ESPNHS California

Mater Dei and La Jolla Country Day each get three on the overall Cal-Hi Sports All-State teams chosen regardless of CIF division or year in school. Click here for All-State Underclass or All-State by CIF Divisions.

FIRST FIVE

F/G Jordan Adams (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) 6-1 Sr.
Although the first team may seem guard heavy, Adams actually spent plenty of time in the post this season for the Monarchs, battling on the boards and often guarding the opposition's best player. At the McDonald's All-American Game in Chicago, Adams joked about how relieved she was that the season was complete. After all, she helped lead Mater Dei to its third consecutive state title by averaging 17 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game while playing on a bum knee. She plays next for USC.

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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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This year’s CIF state championships on the girls side feature four strong favorites and one game that is almost too close to call.

Note: All of the following writeups and selections are done with the highest level of respect to both teams and all coaches. We never use point spreads and, sure, some of the scores might be a bit more lopsided than we might think. But you also never know what might happen. After all, these are teenagers.

We had one of our worst years ever in last year’s CIF finals (boys and girls combined) with just six correct and four wrong. We were 7-for-10 in 2010 and were 9-for-10 in 2009.

The following writeups were completed by Harold Abend, Paul Muyskens.

Girls Division I
(Saturday, March 24, 9:30 a.m.)

Cal-Hi Sports’ predicted score:
Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 61, Berkeley 48

There’s little surprise that these two teams are meeting again for the state’s big school title. What’s different is the makeup of the two teams from last year.

Two-time defending state champion Mater Dei sent Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis off to Connecticut leaving USC-bound and ESPNHS Girls Basketball Class of 2012 No. 2 Jordan Adams and Washington State-bound Alexas Williamson to carry on.

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Important announcement from Cal-Hi Sports | Archived Cal-Hi Sports content

Emotional leader of nation’s No. 12-ranked team ready to join 1,500-point and 1,000-rebound club. She and her twin sister are the pair to go with team’s Plum.

Maya Hood of the nationally ranked La Jolla Country Day girls basketball team near San Diego doesn’t get the hype of teammate and junior phenom Kelsey Plum, but the reality is that the 5-foot-10 senior who plays like a girl 6-foot-3 is the heart and soul of the team.

“She’s a tremendous leader, our emotional and physical leader,” said 13-year La Jolla Country Day Coach Terri Bamford of her player who is headed to the University of San Diego.

The “double-double” as Bamford calls her, or “my-oh-my” as she’s known by teammates and friends, can score and rebound as well.

Last week on Senior Night, Hood poured in 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds with three steals and two assists in a 77-25 win over league rival San Diego Horizon.

As a result of that performance, a season that shows her with eight double-doubles, and an approximate 3.3 GPA, Hood joins Plum, who won the award last year, as an ESPNHS Cal-Hi Sports State Athlete of the Week.

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