Girls’ Basketball: Oilers qualify for state tourney
The CIF Southern Section office announced on Wednesday what the Huntington Beach girls’ basketball team already knew.
Upon reaching the CIF-SS Division 1A championship game, the Oilers (22-7) have been entered into the CIF State Tournament.
“The girls and I are very excited knowing we will be playing at least two more games,” Oilers Coach Russell McClurg said in a text.
The Southern California Regionals will begin on March 8.
Huntington Beach has reached the divisional finals, despite having a heavily uneven roster. The Oilers have six seniors and four freshmen.
Concordia-bound forward Frankie Wade-Sanchez leads Orange County in scoring, averaging 21.9 points per game.
The Division 1A title game will be played against Torrance Bishop Montgomery (20-9) on the campus of Azusa Pacific University at 5 p.m.
Seniors Kaylyn Nakaji and Wade-Sanchez sustained injuries that they are recovering from in Saturday’s semifinal at Esperanza.
Nakaji dislocated her left pinkie finger in shootaround before the game. She started and played the whole game. Wade-Sanchez sprained her left ankle after landing on a defender on a jump shot. She was able to return.
Both are considered probable for Friday’s championship game.
Senior forward Rachel Harris and freshman center Xolani Hodel play on the girls’ soccer team, which was eliminated in the Division 1 semifinals by top-seeded JSerra Tuesday night.
Hodel was involved in several collisions. After multiple falls late in the second half, she regained her feet, but she was grabbing at her neck as she did so.
No update has been given on her status, although Hodel was able to complete the soccer game.
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