Republicans’ use of loaded terms is looking to sway Medicaid debate in Congress

• March 7, 2025

By Phil Galewitz | KFF Health News

In Washington’s debate over enacting steep funding cuts to Medicaid, words are a central battleground.

Many Republican lawmakers and conservative policy officials who want to scale back the joint state-federal health program are using charged language to describe it. Language experts and advocates for Medicaid enrollees say their word choice is misleading and aims to sway public opinion against the popular, 60-year-old government program in a bid to persuade Congress to cut funding.

Republicans such as Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, are deploying provocative terms such as “money laundering,” rebranding a decades-old — and legal — practice known as provider taxes, which most states use to gain additional federal Medicaid funds.

They say it’s “discrimination” that the federal government matches state funding at a higher rate for adults covered by the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion than it does for other enrollees, including children, pregnant women, and disabled people.

And many Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, have described adults who gained Medicaid coverage through the ACA expansion as “able-bodied” as they push for federal work requirements.

The term implies they have less need for government assistance than other Medicaid recipients — even though some have health conditions or caregiving responsibilities that make holding full-time jobs difficult.

“Able-bodied adults without dependents are better off with jobs than with hand-outs, and so are their communities and American taxpayers,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said in a press release in February.

To be sure, political spin is a practice older than Washington, and Democrats are no spectators in the war of words. But what’s striking about the latest GOP effort is that it is focused on cutting a health program for the nation’s poorest residents to pay, in part, for tax cuts for wealthier Americans.

A KFF poll conducted last month and found that support for proposed changes to Medicaid can wax or wane depending on what individuals are told about the program.

For example, the poll found about 6 in 10 adults support work requirements, with the same portion of respondents believing incorrectly that most working-age adults on Medicaid are unemployed. In fact, about two-thirds work.

KFF’s poll also showed that support for work requirements drops to about 3 in 10 adults when those who initially supported them hear that most Medicaid enrollees are already working and that, if the requirements were implemented, many would risk losing coverage because of the burden of proving eligibility.

When respondents initially opposed to work requirements were told they could allow Medicaid to be reserved for groups like the elderly, people with disabilities, and low-income children, support for them increased to 77%.

Steven Mintz, a history professor at the University of Texas, said the Medicaid debate likely will be won not on the facts, but instead on which party can describe it in terms that gain the most public support. “Words are wielded as weapons,” he said.

Republicans’ word choices are designed to appeal to people’s prejudices about Medicaid, he said, adding that “loaded” terms help divert attention from a detailed policy discussion.

“Words help reinforce a position that people already lean toward,” he said.

Sara Rosenbaum, professor emerita of health law and policy at George Washington University, said conservatives who have long tried to shrink Medicaid have an obvious motivation.

“These people spend their lives trying to ruin the program by searching for the newest slogans, the newest quips, and the newest nonsensical monikers that they think somehow will persuade Congress to completely upend the program and take benefits away from tens of millions of people,” she said.

Medicaid and the closely related Children’s Health Insurance Program cover nearly 80 million low-income and disabled people — roughly 1 in 5 Americans. Enrollment and spending soared in the past decade due largely to the covid pandemic and the decision by more states to expand Medicaid under the ACA. Polling shows the program is nearly as popular as Medicare, the health program primarily for those 65 or older — with about 3 in 4 Americans holding a favorable opinion of Medicaid.

The House of Representatives’ budget resolution, a blueprint that narrowly passed Feb. 25 with no Democratic support, calls for cuts of at least $880 billion over a decade largely from federal health and energy programs. A separate Senate resolution with no such cuts — so far — is also in play. Any proposal would need to pass both chambers.

Democrats fear most of those cuts will come from Medicaid. Trump has vowed not to touch Medicare, leaving few if any alternatives. He has said he would “cherish” Medicaid and go after only waste, fraud, and abuse in the program without offering details on how those would be interpreted — and he endorsed the House’s blueprint calling for cuts.

States and the federal government share in the financing of Medicaid, with the federal government paying from 50% to 77% of the cost of providing services to most beneficiaries. The rate is 90% for beneficiaries receiving coverage through their state’s Medicaid expansion program.

The federal matching rate varies based on a state’s per capita income relative to the national average; states with lower per capita incomes have higher matching rates. The remaining share of program funding comes from state and local sources.

