The CIF State high school basketball playoffs started earlier this week and some local teams are battling it out on the courts still. Games are being held at various sites throughout Southern California, including right here in the Temecula Valley.
Girls Brackets:
Paloma Valley knocked off No. 1 seed Righetti in their first-round Division 2-AA match-up at home Tuesday, June 16. The Lady Wildcats won 57-45 and will now travel to play Thursday, June 17, against Mater Dei Catholic at 7 p.m.
In the 3-AA bracket, the Rancho Christian girls (No. 7) faced off against No. 2, Rancho Bernardo, and couldn’t quite keep up with Lady Broncos as they fell 63-38.
The Chaparral Lady Pumas (No. 2) advanced to the Division 3-A semifinals with their 55-38 win over Garfield High School (No. 7) and will take on Del Norte in the semifinal round Thursday, June 17.
Fallbrook rounds things out for the local girls’ teams playing in the State tournament. The Lady Warriors defeated Capistrano Valley Christian in first-round action and will take on No. 1 seed St. Joseph Academy in the semifinals. St. Joseph had a bye in round one.
Boys’ Brackets:
In the Division 2-A bracket, Murrieta Valley was the No. 7 seed and fell to Carlsbad 67-52 in first-round action.
Linfield Christian is the No. 4 seed in the Division 4-AA bracket and defeated No. 5 seed Venice 72-56 in the first round. The Lions will move on to face Hoover (No. 8) Thursday, June 17, in the semifinals, which will take place at Murrieta Mesa High School.
Elsinore was the only other boys’ team that made it into the State playoffs and defeated Crenshaw 85-54 in the first round of the Division 4-A bracket. The Tigers, who are the No. 3 seed, will face Orange Glen Thursday, June 17, in the semifinal round at Orange Glen High School.
Updates on these teams and the rest of the CIF State basketball playoffs, along with game times and sites, can be found at http://www.cifstate.org.
JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.
