The CIF Southern Section Division 3AA championship is secured but the girl’s basketball team of Santa Monica High School is looking for more as the team turns its attention to the state playoffs, which will begin Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the Samohi gym.
The Vikings were down seven points heading into the final quarter of Saturday’s championship matchup against Crean Lutheran High School, but a big run in the final minutes helped put Samohi in the upcoming CIF Southern California Regionals.
With about 1:50 left in the contest, Samohi tied the game at 37 and would take a 2-point lead with under a minute to go.
“From there it was all the lady Vikings, who are now crowned the 2020 3AA CIF Champions,” Assistant Coach Mark Ulrich said Monday.
Chantal Moawad was one of the key reasons for the team’s success on Saturday. Crean Lutheran had a hard time keeping the senior standout from the basket as she went on to score more than half of her team’s points and 11 in the fourth quarter.
Back when Samohi had first secured the division’s top-seed and the team was only eight games into its current 13-game winning streak, senior Iternite Reed said the team had what it needed to win it all. “And this is the last time that we’ll share this moment so I’m personally trying to take it as far as possible.”
Samohi will play Serra High School in the first round of the 2020 CIF State Girls Basketball Championships Division II tournament beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3 in the Samohi main gym.
