And then there were two.
Only a pair of local schools remains in the hunt for a coveted CIF-San Diego Section crown— the Vincent Memorial Catholic girls’ basketball team and the Calipatria High boys’ soccer squad.
For the former, the road to potential glory has been a relatively smooth one thus far. If anything, it could be said that the greatest adversary whom Vincent Memorial has had to overcome has been themselves—more specifically, their tendency to start games slowly, something which head coach Jesús González has endeavored to remedy in practice.
Yet they haven’t lost a game since Jan. 26, and then only by 12 points, primarily thanks to the play of senior point guard Irene Aranda and junior center Yolanda España.
Their most recent victory came this past Saturday as they defeated No. 5 Pacific Ridge High of Carlsbad in the Division V quarterfinals, 41-28. Things might be a little different, however, when they travel to face No. 1 Horizon High at 7 p.m. This is a team that went 19-3 in the regular season and who beat their previous opponent, No. 8 St. Joseph Academy, 85-20.
That contest is scheduled to be played tonight at 7 p.m.
Calipatria, meanwhile, was given the No. 2 seed, which meant that they received a first-round bye and therefore, more time to prepare for their first playoff opponent, Manzanita League rival Vincent Memorial. This year, they met twice before, with the Hornets winning both games.
They continued this streak during Saturday’s quarterfinal match, shutting the Scots out, 4-0.
They will host No. 3 Calvin Christian High of Escondido at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the semifinals. Should they win then, they will proceed to the championships at Mesa College on Mar. 2.
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