The words “discrimination” and “money laundering” have been used in reports from the Paragon Health Institute, a conservative think tank led by a former Trump adviser, Brian Blase. Two former Paragon executives now advise Trump, and a former Paragon analyst advises Johnson.

Blase said there’s no ulterior motive in the group’s word choices. “This is us trying to describe the issue in a way that makes the most sense to members of Congress and policymakers,” he said.

Paragon analysts have argued for ending the federal government’s “discrimination” in matching state dollars for those covered under the ACA’s Medicaid expansion at a higher rate than for other enrollees. They also propose giving states a set amount of federal money per year for the program, rather than the open-ended federal funds that always have been a hallmark of Medicaid.

One way states raise funds for their share of Medicaid spending is through provider taxes that hospitals or nursing homes pay. States often reimburse the providers through the extra federal money.

Blase acknowledges that provider taxes used by states to draw down more federal money — which Paragon has referred to as “money laundering” — are legal. He said calling the practice a “tax” is misleading because the providers financially benefit from it.

“Money laundering is the best term we can think of for the schemes providers and states come up with to get federal reimbursement for artificial expenditures that benefits states and providers,” he said.

Joan Alker, executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University, defended provider taxes as a legal way states raise money to cover low-income people. She noted most states with provider taxes are controlled at least partly by Republicans.

Alker rejected the notion that enhanced funding to expand enrollment is “discrimination.” The ACA included the higher rates for covering more low-income enrollees because that was the only way states could afford it, she said.

Without providing a specific example, Blase said advocates have said cuts would “leave people dying in the streets.”

During a brief funding freeze to Medicaid providers in January, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said, “This is a blatant attempt to rip away health insurance from millions of Americans overnight and will get people killed.”

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.

​ Orange County Register 

Investigation advances into Gene Hackman’s mysterious death, with update by New Mexico authorities

• March 7, 2025

By MORGAN LEE, Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities are set to reveal more information about an investigation into the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa, whose partially mummified bodies were discovered last month at their home in New Mexico.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has said it does not suspect foul play, and tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative.

Sheriff Adan Mendoza and state fire, health and forensics officials scheduled an afternoon news conference Friday to provide updates on the case.

Mendoza has said the couple may have died up to two weeks before they were discovered on Feb. 26. Hackman’s pacemaker last showed activity Feb. 17, nine days before maintenance and security workers showed up at the home and alerted police.

Arakawa was found with an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on the bathroom counter, while Hackman was found in the home’s entryway.

One of the couple’s three dogs also was found dead in a crate in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, while two other dogs survived. Authorities initially misidentified the breed of the dead animal.

Authorities retrieved personal items from the home including a monthly planner and two cellphones that will be analyzed. Medical investigators have been working to establish the cause of their deaths, but toxicology reports often take weeks to complete.

When they were found, the bodies were decomposing with some mummification, a consequence of body type and climate in Santa Fe’s especially dry air at an elevation of nearly 7,200 feet (2,200 meters).

Hackman, a Hollywood icon, won two Oscars during a storied career in films including “The French Connection,” “Hoosiers” and “Superman” from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.

Arakawa, born in Hawaii, studied as a concert pianist, attended the University of Southern California and met Hackman in the mid-1980s while working at a California gym.

The couple’s stucco, Pueblo-revival style home sits on a hill in a gated community at the southern tip of the Rocky Mountains. Santa Fe is known as a refuge for celebrities, artists and authors.

Hackman dedicated much of his time in retirement to painting and writing novels far from Hollywood’s social circuit. He served for several years on the board of trustees at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, and he and his wife were investors in local businesses.

​ Orange County Register 

Mexico aims to reshape the US firearm industry by suing gun makers

• March 7, 2025

President Donald Trump complains that our southern neighbor is not doing enough to stop illegal drugs from crossing the border. Mexico has a similar complaint about the United States and guns, as reflected in a case that the Supreme Court heard on the same day the tariffs took effect.

Officially, the Mexican government sued American gun manufacturers, blaming them for “aiding and abetting” the trafficking of firearms to drug cartels. But its real beef is with the Second Amendment, which prohibits the sort of sweeping gun restrictions that Mexican officials think public safety requires.

Although the Mexican Constitution notionally protects “the right to keep arms at home,” it gives the government wide latitude to decide which firearms civilians may own. Mexicans can legally buy authorized weapons from only a single outlet in Mexico City, all firearms must be registered with the government, and permission to carry guns in public for self-defense is nearly impossible to obtain.

