High School Roundup: Pacifica Christian girls' basketball tops Troy

Los Angeles Times

15-02-2025

Pacifica Christian had its work cut out for it during the regular season, but the Tritons are hoping that the bumps and bruises along the way have toughened them up for a postseason run.
Junior guard Vivian Villagrana had a game-high 17 points, as the top-seeded Tritons took the first step in that process with a 43-35 win over Troy at home on Thursday to begin the CIF Southern Section Division 3AA girls' basketball playoffs.
Pacifica Christian (13-14) will travel to take on Temecula Chaparral (15-10), another challenge on numbers alone. Chaparral has an enrollment of 3,370 students, while the Newport Beach-based private school has 343 kids on campus.
During the season, Pacifica Christian faced a gauntlet that included two San Joaquin League games against Fairmont Prep, an Open Division qualifier. It also faced Corona Centennial, Crean Lutheran, JSerra, San Clemente and Santa Margarita, all of which are in Division 1.
'We played the best teams,' Villagrana said. 'We were playing JSerra, Fairmont, all those Trinity League teams, and I think it did get our spirits down a little bit, but just being able to get back up from that. … Now that we've played against those teams, we're doing a lot better, giving it our all and being able to throw our bodies out on the court. We're doing great.'
Vivian Villagrana made four three-pointers, and sister Caylie Villagrana added 14 points and five assists, tossing in two three-pointers. Their sharpshooting provided the difference, as Troy (12-17) made just one shot from that distance.
'I didn't think we were going to be the No. 1 seed,' Pacifica Christian coach Pablo Martinez said. 'With that comes pressure, but I'd rather we have pressure and be relevant than not having pressure and be at home. It is what it is. We're just going to play hard, and whatever happens, happens.'
Angie Martinez added eight rebounds, five blocked shots and five assists for the Tritons. Kassandra Aguiniga added six points.
Kaylene Vivo scored 15 points to pace the Warriors.
CIF Southern Section Division 3AA playoffs
Pacifica Christian 43, Troy 35
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Troy 6 - 7 - 8 - 14 — 35
Pacifica Christian 6 - 12 - 14 - 11 — 43
T — Vivo 15, Cao 9, Tan 5, Pagcaliwagan 4, Watson 2.
3-pt. goals — Cao 1.
Fouled out — None.
Technicals — None.
PC — V. Villagrana 17, C. Villagrana 14, Aguiniga 6, Ham 2, Burrus 2, Martinez 2.
3-pt. goals — V. Villagrana 4, C. Villagrana 2.
Fouled out — None.
Technicals — None.
Also in the CIF Southern Section girls' basketball playoffs:
Marina 70, Placentia Valencia 51: Rylee Bradley scored 24 points to go with four rebounds and four assists, as the Vikings opened the Division 2A playoffs with a win on the road.
Maria Tejeda contributed 19 points, six steals and three assists for Marina (18-11), which will travel to take on Whittier Pioneer (16-11) in the second round on Saturday.
Fountain Valley 48, Mission Hills Alemany 46: The fourth-seeded Barons held off the upset-minded Warriors on Thursday in the first round of the Division 2A playoffs at home.
Victoria Om had a team-high 22 points for Fountain Valley (19-9), headed to San Pedro Rolling Hills Prep for its second-round game on Saturday.
Sophie Hsieh added 14 points, and Karley Waite pulled down 17 rebounds.
Corona del Mar 38, Yorba Linda 31: Kayly Honig had 13 points and eight rebounds to pace the visiting Sea Kings on Thursday in the first round of the Division 2A playoffs.
Sawyer Blumenkranz added 12 points for Corona del Mar (18-10), which will play host to third-seeded Chino (21-5) on Saturday. The Sea Kings were eliminated by the Cowboys, 61-18, in a first-round game last year.
Alexa Rokos contributed six steals defensively for CdM.
Huntington Beach 45, Los Angeles Immaculate Heart 31: Emily Hoang had a team-high 23 points for the Oilers on Thursday in a Division 3AA playoff opener on the road.
Taylor Savage chipped in with 10 points for Huntington Beach (17-12), which advances to a home date against second-seeded El Segundo (18-11) in the second round on Saturday.
Laguna Beach 46, Yermo Silver Valley 34: Fiona McCormick scored 20 points to lead the host Breakers on Thursday in a Division 4AA playoff game.
Kate Cheng added 13 points for Laguna Beach (20-9), which travels for its second-round game against top-seeded Savanna (19-5). The Rebels beat the Breakers, 34-30, in the teams' season opener on Nov. 18.
Costa Mesa 65, Panorama City St. Genevieve 48: Leilani Quero's 17 points led a balanced attack for the fourth-seeded Mustangs in a first-round win at home Thursday to begin the Division 5AA playoffs.
Emi Kamikihara had 14 points, Yanelly Martinez scored 10 points, Myah Martinez added nine points, and Ariana Mendoza chipped in with eight points.
Costa Mesa (13-14) hits the road to face Capistrano Valley Christian (11-6) in the second round on Saturday.
Crystal Rivera had a game-high 27 points for St. Genevieve, but the Mustangs kept the freshman guard off the scoresheet in the third quarter.
'We have a crazy defense,' Costa Mesa coach Zedric McKee said. 'We eat, breathe, sleep off of our defense. Our defense will carry us a long way if we can keep that mindset going through the whole postseason.'
Los Amigos 49, Perris 28
Edison 1, Lancaster Eastside 0 (OT): Dylan Petruolo scored the overtime game-winner for the visiting Chargers on Wednesday in the first round of the Division 2 playoffs.
Andrew Mosham manned the net in the shutout for Edison (13-4-1), which faces a tough test in top-seeded Moorpark (12-1-4) at home on Saturday.
Warren 3, Fountain Valley 3 (4-2 on PKs)
Laguna Beach 1, West Covina South Hills 0: An own goal off a Dylan Petrie-Norris feed into the box was all the Breakers needed Thursday in a Division 4 playoff opener at home.
Cole Anderson made two saves to keep the clean sheet for Laguna Beach (12-5-5), which heads to San Bernardino Indian Springs (11-3-3) in the second round.
Los Amigos 6, Westminster 2: Julian Rivera and Jose Vargas each scored twice for the top-seeded Lobos, who stormed past the Lions at home on Thursday in the first round of the Division 5 bracket.
Erubey Bermudez had a goal and an assist for Los Amigos (10-5-2), which travels to take on Santa Clarita Golden Valley (7-9-3) in the second round.
Adrian Ramirez added a goal, and Eduardo Reyes drew a pair of assists for Los Amigos.
Lennox Academy 4, Pacifica Christian Orange County 2: The visiting Tritons could not overcome a 3-0 halftime deficit on Thursday in the first round of the Division 7 playoffs at Wiseburn Da Vinci High in El Segundo.
Pacifica Christian (10-7-3) was the Academy League champion.