TEMECULA – The Rancho Christian girls’ basketball team has not lost a game at home this season, and with the way things are panning out, it doesn’t look like they will. The Eagles (23-6) won their Wednesday home playoff game against Torrance’s South High School (18-13) by a score of 78-44. The victory marked their 13th straight win on their home court for the newcomers to the Ivy League this season, who also took home the first-place title with their 7-1 record.

Rancho Christian’s Jada Tiggett (0) outjumps South’s Maddie Chung (25) for possession of the ball. Valley News/David Canales photo

South High School was the third-place team from the Pioneer League and were clearly no match for the likes of Aaliyah Stanton, Jada Tiggett and Shaylynn De Yager. The three seniors combined for 67 of the 78 Eagles points on the night, helping Rancho Christian move to the CIF Southern Section Division 3A semifinal round where they will meet up with the Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary Cardinals (Montebello, CA).

Maddie Tang (10 points) and Maddie Chung (11 points) fought to keep South in the game, but a 17-point second quarter outing from Stanton would make a huge difference. Stanton was sent to the foul line four times that quarter, netting 7 of her 8 free throws. She would finish the game with 39 points and 5 steals while Tiggett and De Yager both ended the night with 14 points apiece. Tiggett also brought down 16 rebounds.

Aaliyah Stanton (1), who had 39 points for Rancho Christian on the night, lays up a shot against South High School Wednesday, Feb. 15. Valley News/David Canales photo

The Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary girls’ varsity basketball team is 18-8 overall and defeated Calvary Chapel 48-44 to advance to their side of the bracket. The Cardinals will welcome Rancho Christian to their home court Saturday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m. This matchup will come down to who wants it more between the team leaders Aaliyah Stanton or Laila Salazar.

Stanton is averaging 30.7 points per game, with 4 steals. Salazar is averaging 11.1 points per game. The winner of the semifinal matchup between Rancho Christian and Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary will take on the winner of the Chino vs. Campbell Hall semifinal game in the finals Saturday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. More information on the remaining games, or to view past results, visit www.cifss.org.

JP Raineri

JP is an award-winning multimedia journalist, and head of the Sports Department for the Valley News. As a former Southwestern League head baseball coach, and former President of the Temecula Youth Baseball league (TYB), JP was also a local on-air radio personality at All Pro Broadcasting and was a television host for the Outdoor Channel. When not covering local, or national sports, JP also works for the Media Technology Department for Major League Baseball.

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