Windward Opens Playoffs with Wins

The real season has begun for Windward High's girls basketball team and so the Wildcats used Thursday night's CIF Southern Section Division 4AA first round playoff game to demonstrate why they are rated one of the best teams in the state of California, in any division. 

Looking every bit like the reigning CIF and state champions that they are, the Wildcats dominated visiting Nipomo from the opening tip-off, with Courtney Jaco, Troye Mosely and Paris Baird each scoring 19 points and Imani Stafford adding 16 points and eight blocks in a 98-14 victory.

The game was just as one-sided as the score would indicate. Windward outscored the Titans by a wide margin in all four quarters: 34-3 in the first, 29-4 in the second, 18-2 in the third and 17-5 in the fourth.   

Coach Steve Smith used his entire bench and nine of the Wildcats' 10 players scored at least one basket. Emily Surloff netted 10 points, Jordin Canada had six points and eight assists, Amelia Goldstein scored four points, Macchiati Smith had three points and Kristin Simon added two. Baird also had six steals, four assists and 12 rebounds while Jaco and Carol Powell had five steals apiece.

Nipomo (5-21) finished fifth in the Los Padres League and earned an at-large berth into the playoffs. Top-seeded Windward (24-3), the Alpha League champion, advanced to a second-round matchup Saturday at 16th-seeded Workman, an 83-64 victor over Harvard-Westlake.

If seedings hold up, Windward would meet Del Rey League champion and last year's Division V state finalist St. Bernard in the semifinals. Tri-Valley League winner Oaks Christian is the No. 2 seed and would not face the Wildcats until the finals. Windward beat Bishop Montgomery to win the CIF-SS Division 4AA title last winter and went on to clip St. Mary's of Albany, 51-47, in the state final at Arco Arena in Sacramento.

Workman, located in the City of Industry, finished runner-up to Duarte in the Montview League. The Lobos (23-5) are led by senior guard Evelyn Herrera, who averages 26.7 points, 6.1 steals and 5.1 assists per game. She tied her season-high with 37 points in the home win against Harvard-Westlake.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Though not quite as dominant as the girls, the Wildcats' boys squad posted a resounding 88-57 first-round victory over Pasadena La Salle Wednesday night, also in Division 4AA. 

Playing on its home court, fifth-seeded Windward (19-8) had a 26-15 lead through one quarter and increased its advantage to 27 points by halftime. Senior guard/forward Jordan Hill scored 16 points for the visiting Lancers (13-14), who finished fourth in the Del Rey League.

Small forward Nicholas Stover is one of the team captains and the senior sure played like one, leading the Wildcats with 20 points. Stover has signed a letter of intent to play nearby at Loyola Marymount University next year.

The Wildcats, who tied for first place in the Alpha League with Pacific Hills, will play another team from Pasadena in the second round Friday night when they travel to 11th-seeded Maranatha (20-6), the Olympic League runner-up, which beat Twentynine Palms 69-59 in the first round. 

If seedings hold, Windward would meet No. 4-seeded L.A. Price in the quarterfinals Feb. 21 and then top-seeded Gardena Serra in the semifinals three days later. Last year, Coach Miguel Villegas and the Wildcats lost to Orange Lutheran 78-71 in the Southern Section Division 4AA finals but rebounded to win the state title over Richmond Salesian, 63-57.