Girls Basketball moves on to CIF State Tournament

By Nick Lee
Staff Writer

Girls basketball moved on to the California Interscholastic Federation State Tournament as the third seed after losing to Redondo Union High school in the Division II CIF Southern Section championship.
In the championship game on March 7, both teams started on even footing, but as the game progressed, the Mustangs were unable to keep up with Redondo’s high intensity offense, losing 60-37.
“Redondo knows us and our plays very well,” coach John Lapham said. “We weren’t able to run our plays correctly.”
In the third round of the Southern Section CIF tournament on Feb. 25, the Mustangs silenced the Bulldogs with a crushing victory at West Covina. They came out of the gate ready to play and held their solid lead throughout the game, winning 63-35.
“We played aggressively,” Lapham said. “We exploited their 2-3 zone to create more open looks.”
In the March 3 semifinal Southern Section game at Norco, the Mustangs made a comeback in the fourth quarter, moving on to the ill-fated championship game against Redondo. Norco had held a steady lead for the majority of the game. Costa struggled with Norco’s offense at the beginning, but eventually gained momentum, winning 59-51.
“We went into State with a lot of intensity after losing in the finals,” Lapham said. “Now the girls are determined for their rematch with Redondo in the third round.”