LA CANADA — Even though it was senior night for Flintridge Prep’s girls basketball team, the game belonged to junior Maddie Smith.

She made her case for Prep League Most Valuable Player by scoring 25 points as she led the Wolves to a 67-38 win over Pasadena Poly on Friday night.

Flintridge Prep (18-1, 7-0) has now won eight games in a row and has a chance to wrap up the league championship with a win on the road over Rio Hondo Prep on Tuesday.

Pasadena Poly (12-6, 6-1) had its three-game winning streak snapped but will be heading back to the CIF Southern Section playoffs once the regular season wraps up next week.

“We heard that Poly wanted to beat us and they thought they were going to beat us and I think we took it pretty personally,” Smith said. “So we prepped all week. Going into it we were pretty excited just to pull out a great win for our seniors. I think it was a great team win.”

“Sometimes senior nights are difficult because you start playing with a little bit of emotion,” said Flintridge Prep coach Kevin Kiyomura. “But I think we settled down and settled into the game and started to look like ourselves.”

Flintridge Prep has been dominating the Prep League, winning games easily. However, the Wolves found themselves down 7-3 early in the first quarter. They committed five turnovers in the first 3:04 of the game.

“It was definitely emotional,” Smith said about the start of the game on senior night.

Flintridge Prep composed itself and took an 8-7 lead halfway through the opening quarter when Hailey Louie buried a 3. Flintridge Prep never trailed again.

The Wolves led 17-12 after the first quarter but didn’t find their rhythm until the second quarter when Smith took over. She scored 14 points in the period, including the team’s final 10 to cap a 12-2 run that put Flintridge Prep up 39-20 at halftime.

Smith’s final bucket of the quarter came when she picked up a loose ball near halfcourt and raced down for a layup with three seconds left.

“(Smith) definitely steps up for us and takes charge,” Kiyomura said. “She gets everybody involved. It’s definitely tough to stop her because when she has the ball in her hands we have a good chance to score.”

Smith only scored seven points in the second half, but by that time the Wolves already were in control of the game.

Smith’s message to Poly and the Prep League was made loud and clear.

“I definitely wanted to prove a point,” Smith said smiling. “I’m trying to get league MVP so I just wanted to make it known.”

Junior Akemi Fu scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Flintridge Prep while Louie, a sophomore, scored nine points off the bench by hitting three 3s.

All three seniors for Flintridge Prep scored. Olivia Childs had six points and seven rebounds, Caydence Acker scored five points while Gigi Mastras scored two points.

Smith said it’s exciting to be playing for another league championship. The Wolves went undefeated in league play in her first two years at the school.

“It’s also pretty rewarding, especially because of the fires,” Smith said. “We missed about two weeks and seven games. So I think we’re just looking to close out the season with another big win.”

Pasadena Poly is having a solid season despite the setback Friday. The Panthers finished 11-16 last season but are guaranteed to have a winning record this year.

Poly is a rising program in the San Gabriel Valley. The Panthers started three freshmen and a sophomore. Their leading scorer against the Wolves was another freshman who came off the bench. Harper Doyle had 16 points, including two 3-pointers.

Freshman Jessie Yip scored eight points and nailed a 25-foot 3-pointer in the first quarter that looked awfully similar to Caitlin Clark. Freshman Maggie Scholze scored six points. Sophomore Areni Ohanian scored four points.

Poly finishes the regular season Tuesday against Chadwick then will await the announcement of the CIF-SS playoff pairings and divisions on Saturday.