Pasadena, CA – The location was Pasadena City College in San Gabriel Valley, but the stadium was filled with competitors and supporters alike, from the valley just to the north, the San Fernando. On that bright and hot day, it was CIF Los Angeles City Section girls basketball finals between number one seed Kennedy Golden Cougars, and number two seed El Camino Real Royals. The teams were introduced, the national anthem played, 4 p.m. struck and tip off went to Kennedy – a foreshadowing of how the Golden Cougars would control the game, en route to a 54-31 victory.

Kennedy struck first. Junior Abbigail Gomez immediately made her presence known. First she opened the scoring with a three and followed with a field goal giving Kennedy a quick 5-0 lead. Royals senior and co-captain Lauryn Valdivia, was fouled and sent to the line, giving El Camino their first point of the game. Senior guard Sophie Levy-Wright followed with a three-pointer, leaving the Royals trailing 6-4.  Kennedy continued to set the pace, however, forcing three turnovers late in the quarter. Gomez punctuated the quarter the way she started it, hitting a quarter-ending three, making the score 12-6.

The second quarter began like the first ended, with Kennedy running the board and putting the defensive pressure on El Camino.The Golden Cougars kept forcing turnovers, one of which resulted in another three, this time by freshman Sophia Rodriguez.  The Royals answered right back with a three of their own by junior co-captain Neve Vargas, making the score 15-9.  El Camino would add another bucket to their total this quarter, but that’s all Kennedy would allow as the Golden Cougars held the Royals to just five points in the quarter, while adding 12 more points to their lead.

One sequence saw Gomez grab the board and dish it to senior and co-captain Jocy Avelar, who went up for two. Senior Janine Pineda added a steal resulting in two points of her own as well. A steal from Avelar created an opportunity for Melanie Mendez to pass it to fellow co-captain Zoe Tzour.  Mendez finished the half with a statement three creating Kennedy’s largest lead yet, 27-11.

El Camino began the second half with Valdivia getting a quick two and sophomore guard Doriah Holden, making one of two free throws and adding to ECR’s total 29-14.  Senior Cierra Jadesimi and Avelar combined for five points in response with a field goal and three pointer respectively. Gomez continued to dominate offensively for Kennedy with three more field goals and an offensive rebound, bringing her point total for the game 20. This time it was freshman point guard Amelia Lozano making a quarter-ending three for El Camino Real bringing the score to 21-42.

As the fourth quarter began, El Camino felt the pressure and applied it.  Time was running out and a late game push was necessary. Valdivia led her team in trying to stage a comeback. She scored off the bat, added a three a few possessions later and created foul opportunities, getting to the line twice, converting two of her four free throws to close the gap slightly 46-31.  All momentum generated by Valdivia came to a halt when Jadesimi went up for a huge block, squelching any more points for the Royals. The Golden Cougars continued their surge as Mendez added a three and a late basket to seal the victory.  Mendez finished with 11 points including three three-pointers.

Kennedy Golden Cougars defeated El Camino Real Royals 54-31 to capture the CIF Los Angeles City Section D1 championship.

Next up, El Camino will play Savanna in Anaheim and Kennedy will play San Jacinto at home, both on Tuesday, March 3 at 7 p.m. in round one of the CIF State Championships.