PASADENA — The Verdugo Hills girls basketball team defeated George Washington Prep 50-43 in the CIF L.A. City Section Division I championship game Saturday afternoon.
Verdugo Hills (25-6) was able to grab the victory with a 7-0 run in the final two minutes of the game.
It is the Dons’ fourth City Section title in girls basketball.
Amiyya Castanos led the way for Verdugo Hills with 27 points and also had three steals.
Verdugo Hills had a very strong defensive performance that included forcing 13 turnovers. The most points the Dons allowed in a quarter was 12 in the second quarter.
“This group I’ve had them together for a number of years, half of them for four years,” Verdugo Hills coach Kevin Peterson Henry said. “Where we started was building our defense first and they’ve bought in. We’re real aggressive and I knew that we could rely on defense to help preserve the win.”
Castanos came out of the gates hot, scoring 20 of her 27 points in the first half to help Verdugo Hills jump out to a 31-23 halftime lead. Twelve of the sophomore’s 20 points in the first half came from 3-point shots.
“She’s not even close to her ceiling yet, she’s just a smooth shooter,” Peterson Henry said of Castanos.
Castanos’ fifth 3-pointer of the game came in the third quarter, but Verdugo Hills struggled most of the period, scoring only nine points.
Senior Rayleen Castanos, the sister of Amiyya, finished the game with 12 points, five rebounds and two steals.
“I was feeling really great with my shot,” Amiyya Castanos said. “I feel like at the end of the day, with our team’s chemistry and having faith in each other, we can always get the dub.”
The Verdugo defense clamped down in the fourth quarter, holding Washington to nine points.
The Castanos sisters also combined to score nine of the 11 points for the Dons in the final quarter of play.
Elaine Oh finished the game with eight points and three assists for Verdugo Hills.
“It honestly feels amazing to win the championship,” Rayleen Castanos said. “We work our butts off every single day. We just communicate and have trust with each other on defense, and we’ve been doing that all year.”
Jaleyah Lucien had 17 points with six rebounds and three steals for Washington. Mahagany Byrd had six points and 10 rebounds for the Generals.
“The team played hard, we had to fight through a lot,” Washington coach Orlandes Lee said. “I’m so proud to coach them and I’m so proud they let me coach them.”
Verdugo Hills won the East Valley League this season by going 11-1 in league play.
Verdugo Hills and Washington both qualified for the CIF State Regional playoffs that begin next week.