ESPNHS California

Dons roll past Mitty and Livermore to win Livermore Stampede and will now close in on being No. 1 in the state after top-ranked Norco falls at Michelle Carew Classic.

After her performance in the 18th Annual Livermore Stampede, there’s a new queen of Northern California high school softball and her name is Johanna Grauer from Amador Valley of Pleasanton.

The championship game of the Stampede was played at 7:15 p.m. last Saturday, but to softball aficionados and for rankings purposes, the 3 p.m. semifinal between Cal-Hi Sports No. 3 Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) and No. 7 Amador Valley was the game of the day.

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Sophomore who already has committed to UCLA goes on hitting tear. Also landing on this week’s honor roll for softball is a girl from San Diego who went 8-for-9 and tossed a perfect game in a doubleheader.

Note: We’re proud once again to collect weekly writeups of the most significant individual high school softball totals in California. We use these as the basis for updating the state record book, which has been published seven times, most recently in the spring of 2009. To report a state stat star of your own, please email highlights to Mark.Tennis@espn.com.

(After games of Saturday, March 31; includes some games as of Wednesday, April 4; Contributing: Bob Barnett, Mark Tennis)

Valerie Aguilar (Montebello)
She puts her name into the state record book by collecting three triples in a 7-3 victory last Saturday over Garfield of Los Angeles. Aguilar also went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a triple last Saturday in a different game as the Oilers beat Bellflower 15-6. Earlier in the week, Aguilar also had a 4-for-4 outing against San Gabriel. Teammate April Marquez also will get her name into the state record book due to a performance from earlier in the season when she ripped four doubles in a game against El Rancho of Pico Rivera.

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Behind 30 points from Katin Reinhardt, Mater Dei beats Sheldon in D1 final and gets state record ninth championship for coach Gary McKnight. Alemany also completes quest with D3 victory while Village Christian upends defending champ for first D5 crown.

The CIF Division I, Division III and Division V state title games in boys basketball were played at Power Balance Arena in Sacramento. The Division II and Division IV titles were decided on Friday (click here for writeups).

Division I:
Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 66, Sheldon (Sacramento) 48

Two hours after Mater Dei girls’ coach Kevin Kiernan became the winningest in CIF history, boys’ coach Gary McKnight topped even that by earning his ninth and the program’s second in a row.

McKnight, who began coaching the team in 1983, broke the state record of eight set in 1997 by retired Crenshaw of Los Angeles coach Willie West.

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Mater Dei three-peats by pulling away from Berkeley in what looks like final game for coach Cheryl Draper. Defensive record also set by Bishop O'Dowd in Division III victory while Brookside Christian brings another state title to Stockton with D5 triumph.

The CIF Division I, Division III and Division V state title games in girls basketball were played at Power Balance Arena in Sacramento. The Division II and Division IV titles were decided on Friday.

Division I:
Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 57, Berkeley 40

In a game that was very reminiscent of the 2011 Division I state title game matchup, Mater Dei (34-3) overcame a first quarter deficit to win easily and claim its third straight state championship.

The 2010 title came in Division II with the last two in the state’s big school division.

The win also solidifies Mater Dei’s No. 1 position in the final Cal-Hi Sports rankings and a top 10 finish in the POWERADE FAB 50 national rankings where the Monarchs were No. 8 this past week.

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Mitty holds off J.W. North for fifth state title, while La Jolla Country Day rolls to early lead and wins first Division IV crown.

The CIF Division IV and Division II state title games in girls basketball were played at Power Balance Arena in Sacramento. The Division I, Division III and Division V titles will be decided on Saturday.

Division II:
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 56, J.W. North (Riverside) 54

The NorCal representative came in steeped in championship tradition against an upstart SoCal representative looking to win its first state title.

J.W. North, the team with a new coach and a cast of new players looking to become the first Riverside County team to win a girls state title since all-time great Cheryl Miller led Riverside Poly to the Division I title in 1982, played a valiant game.

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Mitty repeats in Division II with Aaron Gordon leading the way. NorCal wins in Division IV as well with Salesian of Richmond topping Price.

The CIF Division IV and Division II state title games in boys basketball were played at Power Balance Arena in Sacramento. The Division I, Division III and Division V titles will be decided on Saturday.

