Catch-22: Low seeds achieve opening round Women's Cagers playoff upsets

Taft and Santa Barbara City Colleges both found the #22 seed in their respective regions a charm as each delivered upsets over the #11 seeds to begin the 2024 3C2A Women's Basketball Regional Playoffs on Wednesday night.

The state field whittled down from 48 to 32 teams as 16 opening-round games were played.

Other than the two big upsets, the only lower seed to advance was in the South--#18 Allan Hancock got past #15 Antelope Valley. 

The second round of Regionals will feature 16 games on Saturday, Mar. 2.

NORTH HIGHLIGHT
#22 Taft 65, #11 Chabot 55: After Taft led 18-10 after one quarter and 34-26 at halftime, Chabot eventully took a 53-51 lead with 6:45 left on a layup by Jadyn Anderson. The Cougars, however, went on a 17-2 run capped on a layup by Cecilia Enos to complete their giant win. Enos and Brandy Edwards (10 points in first quarter) each scored 14 points to lead Taft. Anderson tallied a game-high 20 and Kelly Tumlin added 16 points for the Gladiators. Taft had nine different players reach the scoreboard.

SOUTH HIGHLIGHT
#22 Santa Barbara City 58, Imperial Valley 51: The Vaqueros opened up a surprising 27-14 lead on a 3-pointer by Kiani Rojas, but the Desert Warriors fought back to cut it to 35-31 by halftime. SBCC again pulled away to take a 13-point lead, 51-38, after three quarters. That lead proved to be insurmountable. Rojas finished with 14 points and four steals while Leila Chisholm had 13 points and seven assists. Amy Riley scored 15 and grabbed 18 rebounds for Imperial Valley.

OTHER NORTH RECAPS

#9 San Jose City 83, #24 Napa Valley 45: The Jaguars were paced by 17 points from Tatiana Collazo and a 14-point, 13-rebound effort by Madison Diaz to record the 38-point win. 

#10 Santa Rosa 84, #23 Mission 48: Lucca Lowenberg scored 20 points, making 8-for-11 from the floor including four treys, and Ivy Gonzalez tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds in the Bear Cubs rout.

#12 Sierra 83, #21 Redwoods 51: The Wolverines celebrated the program's 32nd straight postseason appearance with their 17th consecutive first round win. Katie Leeth scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Julianne Cotterill (9-for-13 from the field) added 19 points and 14 boards to lead Sierra. 

#13 Siskiyous 64, #20 Reedley 63: The Eagles eeked past the Tigers as Alexis Woodard scored 18 points and Breanna Hands produced 15 points and five steals. 

#14 Skyline 62, #19 Modesto 60: The Trojans trailed 47-42 after three quarters, but prevailed in this close thriller. Emma Aoki and Jenika Zurita each scored 15 points to pace Skyline.

#15 San Mateo 52, #18 Solano 38: The Bulldogs outscored the Falcons, 15-2, in the fourth quarter to propel the victory. Joslyn Moore scored 10 points and pulled down 13 rebounds and Jayonnah Carter contributed 11 points. Amari Mason scored 10 points and tacked on 10 rebounds for Solano.

#16 Hartnell 75, #17 Diablo Valley 64: The Panthers broke open a close game with a 25-point, fourth period to knock off DVC. Hartnell was paced by Daeja Hollands with 23 points and Yasmine Garrett with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Hanna Harvey contributed 16 points off the Hartnell bench.

OTHER SOUTH RECAPS

#9 Long Beach City 72, #24 Cuesta 61: The Vikings started the postseason making an outstanding 20 of 24 free throws (83.3 percent) in defeating the Cougars. Jezelle Moreno scored 20 points with 11 rebounds and four steals while Brillana Boyd chipped in 17 points. For Cuesta, Reese Pasternik scored a team-high 15 points. 

#10 Ventura 65, #23 San Diego City 55: The Pirates used a yeoman 17 points and 17 rebounds by Alexa Coubal, 16 points by Alexa Howery and 15 plus five assists off the bench by Leslie Salazar to defeat the Knights. SDCC was paced by 14 points from D'Ajanae Lewis and got a double-double of 11 points, 10 boards from Cerina Nguyen. 

#12 Citrus 91, #21 Riverside City 63: The Owls poured in 15 shots from 3-point land, including five by Jolleen Olia, who scored 25 points and had 12 rebounds to down the Tigers. Sammy Martinez added 14 points and 15 boards and Leilani Argueta scored 14 points (four treys). RCC had a monster game by Janara Williams as she scored 35 points and totaled 20 rebounds.

#13 East Los Angeles 93, #20 Canyons 78: Guadulupe "Lupe" Vazquez scored an ELAC school playoff record of 49 points as the Huskies advanced past the Cougars. Vazquez, a transfer who was the state-leading scorer at Pasadena City two seasons ago, reached double digits in each of the four quarters as she was 16 of 27 from the field (seven 3-pointers) and 10-for-12 at the line. Asiah Harris added 11 points and 13 rebounds. Canyons received 34 points by Jade Sims, who made 12 of 16 from the charity stripe.

ELAC's Lupe Vazquez in action during her 49-point performance on Wednesday v. Canyons



#14 Pasadena City 67, #19 Los Angeles Valley 61: Antuanae "Twin" Garrett rallied the Lancers with 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and Crystal Smith scored her season high of 14 points and added nine rebounds in downing the Monarchs. LAVC led 49-43 after three quarters before PCC roared back. LA Valley was led by Samantha Maldonado with 21 points and 14 boards while Mary Corbett (four treys) scored all 16 of her points in the first half.

#18 Allan Hancock 75, #15 Antelope Valley 63: The Bulldogs opened up a 21-6 lead and led by a surprising 27 points by the end of the third quarter to record the mild upset over the Marauders. For AHC, Mallory Branum dropped in 18 points and Khaelii Robertson-Mack totaled 16 points, 15 rebounds and made six steals. For AVC, Cierra Steemer led the way with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

#16 San Diego Mesa 50, #17 West Los Angeles 43: After the Wildcats cut it to two at 45-43 in the final minute, the Olympians sank five free throws in the last 35 seconds to ensure the playoff victory. Alethze Marquez scored 16 points and pulled down 17 boards, and Mackenzee Purnell added 13 points and nine rebounds to lead Mesa. Cheyanne Whifield led WLAC with 17 points. 

SECOND ROUND MATCHUPS
Saturday, March 2, higher seed hosts

NORTH
#1 Butte v. #16 Hartnell
#2 San Joaquin Delta v.#15 San Mateo
#3 Fresno City v. #14 Skyline
#4 Folsom Lake v. #13 Siskiyous
#5 CC San Francisco v. #12 Sierra
#6 Laney v. #22 Taft
#7 Sequoias v. #10 Santa Rosa
#8 Cosumnes River v. #9 San Jose CC

SOUTH
#1 Mt. San Antonio v. #16 San Diego Mes
#2 Moorpark v. #18 Allan Hancock
#3 Glendale v. #14 Pasadena CC
#4 Orange Coast v. #13 East Los Angeles
#5 Mt. San Jacinto v. #12 Citrus
#6 Palomar v. #22 Santa Barbara CC
#7 Irvine Valley v. #10 Ventura
#8 Victor Valley v. #9 Long Beach CC

Release by Robert Lewis, CCCWBCA Publicist