In the United States, by contrast, the Constitution guarantees “the right of the people to keep and bear arms,” which the Supreme Court has said rules out policies such as banning handguns and requiring that people demonstrate a “special need” to carry them outside the home. The court also has said the Second Amendment covers weapons “in common use” for “lawful purposes like self-defense.”

Smith & Wesson, one of the gun makers sued by the Mexican government, says that contrast is the subtext of this case. The lawsuit, it notes, seeks not only $10 billion in damages but also “extensive injunctive relief imposing new gun-control measures in the United States,” including “universal background checks,” bans on “assault weapons” and magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, and “strict limits on ‘multiple sales’ of firearms.”

Mexico “makes no secret that it abhors this country’s approach to firearms,” Smith & Wesson says. “In essence, Mexico seeks to use Mexican tort laws to regulate how firearms are made and sold in the United States.”

The main barrier to that strategy is a 2005 federal law that generally bars tort claims against gun manufacturers, distributors or dealers based on “the criminal or unlawful misuse” of their products. Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit nevertheless allowed Mexico’s lawsuit to proceed based on an exception to that rule.

The exception applies when a business “knowingly” violates a state or federal gun law and that violation “was a proximate cause of the harm for which relief is sought.” Yet Mexico does not allege that gun manufacturers failed to comply with any relevant state or federal regulations.

Instead, Mexico objects to longstanding, perfectly legal business practices that it says have encouraged and enabled drug cartels to obtain American-made firearms. Those practices, Smith & Wesson notes, include manufacturing and promoting “America’s most popular rifle, the AR-15”; producing “large-capacity” magazines, “which are in fact standard-capacity magazines”; and participating in the federally authorized three-tier gun distribution system, in which manufacturers sell firearms to wholesalers that supply them to retailers.

According to the lawsuit, manufacturers should have foreseen that some portion of those guns — about 2%, Smith & Wesson estimates — would end up in Mexico, and they should have done more to prevent that outcome. That theory of liability, Smith & Wesson says, amounts to “an eight-step Rube Goldberg” contraption that stretches the meaning of “proximate cause” and “aiding and abetting” beyond recognition.

Mexico maintains that U.S. gun manufacturers have been openly and knowingly breaking the law for decades. If so, it is a mystery why no law enforcement agency has ever held them to account.

This lawsuit aims to reshape the U.S. gun industry directly, through a court order forbidding the practices that offend Mexico. It also aims to do so indirectly by reviving a liability threat that Congress rightly recognized as a danger to the constitutional rights that firearm manufacturers enable Americans to exercise.

Jacob Sullum is a senior editor at Reason magazine

​ Orange County Register 

Redondo boys basketball routs Los Alamitos, setting up third meeting with rival Mira Costa

• March 7, 2025

REDONDO BEACH — The Bay League’s boys basketball co-champions will get a third meeting this season, and this time with playoff bragging rights at stake.

Redondo outscored Los Alamitos by 20 points in the second quarter Thursday to run away with a 91-66 victory to advance to the CIF SoCal Regional Division I semifinals.

The Sea Hawks, who made 11 3-pointers, had four players score 17 or more points, led by senior guard Brayden Miner’s 20. Senior guard Hudson Mayes added 19 and juniors SJ Madison and Chace Holley chipped in 17 apiece in their second victory over the Griffins this season.

“We have pretty good firepower,” Redondo coach Reggie Morris Jr. said. “We took a poll the other day. I think we said six guys on our team have led the team in scoring at one point this season. So we’re pretty balanced and it makes it hard for people to key in on specific guys. When we’re sharing the ball it’s hard for people to lock in on who to take away.”

Redondo (27-5), the third seed, will be home against No. 7 seed Mira Costa (31-4) on Saturday at 7 p.m. The winner advances to the regional finals Tuesday night.

The Sea Hawks had a 12-point victory at Mira Costa in January before the Mustangs earned a share of the league title with a 69-68 win over Redondo on Feb. 4.

“We gave them one,” Miner said. “I’m not going to say it was a fluke, they got it fair and square. But we’re going to get ‘em.”

Mayes called the opportunity a “get-back” game.

“We got it posted in our locker room, them celebrating on our home court,” Mayes said. “That’s the first home game I’ve lost since I’ve been here with coach Morris.