Division II:
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 78, La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) 57

It was a vintage performance for Aaron Gordon, one of the nation’s top-ranked juniors, and the rest of the Monarchs’ starting lineup.

The 6-foot-8 point forward dominated the boards, nailed a couple of 3-pointers and scored a game-high 33 points. Gordon’s point total makes the top 10 on the all-time state title game list. He also grabbed 20 rebounds, one short of the Division II record he tied last season.

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Mater Dei pulls away in second half to beat Bullard in Division I. La Costa Canyon wins all-San Diego final while Alemany, Price and Village Christian are all heading to state as well.

The CIF Southern Regional title games were played at Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario (Divisions 1-3) and at Colony High School in Ontario (Divisions 4-5). Writeups by Ronnie Flores.

Division I:
Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 85, Bullard (Fresno) 66

The top-ranked team in the state, the Mater Dei Monarchs, faced a Bullard Knights team looking to pull of their third consecutive upset and advance to their first-ever state title game in boys' basketball.

Bullard was not only facing an experienced team that won a state title last year with the same nucleus, it was also facing the most talented team it had seen all season long.

For one half, in front of 5,712 fans, the CIF Central Section Div. I champions hung with Mater Dei (champions of the CIF Southern Section Div. I-AA bracket), but a 23-10 advantage in the third quarter spelled doom for Bullard.

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Sheldon turns back upset bid in Division I final. Other victors are Archbishop Mitty in D2, Sacred Heart Cathedral in D3, Salesian in D4 and St. Joseph Notre Dame in D5.

The CIF Northern Regional title games were played at Power Balance Arena in Sacramento (Divisions 1-3) and at Folsom High School (Divisions 4-5). Writeups by Mark Tennis and Paul Muyskens.

Division I:
Sheldon (Sacramento) 61, Jesuit (Carmichael) 56

All the clichés about the fourth time being the charm for Jesuit in the NorCal final after going 0-3 during the season against the Huskies were getting dusted off in the first half of this matchup.

The Marauders came out of the locker room on fire, making eight of their first 11 shots and were up by as much as 17 points at 23-6 early in the second quarter.

A 10-point run later in the second period got Sheldon within striking distance with a 25-16 halftime score. The team’s two main standouts, juniors Dakarai Allen and D’Erryl Williams, then came through in the second half and especially down the stretch.

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L.B. Poly player’s seizure puts D1 final (won by Mater Dei) in perspective. La Jolla Country Day takes D4 crown while other victors include J.W. North (D2), Laguna Hills (D3) and Mission Prep (D5).

The CIF Southern Regional title games were played at Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario (Divisions 1-3) and at Colony High School in Ontario (Divisions 4-5). Writeups by Ronnie Flores and Mark Tennis. Contributing: Harold Abend.

Division I:
Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 54, Poly (Long Beach) 43

In a game between two teams that have played memorable playoff games in recent years with a plethora of talent on the floor, this game was a bit different. There wasn't overwhelming talent and both teams, especially Mater Dei (19 turnovers), didn't executive particularly well.

But when a team has championship experience, it finds ways to win. In this game, that was especially important considering an unfortunate incident that overshadowed the action with 3:56 remaining in the third quarter.

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Mitty’s stunner over two-time D2 state champ St. Mary’s of Stockton highlights the day. Berkeley’s repeat in D1 highlights the night. Also taking titles are Bishop O’Dowd (D3), Salesian of Richmond (D4) and Brookside Christian (D5).

The CIF Northern Regional title games were played at Power Balance Arena in Sacramento (Divisions 1-3) and at Folsom High School (Divisions 4-5). Writeups by Harold Abend, Paul Muyskens.

Division II
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 53, St. Mary’s (Stockton) 51

In what is a fairly huge upset, No. 3 seed Archbishop Mitty got 23 points and nine rebounds from 6-foot-1 super sophomore Kelli Hayes, and 12 points and 12 rebounds from Pepperdine-bound 6-3 senior Amanda Lovely to turn back No. 1 seed and defending state champion St. Mary’s.

The winning basket and game’s final points came on a 4-foot floater by Hayes with 25.9 seconds left on a brilliant pass from senior Courtney Lisowski.

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Cal-Hi Sports gives a quick analysis of the girls basketball regional pairings in all five CIF divisions for the North and South.

