After gaining control of a deflected pass, South Pasadena’s Dylan Tse had one thing on her mind — push the ball up the court. The senior guard took three dribbles and fired a one-handed pass to Kayla Boozer near the right elbow of the key.

Boozer, a 6-foot front-court player, gathered the pass out of the air and spun over her right shoulder in one motion into the middle of the paint before rising between all five San Marino players for a 3-foot shot.

Splash.

It is a connection that worked all night for South Pasadena’s girls basketball team in a 66-22 win over the Titans on Jan. 19, and it’s a connection the Tigers (24-4 overall) hope can replicate its recent playoff success.

It would be tough to find a better one-two punch among the local teams.

Tse is averaging 27 points and six rebounds a game and Boozer, a junior, averages 24 points and 14 rebounds.

Advancing in the CIF Southern Section playoffs won’t be easy because the Rio Hondo League champions have a giant task in Thursday’s CIF-SS Division 2AA opener. The Tigers will host Palomares League tri-champion Glendora (24-4) in one of the area’s most anticipated games in the first round.

The Tigers are no stranger to big games.

During the the 2020-21 season that was shortened because of COVID, the Tigers advanced to the Division 3A semifinals and lost in the CIF State Southern California Regional Division 4AA championship.

That Tigers team relied on the Tse sisters, Allysan and Dylan, who was a freshman at the time.

The next season, the Tigers finished 26-3 and lost to Brentwood in the Division 2A quarterfinals. They reached the second round last year.

In the playoffs, South Pasadena coach Cody Masden hopes to capitalize on his experienced duo.

“I’m super blessed to have had these players come through South Pasadena and our program is blessed,” Masden said. “The biggest thing we try to tell all the kids is the goals we set out at the beginning of the season, for some people, seem tough to accomplish (like) winning a CIF championship or trying to win a state division championship. Not every school gets this kind of opportunity, and it is trying to get them to realize these moments, these few years, they end eventually — make the most of it.”

The Tigers’ current tandem has accounted for about 65% of the Tigers’ 71.41 points per game average. It is a 15-point per game increase from last season.

Tse, a member of the team’s strong playoff runs in 2021 and ’22, has raised her level in her final high school season. The two-time Pasadena Star News All-Area guard and South Pasadena’s all-time leading scorer is averaging seven more points than a year ago and has been better on the boards too.

Tse’s scoring production, especially from beyond the arc, has complemented Boozer’s interior scoring presence and passing from the elbow. Boozer is a dominant double-double machine who also adds nearly two blocks per game. She has increased her scoring and rebounding significantly from a year ago.

“Having a big as a guard is crucial,” Tse said of her partnership with Boozer. “We work on ball screens a lot (where) I can find her on the roll … or it’s an easy lob pass. I just know she’ll have my back.”

With Boozer’s length, ball-handing ability and smooth fade-away jumper paired with Tse’s shooting range and playmaking, the Tigers’ offensive tactical options are “super fun” to game plan for, Masden said. Not only do the Tigers have their frenetic, up-tempo style of cutting and passing, but they also can initiate their offense from post entries and focus on inside-out play thanks to Boozer’s versatility.

While Tse and Boozer’s statistical output may suggest high usage from the duo, the Tigers offense is far from that.

“It opens the court a lot more when we’re the focus,” Boozer said of the defensive attention she and Tse draw. “The defense crashes in, especially when I’m in the post. There’s maybe two or three defenders coming in and almost on every play, the weak side is open for a (3-pointer) or the cut … for our teammates.”

Much like the individual production and success, the collective regular-season wins have been equally as frequent over the last four seasons — especially in league play, where they have won four straight Rio Hondo League titles.

But the difficulties in each of their two previous playoff runs have come from adjusting to the level of competition they face in the playoffs.

To combat this, Masden sprinkled challenging nonleague games into the schedule during league play to keep the team sharp for the playoffs. But that came with a catch.

Over the final few weeks, the Tigers scheduled two-time CIF-SS champion La Salle and St. Paul; they lost to the Lancers and hammered the Swordsmen.

“That’s been our biggest challenge,” Masden said of finding the best path to being playoff-ready. “And the tough part about that, it’s tough on their bodies, mind and school.”