“It’s going to be a big game, a lot of people there, a big environment. It’s a tiebreaker. … Our goal was to get an undefeated Bay League title and we didn’t do that. This is how we make up for it.”

The game was played at a frenetic pace from the start, as the Griffins (26-9) raced out to a 16-8 lead after senior forward Trent Minter’s 3-pointer with 2:35 left in the first quarter.

The Sea Hawks, who were plagued by seven turnovers in the quarter, answered with a 14-6 run to close out the quarter and tie the game capped by Holley’s 3-pointer at the buzzer.

In addition, the Griffins lost top defender Kedric Delaney to a left leg injury with 22.3 seconds left in the first. He did not return.

“To lose your best player on that side of the ball in a game like this, when they have as much talent as they do, combined with the second factor is fatigue,” Griffins coach Nate Berger said.

“Us losing someone who plays 16 to 20 minutes a night kind of put people in spots. … It kind of throws everything for a little bit of a loop.”

Tied 28-28 in the second, Redondo went on a 27-7 run over the final six minutes of the half to go into the locker room with a commanding 55-35 lead.

Berger credited Redondo’s physicality for making the difference.

“They played with a quicker pace and a stronger kind of presence,” Berger said. “They kind of imposed their will. Sometimes when that happens — and they are bigger, faster, stronger — the team who does what they did tonight, they’re going to go on runs. … Your only chance there is maybe get a couple calls to quiet it down, hit a couple shots to quiet it down.”

The key, Morris said, was the Sea Hawks’ ability to take care of the ball. Redondo had just six turnovers between the second and third quarters combined.

“Just making sure we take care of the ball and pass the ball to our team,” Morris said. “Once we did that, I think we got settled in.”

The Griffins made a brief run in the third, forcing three Sea Hawk turnovers and scoring seven consecutive points bookended by Samori Guyness’ 3-pointer and layup to pull within 65-49 at the 4:28 mark. Guyness finished with a team-high 20 points.

Mayes, though, was relentless driving to the basket throughout the contest. Back-to-back layups, including one through contact, ignited a 9-3 run to close the quarter and put Redondo in cruise control the rest of the way.

“Everyone eats,” Mayes said. “We don’t care who gets to score or who gets the ball.”

Los Alamitos closed out a season that was highlighted by the program’s first CIF Southern Section championship since 2007, winning the Division 1 title.

“You can’t pick another word other than proud,” Berger said. “Maybe happy would be your second one.

“You’ll have that ring, you’ll have that banner. That picture of this team will last forever and that’s something to cherish.”

​ Orange County Register 

Lakers rally to beat Knicks in OT for 8th straight win

• March 7, 2025

LOS ANGELES — Even during their best winning streak in several years, the Lakers haven’t had their “best stuff,” as Austin Reaves put it last week.

But they have been finding ways to win – a trend that continued on Thursday night when they rallied to beat the New York Knicks, 113-109 in overtime, for their eighth consecutive victory and 20th in their past 24 games.

“Our guys, in what felt like a playoff game at times,” Coach JJ Redick said, “really just gutted out a win.”

Luka Doncic led the way with 32 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds and four steals, opening the extra period with a fadeaway 14-footer and a pull-up 3-pointer for a five-point advantage (104-99) as the Lakers (40-21) improved to 9-2 since he made his debut for the team on Feb. 10.

“We’re well-connected,” Doncic said. “Obviously, there’s room for improvement, but I think we’re all well-connected. So I’m excited to be a part of this team.”

LeBron James finished with 31 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. The league’s all-time leading scorer made a clutch 3-pointer to tie the score at 96-all late in regulation after the Lakers trailed for 32 consecutive minutes.

Reaves, who returned on Thursday after missing the previous two games with a strained left calf, struggled in his first game since playing nine minutes in last Friday’s home win against the Clippers. The fourth-year guard finished with eight points on 2-of-13 shooting.

But after Jalen Brunson cut the Lakers’ lead to 105-104 in overtime, Reaves knocked down a corner 3-pointer – the only one he made in seven attempts – that was assisted by center Jaxson Hayes in the short roll out of a pick-and-roll with James to put the Lakers ahead by four with 2:40 left in the extra period.

“I don’t know if I’d have passed it to me in that situation with the game I was having,” Reaves quipped. “So I appreciate you, Jax.”

Redick added: “It was big time. He’s unwavering in that confidence.”

