STUDIO CITY — The Rancho Christian girls basketball team halted Harvard-Westlake’s CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoff run with a 60-44 win Saturday night.
The Wolverines (19-19) will continue their season in the state playoffs after winning in the quarterfinals. and they are no stranger to postseason success at the state level. They lost in the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals last season but continued on to win a CIF State Division II title.
“Losing, as bad as it is, there’s healthy ways of losing,” Harvard-Westlake interim head coach Alex Nailes said. “I think this team has been resilient on that. They come back fighting, ready to go.”
The Wolverines struggled to contain Rancho Christian’s Julia Wilson, a Gonzaga commit who scored 29 points in the game.
“Tip my hat to her, she had an incredible game,” Nailes said. “She got to her spots, she got what she wanted. I didn’t have us prepared enough for what was to come from her. She was too comfortable throughout the game.”
Ebony Taylor-Smith was 4-for-4 on free throws in the second quarter for the Eagles (25-8).
Bella Spencer scored 18 points for Harvard-Westlake and Deanna Thompson added 14 points.
Rancho Christian’s defense smothered Harvard-Westlake in the paint, trapping players and double-teaming Spencer.
While the defense was occupied with Spencer, it freed up Thompson. The senior guard scored 12 points in the first half and made three baskets in a row to contribute seven points in the first frame, which kept the Wolverines in the game despite trailing 11-7.
“She was aggressive, she attacked when she could,” Nailes said. “Ultimately, she helped out and she carried offensively and gave us opportunities to be successful on the offensive end.”
Spencer hit a euro step layup and made a jump shot in the second quarter as she worked her way around defenders. Offensive rebounding generated scoring chances, too, and sophomore Oyinkansola Iriafen pulled down plenty of them.
“Her energy and her natural instinct for the game is incredible,” Nailes said of Iriafen. “She’s still learning how to play, still growing. But the steps that she’s taken this year have been tremendous. We’re coaching her in a way to be aggressive, be a great rebounder, a great screener.”
Harvard-Westlake pulled its starters in the last 1:30 of the game after Rancho Christian escalated its lead with free throws. The Eagles went 12-for-12 from the charity stripe in the second half.
The Wolverines’ loss came a day after the Harvard-Westlake boys team fell to Notre Dame in the third round of CIF-SS Open Division pool play.
Brackets for the CIF State playoffs will be available in the late afternoon Sunday.
Other girls basketball scores Saturday
Open Division: Ontario Christian 61, Sierra Canyon 52
Division 2AA: Oak Park 67, Portola 23
Division 2A: Rolling Hills Prep 57, Burroughs 45