RIVERSIDE- There will be a new champion at the Ramona Winter Classic girls basketball tournament in 2024 with King opting not to defend its title
Monday’s final will have an all-Inland area flare to it as Valley View and ancho Cucamonga advanced on Saturday night, with both teams using big runs to propel them to victory.
For a quarter and a half in Saturday’s first semifinal, Ramona went step for step with Valley View, trailing by one with 6:45 until halftime. That’s when the Eagles went on a 15-0 run to take a 29-16 lead.
Valley View’s Mason Long, who led all scorers with 24 points in a 52-45 victory, connected on two of her three first half 3-pointers in that run. The first answered a Jaiden Tibbels 3-pointer and gave Valley View a 17-15 lead just 30 seconds into the second quarter. Her second one pushed the Eagles to a 22-16 lead that became 13 points when Jazmin Chavarria hit an elbow jumper just before halftime.
Gracie Maldonado-Barrios banked in a 3-pointer from the right corner as time expired to push Valley View’s lead to 45-27 after three quarters.
Ramona went 7 of 10 from the free-throw line over a four- minute stretch in the fourth quarter. That, combined with a Diana Najera 3-pointer, cut the deficit to 49-42 with 1:28 left. Olivia Molina then converted a three-point play with 36 seconds left to make it a two-possession game, but the Rams would get no closer. Tibbels finished with 21 points to lead the Rams.
“We definitely got complacent in that fourth quarter but I’m happy that we did what was necessary to pull out a win against a Ramona team that to their credit refused to go away,” Eagles coach Leigh Ann Long said. “We’ve certainly logged the miles this season so it’s nice to have a quality local tournament where family and friends can watch us play and get to sleep in our own beds.”
The second semifinal was a physical, defensive affair that saw last year’s CIF Southern Section Division 4AA runner-up Rancho Cucamonga earn its championship game berth with a 54-39 win over Division 3A quarterfinalist San Jacinto.
Rancho Cucamonga led 16-6 after a quarter before San Jacinto scored five straight points to start the second quarter to cut the deficit to 16-11. Luvlee Sadler converted a three-point play to start the quarter as the Tigers stabilized their deficit at four points going into halftime and finished with 17 points.
Keyera Cameron’s put-back a minute into the third quarter cut Rancho Cucamonga’s lead to 24-22. However, the Cougars responded with a 13-0 run covering three minutes to take a 37-22 lead with 3:50 remaining in that third quarter. Audrina Felix hit two of her three third-quarter 3-pointers during that run and then added another with 45 seconds left to push Rancho Cucamonga to a 41-28 lead after three quarters.
Sadler cut the margin to ten points after hitting a pair of free throws with 1:11 to go, but the Tigers got no closer with Zara Ahiawe connecting on a 3-pointer to provide the final margin for Rancho Cucamonga.
“We’ve been preaching winning the first four minutes of the third quarters and our girls have really done a great job of buying into that last year and so far this year,” Rancho Cucamonga coach Josh Khazali said. “With seven players back from last year’s runner-up team we’re definitely motivated to get back to that stage and finish what we started last season. These are the kinds of games that can only help you in that journey.”
Ndiah Hall had 17 points to lead the Cougars. Ahaiwe added 14 and Felix chipped in 11. Felix was a perfect 3 for 3 from beyond the arc.
Monday’s championship game will tip off at 6:55 P.M. at Ramona High School.