Brunson finished with a game-high 39 points on 13-of-26 shooting (12 for 13 from the free-throw line) to go with 10 assists for a double-double, but the All-Star guard left the game with 1:24 left after turning his right ankle on Reaves while driving to the basket.

Brunson made a pair of free throws to tie the score at 107-all before the Knicks (40-22) intentionally fouled to allow him to exit the game and head back to the locker room.

Hayes made a pair of free throws to put the Lakers ahead 109-107 with 59.7 seconds remaining.

After Karl-Anthony Towns committed an offensive foul while trying to grab a rebound over James, the 22-year NBA veteran made a pair of free throws for a 111-107 lead.

James grabbed a defensive rebound after OG Anunoby missed a free throw after drawing a shooting foul on a layup he made to cut the Lakers’ lead to 111-109. The four-time league MVP then made another pair of free throws to seal the win.

“I’ve always been a pretty good rebounder in my career and in my life, once I started playing the game,” James said. “It’s very important that we clean glass. Especially if we’re the team that gets stops. We don’t want to give up second opportunities and if I’m down there, I have to help and obviously do my part.”

The Lakers trailed for most of the second half, with their offense going cold – especially from behind the arc – after a strong start.

The Lakers were down by 13 in the third quarter and 10 midway through the fourth, but when they needed them most, their 3-point shots fell. They shot 7 for 15 from long range in the fourth quarter and overtime after going 7 for 27 in the first three quarters.

Gabe Vincent (12 points) made a pair of 3-pointers in the final six minutes of regulation, including a 27-footer that cut the Lakers’ deficit to 94-93 with less than three minutes left in the fourth. Vincent’s 3-pointer with 1:21 left in regulation capped a 19-6 run and gave the Lakers a 99-96 advantage.

“I mean, Gabe doesn’t make those four 3s,” Redick said, “we’re not even in the game.”

Rookie Dalton Knecht (11 points, four rebounds) also helped keep the Lakers’ offense afloat late.

The Lakers’ win streak is their longest since winning nine straight from Dec. 28, 2019 to Jan. 13, 2020.

“It’s just about work,” James said. “We got to continue to put the work in. We have an opportunity to get better and better each and every game. And we’re still continuing to learn each other, and that’s a good thing. That’s a good thing for us that we have room for improvement and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can become.”

​ Orange County Register 

Myles Che has a career night as UC Irvine crushes UC Davis

• March 7, 2025

DAVIS — Myles Che scored a career-high 31 points as the UC Irvine men’s basketball team rolled to an 88-59 victory over UC Davis in its penultimate game of the regular season on Thursday night.

Che shot 10 for 11 from the field, including 3 for 3 from 3-point range, and went 8 for 9 at the free-throw line. He is the first Anteater to score at least 30 in a game since Dawson Baker had 33 in a Feb. 23, 2023 loss to UC San Diego.

UCI (26-5 overall, 16-3 Big West), which had already clinched a top-two seed for the Big West Tournament, took control early against the Aggies and cruised to its fourth consecutive win. Despite playing without starting guard Justin Hohn, the Anteaters shot a sizzling 62.1% from the floor (18 for 29) in the first half, going 5 for 9 from 3-point range on their way to a 47-25 halftime lead.

Devin Tillis finished with 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting and seven rebounds, and Bent Leuchten had his fourth consecutive double-double (13 points, 12 rebounds) for UCI, which was never truly threatened in the second half. Jurian Dixon added 12 points and Torian Lee scored nine.

“Really pleased to come on the road and compete at the level we did tonight, and we did it without Justin Hohn,” said UCI coach Russell Turner, who said he was being cautious with Hohn and expects him to play in Saturday’s season finale. “I thought all of our guys were focused without him and in support of him. We knew the importance of this game and we really defended our level. We took great care of the basketball and made a bunch of shots early that stretched out a lead that we were able to maintain throughout the game.

“I thought Devin Tillis and Bent Leuchten were outstanding early. That entirely dictated the game. Myles Che had an incredible performance with 31 points on only 11 shots.”

Tillis had three points and an assist during a 7-0 run that gave UCI at 19-7 lead midway through the first half. Che had seven points during a stretch of about two minutes, the last of them on a strong three-point play for a 32-14 lead with five minutes left.

After the under-four media timeout, Dixon hit back-to-back 3-pointers and a baseline floater for a 43-20 lead with 2:19 left, and the rout was well underway.

