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Etiwanda girls basketball beats Mater Dei again to reach CIF SoCal Regional Open Division final

March 9, 2025

RANCHO CUCAMONGA — Etiwanda’s student section donned black, formal attire and cheered in front of a tombstone that read “RIP” as its girls basketball team played host Mater Dei in the CIF Southern California Regional on Saturday.

Aliyahna “Puff” Morris made sure the funeral theme found its mark.

The Cal-bound guard scored 32 points as Etiwanda not only maintained its grip of the Monarchs but kept alive the hopes of a second consecutive CIF State Open Division title with a 67-57 victory in a tense semifinal game at Etiwanda High.

In the Open Division final Tuesday, No. 2 seeded Etiwanda (26-5) will play at No. 1 Ontario Christian (30-1), which beat Sierra Canyon 69-57 in overtime in the other semifinal.

“I’m really excited,” Morris of the final, which will send its winner to the CIF State championship on March 15 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. “We lost to this team twice already in the season so I’m excited to get another opportunity at them.”

“We played well tonight. I think we executed very well down the stretch,” the senior added.

Ontario Christian has won 16th consecutive games, including a 65-63 victory against Etiwanda in the CIF-SS Open Division final on March 1.

Etiwanda extended its winning streak against Mater Dei to five games, all of which have been in the Open playoffs the past four seasons. The Eagles beat the Monarchs 63-60 in the CIF-SS Open Division semifinals on Feb. 22.

Etiwanda also ended Mater Dei’s season for the second straight year, a trend the student section certainly knew.

“I told myself (entering high school), I never want to lose to them,” Morris said of Mater Dei. “I’ve never lost to them and won’t have to. It’s over.”

Iowa-bound guard Addison Deal led Mater Dei (29-4) with 29 points, including a driving layup just before halftime to cut Etiwanda’s lead to 27-25.

But Morris and Chasity Rice made consecutive 3-pointers early in the third period as the Eagles opened with an 8-0 run to seize control.

Arynn Finley added a 3-pointer for Etiwanda and Morris closed the period with a 3-pointer from the corner to beat the buzzer.

Early in the fourth, Mater Dei trimmed its deficit to six point but LSU-bound Grace Knox (12 rebounds, four blocks) answered with a 3-pointer and Morris scored on a fastbreak to put Etiwanda back in control.

“I want us to have a little bit more composure in certain situations but I thought we fought well and we composed ourselves at the right moments to makes plays when it counted,” Etiwanda coach Stan Delus said.

Mater Dei’s Kaeli Wynn surprisingly returned from a dislocated knee to play in her first game since Jan 25. The junior came off the bench to score seven points, including two 3-pointers.

During one sequence late in the fourth, an intentional foul against Mater Dei and technical foul against Etiwanda led to security coming onto the court.

“It was the most physical basketball game I’ve ever been a part of,” said Monarchs coach Jody Wynn, a former collegiate coach. “We just couldn’t get over the hump and they’d go down and make a big transition play or hit a big 3.”

Orange County Register

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Etiwanda girls basketball beats Mater Dei again to reach CIF SoCal Regional Open Division final

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