The fourth quarter started with Trailblazers sophomore Cherri Hatter (eight points) and Robinson hitting back-to-back baskets to cut the lead to 56-55. Smith and Robinson then traded free-throws to make it 58-57, but when 6-foot-4 sophomore forward Rosie Oladokum nailed a three-pointer, Sierra Canyon only had its second lead of the game at 60-58.
From there, it was a defensive dog fight won by the Trailblazers. Ontario Christian freshman Chloe Jenkins (six points and 10 rebounds) scored to tie it at 60-60 with 4:52 left to play, but from there a basket by Smith with 4:14 remaining to even things at 62-62 would be the final Knights’ tally.
Two free throws by Robinson with 3:00 remaining gave Sierra Canyon a 64-62 lead for good. A three-pointer with 2:43 remaining gave Sierra Canyon a 67-62 lead. Ontario Christian still had time, but could not convert. A basket by Robinson with 30 seconds left closed out the scoring.
When asked what the difference was in the game, Sierra Canyon head coach Alicia Komaki didn’t hesitate.
Kaleena Smith had a sensational outing for Ontario Christian in team’s loss to Sierra Canyon in CIFSS Open Division final. Photo: Scott Kurtz.
“Jerzy Robinson was pretty much the darn difference tonight,” Komaki said.
“In the locker room we talked about this group being special,” Komaki continued. “This is our time, and I think that if we believed we were special, and this was our time, and we’re good enough and smart enough, we’re special enough, and they did.”
Komaki admitted that the coaching staff struggled with the game plan.
“We’re good enough to guard them,” she remarked. “We believe in our defense, we believe in our kids, and we outplayed them, and the biggest thing is we outrebounded them.”
“I’m really happy for the whole group but I’m so happy for Jerzy Robinson,” Komaki continued. “She wants this so bad, she want a ring so bad, and we got that kid a ring.”
Prior to the game, the talk was all about Ontario Christian and its pursuit of scoring records and a potential CIF Southern Section Open Division and CIF Open Division state championship, but now that had changed.
“They need to talk about Sierra Canyon,” Robinson remarked. “They need to talk about everyone on our team that shows up everyday to put in the hours to make something like this happen.”
This was a huge step for Sierra Canyon but the journey continues over the next two weeks leading up to the CIF Open Division championship on March 14 at the Golden 1 Arena in Sacramento.
“We’ll keep competing and everybody knows to do this again after the gauntlet we just went through is so difficult, but we’ll be ready,” Komaki said in conclusion. “But right know we’ll let this one soak in for a while.”
The get to the CIFSS Open title game, Sierra Canyon had to get past Corona Centennial, Santa Ana Mater Dei and then Etiwanda, and it is going to have to beat some of those teams again, and likely Ontario Christian once again before punching their ticket to Sacramento.
The CIF SoCal regional brackets were expected to be announced later in the afternoon on Sunday.
Defense propels La Salle to CIFSS D1 title
In last week’s state rankings, we pondered whether La Salle of Pasadena head coach Scott Wiard, whose defense has been a key to his team’s success in only surrendering more than 46 points three times all season, could come up with a defensive strategy to contend with a Valencia team that was averaging around 70 points a game.
The answer is Wiard, with his father Richard Wiard, who according to the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book won 520 games in two stints from 1996-2007 and 2009-2014 at La Puente Bishop Amat at his side assisting, spun a defensive game gem that resulted in a 51-35 victory over Valencia, in a game that really wasn’t that close. At one point midway through the fourth quarter, La Salle had a 47-24 lead before Valencia made a run to get it closer and Wiard used subs down the stretch.
Aislin Tamez-Torres led three La Salle players in double-figure scoring with 15 points. Emily Fong and Riley Higgins each added 11 points.
La Salle (29-4) trailed 8-4 early, but the Lancers went on a 21-4 run to take 25-12 halftime lead and the stage was set. They stretched the lead to 37-19 after three quarters and the deal was pretty much done at that point.
Valencia (28-5) only had one player in double-figure scoring and that was Keira McLaughlin with 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Valencia will still be in the CIF Southern Regional Division I field and should get a medium level seed when were expected to be announced on Sunday afternoon.
“I know there will be a lot of Open teams moving down for state in D1,” Wiard said. “But I’ll take this ring and savor it.”
In other games on Friday at the Toyota Center in Ontario:
Players and head coach Joshua Markum of St. Margeret’s gathered for a photo after CIFSS title game press conference. Photo: Harold Abend / Cal-Hi Sports.
St. Margaret’s (San Juan Capistrano) 57,
Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) 41
After winning the CIF Southern Section Division 5AA title in 2023 and making the 3A title game in 2024, St. Margaret’s captured the Division 3 title with a solid 16-point win over Murrieta Valley.
Freshman Jayden Witten, who caught our eye last summer in the Girls of Summer Caravan and Player Rankings, led St. Margaret’s (26-7) with a game-high 19 points.
Taylor Francois added a double-double 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Lila Wohlgemuth and Annika Tufo chipped in with 11 points apiece.
Crescenta Valley (La Crescenta) 51, Saugus 43
After getting by Rosary Academy in a nail-biter, 45-43 on the road in the semifinals, Crescenta Valley (28-4) played through foul trouble by its best player Anik Nortikyan to win the CIF Southern Section Division 2 championship.
Kelin Shajanian had a team-high 14 points followed by 10 points apiece from Yasjvi Ahir and Ava Gharib.
Nortikyan finished with eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds before fouling out with 4:26 remaining and Crescenta Valley holding a 44-38 lead.
Saugus (24-9) got a game-high 16 points from Jasmine Garcia.
Orange 44, Schurr (Montebello) 32
In its first-ever CIF Southern Section title game appearance, Orange (15-12) won a defensive battle to win the CIF Southern Section Division 8 title.
Aubrey Macedo led the Panthers with 11 points and Jalyssa Loatman added seven points and 14 rebounds.
Schuur (16-14) got a game-high double-double 13 points and 15 rebounds from Marley Diaz.
Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend
