Huntington Beach girls’ basketball can’t stop second-seeded El Segundo

Sophomore forward Emily Hoang had 24 points and nine rebounds, but host Huntington Beach lost to El Segundo, 63-51, on Saturday night in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3AA girls’ basketball playoffs.

The Oilers bowed out of the postseason, due in large part to the contributions of a dynamic duo of freshmen for the Eagles in point guard Sofia Rozell and forward Avery Pintens.

Rozell matched the game-high total with 24 points, weaving through traffic and earning nine attempts from the foul line. She scored 21 points by halftime, when the second-seeded Eagles held a 37-19 lead.

Pintens made her mark with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and two steals. She stretched the floor with a trio of three-pointers for El Segundo (19-11).

“They’ve been playing with each other since fifth grade together, so it’s a blessing to have both of them on the court at the same time,” El Segundo coach Terrence Wilson said. “It helps out with everybody else on the court, as well. We get easy opportunities for the others because of them.”

Both teams had a plan to keep the ball out of the hands of difference-makers, although neither really checked that box. Huntington Beach coach Russell McClurg said he felt the Oilers were “a step behind” on defense and did not stop the Eagles’ best players from dribbling with their dominant hand.

“I’m sitting there going, ‘Everyone’s going left,’” McClurg said. “Their two freshmen, those are the players that you’ve got to stop, and we game planned for that. We struggled so bad defensively. We just didn’t get it done tonight. It’s frustrating.”

Hoang had six field goals after the break, including both of her three-pointers, as the Oilers attempted to mount a comeback.

Emma Miyai and Hoang both connected on threes from the left wing within a span of just over a minute, cutting the deficit to 58-51 with 2:50 remaining — the closest the score had been since the first quarter.

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The Chargers score three early goals en route to a 4-1 triumph over the visiting Musketeers on Saturday in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys’ soccer playoffs.

Feb. 18, 2025

The Eagles made good on a second-chance opportunity about a minute later, Pintens polishing it off with a three to restore the double-digit advantage.

El Segundo will play host to Culver City in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Wilson said the Eagles have matched the deepest postseason run in program history. El Segundo made its most recent quarterfinals appearance in the Division 3A bracket in 2019.

Miyai scored 11 points, making three shots from distance to propel her to that total. Taylor Savage, who transferred to Huntington Beach (17-13) from Edison this season, had nine points, 13 rebounds and six steals. Cameron Kim had four points and two steals, and Traci Ann Mori distributed four assists.

“I’m proud of the kids,” McClurg said. “We played hard, and we had a great year with three returning kids. I only had three returners. Taylor was a great addition — let’s say that’s four. The rest of them were all JV players, new to the game, really playing at a higher level. I was very happy this year.”

Huntington Beach finished fifth in the Sunset League, but it notched a signature win with a second-half upset at Corona del Mar, which shared the league championship with Los Alamitos and Fountain Valley.

CIF Southern Section Division 3AA playoffs

El Segundo 63, Huntington Beach 51

El Segundo 18 - 19 - 16 - 10 — 63

Huntington Beach 9 - 10 - 18 - 14 — 51

ES — Rozell 24, Pintens 20, Sabosky 10, Cooley 7, Michel 2.

3-pt. goals — Pintens 3, Rozell 3, Cooley 1.

Fouled out — None.

Technicals — None.

HB — Hoang 24, Miyai 11, Savage 9, Kim 4, Mori 3.

3-pt. goals — Miyai 3, Hoang 2, Savage 1, Mori 1.

Fouled out — None.

Technicals — None.

Also in the CIF Southern Section girls’ basketball playoffs:

Ontario Christian 68, Sage Hill 35: Kamdyn Klamberg paced the Lightning with 15 points against the top-seeded Knights on Saturday to begin pool play in the Open Division.

Amalia Holguin added 11 points for Sage Hill (19-9), which will remain on the road to face fourth-seeded Chatsworth Sierra Canyon (26-1) on Wednesday and fifth-seeded Torrance Bishop Montgomery (21-4) on Saturday, Feb. 22.

Ontario Christian improved to 25-1 overall.

Whittier Pioneer 52, Marina 33: Anaya Rivera had a team-best 10 points for the visiting Vikings on Saturday in the second round of the Division 2A playoffs.

Maria Tejeda added seven points and two steals for Marina (18-12).

Marina coach Daniel Roussel said leading scorer Rylee Bradley left the game in the first quarter due to a dislocated shoulder.

San Pedro Rolling Hills Prep 48, Fountain Valley 34: The fourth-seeded Barons dropped a second-round road contest in the Division 2A bracket on Saturday.

Fountain Valley (19-10) had a three-game winning streak snapped, its fourth such streak of the season.

Chino 42, Corona del Mar 27: Sophomore center Tess Oldenburg had 19 points, 10 rebounds, seven blocks and four steals to guide the visiting Cowboys past the Sea Kings on Saturday in the second round of the Division 2A playoffs.

Third-seeded Chino (21-5) plays host to Oak Hills (17-11) in a quarterfinal game on Wednesday.

Corona del Mar (18-11) was eliminated from the postseason by Chino for the second year in a row.

Temecula Chaparral 40, Pacifica Christian Orange County 36: The top-seeded Tritons dropped a close game on the road on Saturday in the second round of the Division 3AA playoffs.

Zetta Faasua had 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead Chaparral (16-10), which plays at Downey (16-14) in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Vivian Villagrana had 14 points to lead Pacifica Christian (13-15). Caylie Villagrana added 10 points, and Angie Martinez contributed 10 rebounds and six blocks.

Savanna 46, Laguna Beach 29: Kate Cheng scored 13 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Breakers against the top-seeded Rebels on Saturday in a Division 4AA playoff game in Anaheim.

Fiona McCormick added eight points and Lilly Alvarado chipped in with six points for Laguna Beach (20-10). The Breakers were the Pacific Hills League champions.

Costa Mesa 42, Capistrano Valley Christian 21: Leilani Quero led all scorers with 16 points, as the fourth-seeded Mustangs advanced to the Division 5AA quarterfinals with a road win on Saturday.

Aaliyah Terry added seven points for Costa Mesa (14-14), which will be home to face Ojai Nordhoff on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Yanelly Martinez and Ariana Mendoza each had six points.

Costa Mesa returns to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2019, when it lost at Montclair 41-31 in the same division.

Jurupa Valley Patriot 44, Los Amigos 33: Kimberly Nunez had a team-high 12 points for the visiting Lobos on Saturday in the second round of the Division 5AA playoffs.

Sophia Boyer scored seven points, Mandy Le produced six points, and Pearl Johnson added four points for Los Amigos (13-10), which was the second-place team in the Grove League.