St. Bernard Girls Hoops Advances

There is a reason why the St. Bernard High girls' basketball team is having such an easy time so far in the CIF Southern Section playoffs: opposing teams are simply not as strong as the competition the Lady Vikings faced every night in the Del Rey League this season.

Another playoff contest resulted in yet another one-sided result for No. 1-seeded St. Bernard, which beat No. 8-seeded La Canada Flintridge Sacred Heart 63-33 on the road in the Division 5AA quarterfinals Wednesday night. 

Head coach Bo Corona's squad (20-13) has won its first three postseason games against Frazier Mountain, Louisville and Flintridge Sacred heart by an average of 39.3 points and will take on league rival Santa Fe Springs St. Paul (19-11), the No. 4 seed, in the semifinals Saturday at 7 p.m. 

The Lady Vikings defeated St. Paul by scores of 64-59 and 62-54 in Del Rey League play. The winner of Saturday's semifinal will play either No. 2 Santa Clara or No. 3 Montclair Prep in the finals at Anaheim Convention Center.

Boys Basketball

The second-seeded Vikings (22-7), under first-year coach Reggie Morris, are also still alive and play No. 3 Montclair Prep (22-8) from Van Nuys in the semifinals Friday at 7 p.m. at St. Genevieve High in Panorama City.

The winner will play either top-seeded Sierra Canyon or No. 4 Pasadena Poly for the championship March 4 or 5 at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana. 

St. Bernard won its 15th consecutive game with Tuesday's 92-60 rout of eighth-seeded Ribet Academy in the quarterfinals at the Vikings' gym in Playa del Rey. Brandon Randolph led the way with 25 points and six assists.