Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday and in conjunction many of the top basketball tournaments throughout the state and nation are played in his honor.
Three California teams will travel to play in the country’s biggest event, the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass.
Top-ranked Ontario Christian, No. 2 Archbishop Mitty and No. 4 Etiwanda — have all been invited to the 23rd annual event, located in the same city as the Basketball Hall of Fame.
The event runs from Thursday through Monday, though Ontario Christian and Etiwanda play just one game and Mitty two.
Around the state, there were few upsets last week, with the major news still centering around the horrors of the Los Angeles area wildfires. With so many students unable to return to their homes, either because they were destroyed or because of evacuation orders, many games were either postponed or cancelled.
The Knights almost hit triple digits for a third time during a 95-69 win over Rancho Christian as Kaleena Smith made 11 of 18 shots to go for 229 points and Alanna Neale scores season-high 24. The challenge will be steep Friday when the Knights play Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) and National Player of the Year candidate Olivia Vukosa at Hoophall.
After a, for them, a narrow 60-45 win over St. Ignatius, the Monarchs were back to their dominating self in a 74-9 win over Presentation. The national No. 5 Monarchs, who lost preseason All-American and two-time national Player of the Year McKenna Wolicko for the season with a torn ACL, plays No. 6 national Sidwell Friends (Washington D.C.) on Friday and No. 11 Morris Catholic (NJ) on Saturday.
That’s seven straight wins since a 59-42 loss to Mitty on Dec. 20 with margins of 15, 66, 34, 16, 53, 40 and 48. The Monarchs travel to JSerra Catholic on Thursday.
The Eagles have won nine straight, the last one 82-36 over Rancho Cucamonga. Five-star senior post Grace Knox is back from an ankle tweak just in time for Eagles trip to Hoophall on Monday when they’ll face national No. 10 Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis), which last week set a national record with its 139th straight win, now which stands at 140. Before then, the Eagles have a challenging game at California No. 11 Fairmont Prep on Friday.
The Trailblazers exploded for 30 points in the fourth quarter (gave up nine) in their latest win, 85-47 over Marlborough.
Appears to be no challenge in the Central Section after wins over Central (61-22) and Clovis East (83-33). Up next is Buchanan on the road on Friday.
The Wildfires have forced a pair of cancellations or postponements. Next scheduled game is home against Lakewood on Saturday.
Like most here, league play isn’t much competition after wins over Granite Bay (82-31) and Del Oro (56-37) with a game at Whitney scheduled Friday. Against Granite Bay, the Bulldogs led 24-0 and 50-7 after the first two quarters.
The Eagles haven’t played since Jan. 6 due to the Los Angeles wildfires.
Wins by 30 and 36 hopefully helped the Cougars tune up for Saturday’s big game with La Jolla Country Day.
Huskies have won five straight since a 66-58 loss to Saint Francis-Mountain View, including 62-54 over Monache on Jan. 11 behind 23 points from Adyra Rajan and 17 from Sarah Aldeguer. Etiwanda will be a big challenge.
Has won 11 pf 12 with only loss a 53-52 setback vs. Ridgeline (Millville, Utah), which is 16-0. The Vikings edged Francis Parker last week 48-46 before steamrolling Paloma Valley (71-34) behind 15 points from Leiayjah Mills, 13 from Bella Medina, 11 by Alaysha Mills and 10 by Tamia Hardwick.
After tough win over Portola (66-50), the Lightning blitzed Rosary Academy (66-31). The next scheduled game is at home Saturday vs. Brentwood School, but the fires and aftermath might postpone that matchup.
The Dons have won five straight since tough Sabrina Ionescu Classic loss to Oregon power South Medford (68-63), the last two by scores of 85-26 and 76-24.
All those lopsided victories didn’t hurt the Wolves’ competitive edge during a 59-55 overtime win over Carondelet as freshman Kaitlyn Mills scored 13 of her 21 points after the third quarter.
The Wolverines played their first game since the fires on Wednesday and defeated Louisville of Woodland Hills, 65-50.
The Cougars were defeated Tuesday by East Bay Athletic League rival San Ramon Valley 59-55. Carondelet plays Salesian in a Marin Luthern King matchups on Monday.
The Panthers breezed in a much-anticipated game with Priory (63-38) as Katherine Garr and Vallory Kuelker combined for 35 points, almost matching Priory’s total score.
Since an outstanding showing at the West Coast Jamboree, the Wildcats have been idle due to the Southern California wildfires. The team’s next scheduled game isn’t until Jan. 21 at Archer School for Girls.
The Cardinals are riding a seven-game win streak heading into Thursday’s game with Montgomery-Santa Rosa (11-5).
The Cougars keep rolling with three more wins, the last one close, 52-44 at arch-rival Buena. The previous two games were 82-7 and 73-15. Kailee Staniland had 21 points and five assists against Buena. They’ll play home home Thursday versus a good Oxnard squad (15-5).
No shame in the loss to Ontario Christian, especially with four players scoring in double figures led by Julia Wilson (20 points, six rebounds, six assists) and followed by Ebony Taylor-Smith (14 points), Alyson Boyd (13 points) and Bella Cosme (11).
The Torreys take on all challengers as proven by two more big games on the horizon, Friday vs. Central Section power Clovis and a week later they’ll be at home to play No. 1 Ontario Christian.
After edging Saint Francis 71-70 last week, the Irish were upset by archrival St. Ignatius 58-48 in a game played at the Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors, and for the coveted Bruce-Mahoney trophy. No rest for the weary as the Irish host Salesian on Saturday, then get Mitty a week later in WCAL play.
The Lions blitzed Cordova (93-31 on Jan. 10 and scheduled to play Wednesday at West Park.
