Coming off a weekend playing against competitive teams in non-league action, Mira Costa’s girls basketball team and Redondo’s boys and girls squads get set to make their runs for Bay League titles.
Mira Costa will play host when the rivals play in the first of two meetings on Tuesday. Girls action takes place at 6 p.m. followed by the boys at 7:30 p.m.
The girls contest should determine first place in the Bay League as Redondo seeks its third straight league title. The game will mark the fifth consecutive opponent the Sea Hawks have faced that is ranked in the CIF-Southern Section polls.
Redondo suffered two close losses over the holiday weekend. On Saturday, The Sea Hawks lost to Orangewood Academy 41-37 after holding a 21-16 lead at halftime. Orangewood is ranked No. 4 in Division 1A while Redondo is ranked No. 15 in Division 1AA and is on the watch list to play in the elite Open Division during the postseason.
Competing in the MLK Classic at Serra High School on Monday, Redondo’s rally fell short in a 52-44 loss against Troy, ranked No. 13 in Division 1AA.
Troy held a 10-point advantage with five minutes remaining but the scrappy Sea Hawks showed their resiliency.
Alyssa Munn reeled off four points and Lauren Tsuneishi and Lane Arkangel each nailed 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 44-42.
But Redondo had no answer to Troy’s Kiana Smith who scored 11 points in the final four minutes to seal the victory.
Redondo (9-7, 3-0) returned to Bay League action Tuesday and got back on track with a 56-18 rout against visiting Palos Verdes is ranked No. 4 in the Division 3AA poll.
Lauren Tsuneishi scored a team-high 12 points for the Sea Hawks and Dylan Horton and Nicole Swift had eight points each. Makenna Peneueta added seven points and four assists in the win.
The Sea Hawks travel to Peninsula (No. 10, Div. 3AA) for a 6 p.m. contest on Friday leading up to their showdown with Mira Costa.
Mira Costa (11-7, 3-0) is on the bubble to get back into the top 16 in Division 1A and throttled Morningside 65-8 on Tuesday. Allie Navarette had a game-high 15 points, Jen Brooks added nine points and Kira Escovar recorded seven points and seven assists,
Navarette needs only 19 points to reach 1,500 points in her prep career and will have a good shot at setting the mark when the Mustangs play at Inglewood Friday at 6 p.m.
Mira Costa enjoyed a successful road trip to Stockton on Saturday.
Competing in the St. Mary’s Shootout, Mira Costa defeated San Joaquin Section power Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 58-41 behind senior guard Halle Maeda’s 18-point performance.
Allie Navarette recorded 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots for the Mustangs who will host Morningside at 6 p.m. on Friday.
Mira Costa won its second straight Bay League game last Friday with a 46-22 win against Palos Verdes. Haley Herdman led the charge for the Mustangs with 13 points while Maeda and Lauren Chao each scored eight points.
Mira Costa Head Coach John Lapham is looking forward to another classic game against Redondo.
“We expect a typically tough game with Redondo.,” Lapham said. “They always play excellent defense, and we will have to earn everything we get. In order to win, we will have to rebound well, take care of the ball, and play our own tough defense.”
Lapham feels his team is playing better as his players get healthy but expects the teams on the hill to be in the mix for the league title.
“I think PV is really tough this season,” Lapham said. “They have a high quality point guard, some size, and play a very difficult 1-2-2 zone. Peninsula will also be tough. They gave us all we could handle at their gym last week.”