Division I

North: The 14-team bracket has Berkeley on top as expected, but while many might think San Francisco Lowell is a surprise No. 2 choice, its record says otherwise. Included in its 28-4 record are wins over CCS champions Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco (D3) and No. 7 seed Palo Alto Gunn (D1). Both Berkeley and Lowell received first-round byes. Berkeley faces the Palo Alto-Pleasant Grove winner, while Lowell will either have a rematch with Gunn or Fremont Mission San Jose. Even with Lowell’s 45-43 win over Gunn in early December, it's high seed probably won't get the Cardinals very far even if they could win a second-round game.

South: There was very little suspense here as CIF Southern Section Division 1AA champion Mater Dei of Santa Ana secured the top spot with its win over Brea Olinda in the title game. The Monarchs open the 16-team bracket at home against CIFSS Div. 1A semifinalist Burbank. Not surprisingly, the No. 2 seed went to Brea, while the third seed went to the Long Beach Poly team Brea beat 49-43 in the semifinals. Mater Dei looks like a cinch to make it to the title game while Brea-Olinda is probably going to have to beat Poly again, something that could be very difficult.

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Cal-Hi Sports gives a quick analysis of the boys' basketball regional pairings in all five CIF divisions for the North and South. Check back later Sunday evening for reactions to girls' regional brackets.

Division I

North: De La Salle was the easy pick for the top seed here after capturing its 10th North Coast Section championship on Friday with a 54-31 win over Deer Valley of Antioch. The surprise in this bracket was ten-loss Oakland Athletic League champ McClymonds being named the No. 3 seed behind state-ranked Sheldon of Sacramento and in front of Jesuit of Carmichael, which lost to Sheldon in the Sac-Joaquin Section Div. I title game. In this division, being a section champ was a bigger factor than in Division I South.

South: As expected, state No. 1 Mater Dei earned the top seed after capturing its 21st section title in school history with a 63-59 win over state No. 2 Long Beach Poly. The Jackrabbits did earn the number two seed while Etiwanda, which lost to Long Beach Poly in the section semifinals, had to settle for a No. 5 seed behind L.A. City Section Division I champ Taft and fellow section semifinalist Loyola. That means Loyola and Etiwanda will likely face off in a monster second round game on Saturday.

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According to Cal-Hi Sports record book, school’s 21st section title also ties state record. Barring a regional upset or strange seeding, the Monarchs and Jackrabbits could meet again in the D1 South championship with trip to state title game on the line. Other winners in CIFSS finals on Saturday in Anaheim include Orange Lutheran, Alemany, Mayfair, Pasadena and Inglewood.

Going into the highly-anticipated CIF Southern Section Division I-AA final between state No. 1 Mater Dei of Santa Ana, the defending state champions, and No. 2 Long Beach Poly, the defending CIFSS Div. I-AA champ, Mater Dei coach Gary McKnight felt rebounding was the key.

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Here’s the second installment of posts in which we’ve made our recommendations for which girls teams should be seeded No. 1 in next week’s CIF regional playoffs. Check our page on Sunday night for reaction to all of the regional pairings.

Division II North: St. Mary’s (Stockton)
The Rams are going for their second straight CIF state title in this division (and fourth overall) and have had mostly glorified workouts so far, including a 64-29 victory over McNair of Lodi in Saturday’s Sac-Joaquin Section championship. North Coast Section champ Carondelet of Concord and CCS champ Archbishop Mitty of San Jose will present challenges to St. Mary’s in the regional playoffs, but not for the top seed.

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Here’s the second installment of posts in which we’ve made our recommendations for which boys teams should be seeded No. 1 in next week’s CIF regional playoffs. Check our page on Sunday night for reaction to all of the regional pairings.

Division I South: Mater Dei (Santa Ana)
Obviously, whichever team won in the CIF Southern Section Div. 1AA final – either the Monarchs or Long Beach Poly – is going to start the regional-round of the state tournament as a top seed. Mater Dei won that game 63-59. Both coaches know that last year Mater Dei lost in the section playoffs, then bounced back to win the CIF state title. Long Beach Poly won the section, but lost in the regional final. Don’t forget about the CIFSS Div. 1AA semifinalists in this division, either. Etiwanda is 29-2 and Loyola of Los Angeles is 24-5. Their losses to Long Beach Poly and Mater Dei were by close enough margins that if either team made the regional final it would not be that big of an upset.

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