CIF state basketball championships

GIRLS DIVISION I

CARONDELET VS. SAGE HILL

Records: Carondelet 29-6, Sage Hill (Newport Beach) 23-11

Tipoff: Today at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, 6 p.m.

Storylines: After coming within a last-second shot by Bishop O’Dowd last season from making it to Sacramento, Carondelet broke through and will be playing at the Golden 1 Center after defeating St. Mary’s-Stockton on Tuesday. … The Concord school is appearing in its fifth state title game and its first since former coach Margaret Gartner led the Cougars to four finals in the 2000s. … Carondelet’s only win was in 2004 against Troy-Fullerton in D-II. … Sage Hill won the D-II state title in 2022. … Carondelet is the seventh consecutive Bay Area team to reach the D-I final. … The Cougars’ top player is versatile 6-foot-2 forward Layla Dixon, who can defend any position while passing, scoring and shooting at a high level. … Complementing her in the Cougars backcourt is guard Sophia Ross, a high-volume shooter who is also capable of breaking down a defense off the dribble. Forward Niylah Christopher has established herself as a reliable scoring option and inside presence despite being a 5-9 freshman. … Celeste Alvarez and Olivia Smith bring more athleticism and hard-nosed defense to Carondelet’s front line. ... Carondelet was seeded No. 3 in the NorCal Division I bracket and avenged its loss to O’Dowd in the quarterfinals before eliminating Cardinal Newman and St. Mary’s. … Sage Hill took its licks against SoCal’s powerhouses. But the Newport Beach school capitalized on being seeded second in the SoCal Division I regional and beat Windward in the final. … Sage Hill is led by sophomore guard Amalia Holguin, who is the last of the “Mamba 5,” a group of Sage Hill players trained by the late Kobe Bryant. The other four are now playing college basketball.

– Joseph Dycus

BOYS DIVISION III

THE KING’S ACADEMY VS. SAN GABRIEL ACADEMY

Records: The King’s Academy 27-4, San Gabriel Academy 20-13

Tipoff: Today at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, 2 p.m.

Storylines: Even with a roster filled with young players, The King’s Academy ran through the NorCal playoffs like a group of seasoned veterans. Having five players who can put up 20 points or more on any given night certainly helps. ... Freshman sensation Boss Mhoon does a little bit of everything for TKA, but is a three-level scorer who can get his shot off at any time. Senior Caedmon Dickson, the West Bay Athletic League Player of the Year, and junior guard Claxton Ladine form a lethal shooting combo that forces opposing teams to run the Knights off the 3-point line. Junior point guard Xavier Barnett is a crafty point guard who puts pressure on the rim, and senior Karan Kolappa is a beast down low. ... Led by head coach Cameron Bradford, TKA has gone on an impressive postseason run that includes beating Carmel in the CCS Division III title game and notching wins over Pleasant Valley, Aptos, Carlmont and Palo Alto to get to the state final. ... A state championship won’t come easy for the Sunnyvale school. San Gabriel Academy boasts an athletic lineup that includes 6-foot-11, four-star sophomore Mahamadou Diop and 6-4 junior Mamadou Traore. Diop scored 16 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked 7 shots in a 58-49 win over Maranatha in the SoCal final. ... The Eagles have played a gantlet of a schedule that includes losses to SoCal powerhouses Sierra Canyon, Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks and Harvard-Westlake. ... TKA will be looking to capture its first state title to cap what has been the greatest season in program history.

– Nathan Canilao

GIRLS DIVISION IV

HALF MOON BAY VS. WHITNEY-CERRITOS

Records: Half Moon Bay 23-7, Whitney 27-9

Tipoff: Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, 10 a.m.

Storylines: Both teams advanced as No. 2 seeds in their regionals and are making their first trip to a state championship game. … Half Moon Bay reached this point by winning four regional games after losing to Harker in the semifinals of the Central Coast Section Division IV playoffs. … Whitney advanced to Sacramento by doing the same thing, prevailing in four regional games after losing in the semifinals of its section playoffs. In Whitney’s case, it got some revenge along the way, beating Cantwell-Sacred Heart-Montebello in the regional final on Tuesday after losing the CSH in the sectional playoffs. … Half Moon Bay needed a dramatic finish to edge Lowell-San Francisco in the NorCal Division IV final on Tuesday as Delaney Dorwin’s basket with 9 seconds left broke a tie and lifted the coastal school to a 49-47 victory. … Zoey Lemoge, Xochitl Nieves and Dorwin have been HMB’s primary offensive threats, each scoring in double figures during the regional semifinals and final. … HMB’s defense was steady throughout regional play as the Cougars allowed 44.75 points per game in their victories over St. Patrick-St. Vincent, West Campus-Sacramento, Rio Linda and Lowell. … Whitney is averaging 55.75 points in its regional wins but called on its defense to help lead the way on Tuesday against CSH, holding the SoCal runner-up scoreless for the first 6 minutes of the fourth quarter in a comeback victory. Whitney won 47-42 behind 22 points from sophomore guard Alyssa So. Haylie Wang added 16 points, 10 in the final quarter.

– Darren Sabedra

BOYS DIVISION IV

PRIORY VS. FRESNO CHRISTIAN

Records: Priory 25-6, Fresno Christian 30-6

Tipoff: Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, noon

Storylines: Size will be the name of the game if Priory is able to pull off a run all the way to the Division IV state championship. The Portola Valley-based Panthers boast a supersized front line led by 6-foot-8 junior Mate Palotai and 6-6 Teddy Xanthopoulos. They’re the only skyscrapers on the roster, but the rest of the Priory team doesn’t lack size either. The Panthers have nine other players listed on their roster as 6-foot or taller: 6-1 Kasten Eggers, 6-2 Noah Gallon, 6-1 Charlie Conn, 6-0 Michael Hildebrandt, 6-1 Lincoln Bernard, 6-0 Balazs Nyikos, 6-0 Aidan Ji, 6-1 Max Grudin and 6-1 Caden Harris. In addition to its prodigious size across the board, Priory is balanced offensively. Palotai leads the way with 15.1 points, but Gerrodette (13.3), Xanthopoulos (13.0) and Nyikos (10.9) all average in double figures. Eggers (8.6), Hildebrandt (8.1) and Gallon (7.8) provide consistent scoring punch as well. Priory defeated Natomas (66-65), Berkeley (69-48) and Santa Cruz (60-48) in the NorCal championship bracket to chart its course to the state capital. The Panthers finished third in the West Bay Athletic League during the regular season with a league record of 7-3, trailing NorCal Division III champion The King’s Academy (9-1) and Sacred Heart Prep (8-2), which lost in the Division III first round. The Panthers handed TKA its lone loss in league play, a 68-65 defeat on Feb. 4 in Portola Valley. Priory won the CCS Division V championship, its sixth D-V section crown since 2015 under coach David Moseley. The Panthers had not won a section title prior to that year but had been a runner-up five times. The NorCal title was Priory’s first in school history. The Panthers previously had made a regional final one other time, losing in the D-V title game in 2019. Thus, a state title this year would also be a first.

– Christian Babcock