CIF-SS DIV. 3A GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS: Whitney’s first trip to semifinals ends in five-point loss marred by early turnovers

February 25, 2025

By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X

MONTEBELLO-Since 2008, Whitney High has seen its girls basketball program get as far as the CIF-Southern Section divisional quarterfinals seven times before this season. One of those quarterfinals appearances came during the 2019-2020 season when head coach Myron Jacobs took over the program.

But in their semifinal debut last Saturday, the Wildcats were as nervous as any team could have been, turning the ball over nine times in the opening quarter, passing up open shots and shooting 15 percent from the field. Despite the numbers, Whitney trailed Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary High by three points after the first quarter. And despite taking a pair of leads later in the game, the 605 League champions fell short of their goal of a divisional championship in a 41-36 defeat to the Cardinals. Whitney now waits to see what division it will be placed in, who it will play and where when the brackets to the CIF Southern California Regionals are leased on Sunday.

“Look, it was a great season,” said Jacobs. “I wasn’t too happy with the gym; they had a big rim on one side. But at the end of the day, we still have to play, and we gave ourselves a chance. But it came down, ultimately, to our defense. It was a sloppy game on both sides.”

Following the game, Jacobs spoke to his team for roughly 15-20 minutes and put blame on himself, stating that he should have made a better adjustment, taking his team out of the trap and going back to its strength, which is half court defense.

The Wildcats (23-9) trailed 8-4 with 2:01 left in the opening quarter before their first scoring run gave them their first lead of the game. A free throw from senior Allie Yamaguchi was the last point by either team in the stanza and a basket from senior Sarai Carter just over two and a half minutes into the second quarter made it 8-7. Two minutes after that, senior Haylie Wang sank a pair of three throws and the Wildcats had their first lead. But CSHM, which wasn’t much better in the shooting department, closed out the final 2:43 of the half on an 8-2 run, highlighted by a three-pointer from Leilani Dominguez. It would be her only basket of the night as she added five free throws to her point total for the game.

The first half was probably the worst the Wildcats had all season, connecting on only three of 27 field goals, getting 15 rebounds and turning the ball over 15 times. But the team also had 10 of its 18 steals. Meanwhile, CSHM was six of 20 from the field in the half. When it all said and done, the 36 points was the third lowest of the season.

“We killed ourselves,” said Jacobs of the shooting. “[Sophomore] Alyssa [So] couldn’t throw a penny in the ocean if she wanted to. At this point, that’s basketball; my girls were exhausted. This is the longest Whitney has ever played [in a season]. Again, there’s no excuses out in the world. Like my parent’s told me, I did one hell of a job; we did one hell of a job. This is a team effort.”

Dominguez and Marina Leiva began the second half with two points each as the Cardinals had their biggest lead of the game at 20-11. But Carter’s three-pointer with 5:25 left in the third quarter and a basket off one of her three steals 25 seconds later gave some hope in an offense that was three of 29 from the field for the first 18:35 of the game. Later in the stanza, So scored consecutive baskets off assists from Wang and with 3:08 left, it was 23-20.

CSHM would continue to lead by two to five points until 6:01 remained in the game. At that point, Whitney would begin its largest run of the night as a pair of free throws from Wang kick started a 7-0 run.

But with 3:09 left in the game, Alicia Lara hit two free throws to give the Cardinals the lead for good at 35-33. In fact, the Wildcats missed their last six field goals of the game and would connect on 10 of 52 shots. Wang led all players with Whitney with 13 points, nine coming from the charity stripe while So added 11 points. Wang also had nine rebounds, five steals, four assists and three blocks. Whitney missed all 12 of its three-point attempts in the first half and was two of 12 from downtown in the second half.

Carter had one of her better games in a Whitney uniform, coming off the bench to score a season-high seven points, grab five rebounds and have three steals. Last season, she scored 15 points and coming into last Saturday’s game, she had scored 20 points.

“We wouldn’t have been that close [in the fourth quarter] if it wasn’t for the senior play of Sarai Carter,” said Jacobs. “That kid came into the game, and she wanted it. This kid has never really hit three’s in a game this whole season…and went out there and nearly sacrificed her whole body, and when she got tired, she kicked it into something that’s called heart. The kid went hard.”

The 23 victories are the most since the 2013-2014 team under Jeff Day went 25-4 and lost in the quarterfinals. Since the 2010-2011 season, Whitney has won at least 20 games six times with five trips to the quarterfinals. Another note to be made-of the nine losses, four were by five points or less and the other five were anywhere from six to nine points.

“I’m proud of my kids,” said Jacobs. “This is the best season Whitney has had in a while; we’re going to state and the first time in the semifinals. And I did it with a team that was less talented than I had in the last three years. So, there’s nothing really to be mad about. I was just sadder for those seniors and those kids. I don’t get mad at losing a game; I get mad because I know how hard my girls work. And those girls really put themselves through the ringer this [past] summer.”

Jacobs put together one of the toughest, if not the toughest non-league schedules in school history and even though the goal of a CIF-SS divisional championship wasn’t achieved, there’s the Southern California Regionals to look forward to. Those brackets will be released on Sunday with the first round beginning on Tuesday. That’s another four-game journey just to reach the state finals on either Mar. 14 or 15 in Sacramento.

“Like I tell my girls, great opportunities come from great work ethic, and we wouldn’t be here if they didn’t have the work ethic,” said Jacobs. “We can’t sit here and dwell. We just have to continue to play and continue to work.”