The CCS semifinals in the Open Division and in divisions I and II are on Tuesday. The Open features two heated rivalries: St. Ignatius versus Sacred Heart Cathedral and Pinewood versus Eastside College Prep. The top four seeds are alive in Divisions I, and in II it’s 1-2-3-5. There figures to be close games at all sites.
OPEN DIVISION – Tuesday at Milpitas High School, 6:00/7:45
#5 Sacred Heart Cathedral (15-10) vs. #1 St. Ignatius (21-4)
Quarterfinal: Sacred Heart Cathedral def. No. 4 Scotts Valley, 50-42; St. Ignatius def. No. 8 Palo Alto, 63-33.
Notable: Addy Walters scored 18 points for St. Ignatius in the win versus Palo Alto.
Outlook: It’s difficult to predict this one. The longtime rivals have met twice this season with wildly different results. Sacred Heart Cathedral won at home in January, 62-50; St. Ignatius won at home in February, 66-38. The Wildcats have a better mark against common opponents: 11-2 versus 9-5. St. Ignatius defeated Pinewood where Sacred Heart could not, and though both teams beat O’Dowd by a similar margin, the Fightin’ Irish also lost one. Against WCAL opponents, each split contests with Mitty, and St. Ignatius had larger margins against Valley Christian but Sacred Heart Cathedral had better versus Presentation.
No. 6 Eastside College Prep (21-4) vs. No. 2 Pinewood (23-2)
Quarterfinal: Eastside College Prep def. No. 3 Mitty, 56-53; Pinewood def. No. 7 Valley Christian, 71-43.
Notable: The Brije Byers-Destiny Graham-Chaccity Cunningham trio did it again for Eastside Prep, accounting for 39 of the team’s points. For Pinewood, a reliable senior in Marissa Hing and a standout freshman in Stella Kailahi each scored 14 points; Kailahi added 10 rebounds.
Outlook: Pinewood needed overtime to beat Eastside Prep in the second head-to-head and won the first outing by 10. Each is 10-0 against common opponents. Though the margins routinely favor Pinewood, and an Eastside win would definitely be an upset, it’s not far-fetched for it to happen, especially in light of Eastside’s win over Mitty.
DIVISION I – Wednesday at Piedmont Hills High School, 5:30/7:30
No. 4 Silver Creek (15-10) vs. No. 1 North Salinas (22-2)
Quarterfinal: Silver Creek def. No. 5 San Benito, 57-41; North Salinas def. No. 8 Homestead, 63-55.
Notable: Madison Hotchkiss, Kiarra Lynch, and Ezcally Lopez combined for 43 points in the quarterfinal.
Outlook: Very little commonality to go on, but North Salinas beat San Benito twice, by 10 and by 15. That would suggest Silver Creek is right on par with a team that ran through the MBAL-Gabilan.
No. 3 Piedmont Hills (22-3) vs. No. 2 Menlo-Atherton (23-5)
Quarterfinal: Piedmont Hills def. No. 3 Cupertino, 49-43; Menlo-Atherton def. No. 7 Carlmont, 55-37.
Notable: Tyiteyana Jefferson and Venus Tran each scored 15 points to lead the Pirates in their win, while Greer Hoyem paced the Bears with 22.
Outlook: Another tough one to call. Piedmont Hills holds an edge against common opponents. The Pirates defeated Silver Creek twice by 17 total while Menlo-Atherton fell to the Raiders by 14. Against Presentation, Piedmont Hills won by three and Menlo-Atherton fell by 11. Yet against Palo Alto, the Bears won by seven while the Pirates lost by 21.
DIVISION II – Tuesday at Oak Grove High School, 5:30/7:30
No. 3 St. Francis (11-14) vs. No. 2 Westmoor (21-7)
Quarterfinal: St. Francis def. #6 Pioneer, 65-53; Westmoor def. #10 Santa Clara, 58-41.
Notable: Yazmeen Goo led the way as usual for Westmoor, with 15 points.
Outlook: Expect a nail-biting finish in this clash. Westmoor eked out a 43-42 win over St. Francis in January. They have three common opponents, all from the WCAL. St. Francis had a win against Sacred Heart Cathedral, but also a loss with a larger margin than that of Westmoor. The Rams fared more poorly against Valley Christian, but not by a significant amount.
No. 5 Los Gatos (20-6) vs. No. 1 Presentation (11-13)
Second Round: Los Gatos def. #12 Lynbrook, 69-31.
Quarterfinal: Los Gatos def. No. 4 Mountain View, 49-42; Presentation def. No. 9 Leland, 71-39.
Notable: In their respective quarterfinals, Los Gatos had a 16-7 first quarter advantage against Mountain View, and Presentation’s Maeve Kavanagh had a team-high 15 points.
Outlook: Presentation should wrap this one up. Don’t let the record fool you—they’re the top seed for a reason. Common opponents are just about equal (Presentation 3-2, Los Gatos 2-2). But in one telling difference, the Panthers managed a 5-point win against Scotts Valley, while Los Gatos lost to the same team by 26.