UCI finished the night at 58.8% from the field (30 for 51) and went 20 for 23 at the free-throw line (87%), while holding the Aggies (15-15, 9-10) to 35.2% from the field and outrebounding them 36-24.

T.Y. Johnson had 24 points to lead UC Davis. Connor Sevilla added nine points and Pablo Tamba had eight.

UP NEXT

UCI closes the regular season at UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at 7 p.m.

BIG WEST STANDINGS

Through Thursday, March 6

UC San Diego – 27-4, 17-2

UC Irvine – 26-5, 16-3

CS Northridge – 21-9, 13-6

UC Riverside – 20-11, 13-6

UC Santa Barbara – 19-11, 11-8

UC Davis – 15-15, 9-10

CS Bakersfield – 14-18, 8-12

Hawaii – 15-15, 7-12

Cal Poly (SLO) – 13-18, 7-12

Long Beach State – 7-24, 3-16

CS Fullerton – 6-25, 1-18

​ Orange County Register 

Portola girls basketball beats El Capitan to reach CIF SoCal Regional semifinals

• March 7, 2025

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The list of obstacles in front of Portola’s girls basketball team appeared formidable Thursday in the CIF Southern California Regional at El Capitan of Lakeside.

The Bulldogs were well-prepared to respond.

Portola overcame a loud home crowd and spirit band, a taller opponent and foul trouble to collect a wire-to-wire 57-49 victory in a Division II second round game at El Capitan High.

The fifth-seeded Bulldogs (19-15), who are competing in the regional for the first time, play at top-seeded Monache of Porterville in the semifinals Saturday.

“Phenomenal,” Portola senior center Bianca Morrell said of the Bulldogs’ postseason run. “We haven’t been this far in forever. I’m just shocked. (It’s) our team camaraderie and working together.”

Portola, which reached the CIF-SS Division 2AA semifinals, united to oust No. 4 El Capitan (24-7), an Open Division team from the San Diego Section.

Guard Kara Niho scored a team-high 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and had four assists for Portola. Fellow guard Nina Saiki had 15 points, three assists and three steals.

Forward Amelia Booth added 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs while freshman guard Yuri Ha came off the bench to sink three 3-pointers en route to nine points.

Portola led by 20-5 in the first quarter but the score soon tightened. El Capitan trimmed its deficit to 26-24 early in the third quarter and trailed 51-45 with just over a minute left in the fourth. That’s when Madison Nguyen made one of the biggest plays of the game for the Bulldogs.

The transfer guard from Crean Lutheran stole the ball with 1:15 remaining and made a breakaway layup while being fouled. The three-point play gave Portola a 54-45 lead with 1:08 left, and highlighted the Bulldogs’ perseverance.

Nguyen picked up her fourth foul early in the third period and spent a considerable time on the bench before banking in her critical shot high off the glass.

“It’s not how hard you get hit but how hard you get hit and keep coming forward,” seventh-year Portola coach Brian Barham said. “It’s like life. Can you just keep persevering and fighting, and the kids we able to persevere and fight.”

“That and-1 finish is exactly what ended the game,” added the coach, whose also navigated three fouls on Booth. “We’re not teaching basketball. We’re teaching life.”

Portola said it felt prepared for an El Capitan team with a 6-foot-2 post and 5-foot-10 forward because of its tough schedule.

The Bulldogs finished second in the Pacific Coast League to Sage Hill, an Open qualifier in the Southern Section. They also played Open qualifier Fairmont Prep, Open champion Ontario Christian, Moreno Valley and JSerra among others.

Portola used the 5-foot-10 Morrell and 5-foot-7 Booth to guard El Capitan’s post players.

“Early on, having these hard games definitely helps us prepare,” Niho said. “Every game now, we know we’ve faced harder teams throughout the year.”

Monache defeated Palos Verdes 45-36 in another second round game.

In other regional games Thursday:

In Division I:

Fairmont Prep 63, Harvard-Westlake 56: Sarah Aldeguer scored 19 points and Maria Mejia and Adyra Rajan added 14 and 13 points, respectively, to pace the top-seeded Huskies (23-10). Fairmont Prep plays host to Windward in the semifinals on Saturday.

Sage Hill 58, Moreno Valley 34: Kamdyn Klamberg scored 17 points and Amalia Holguin had 16 points and four steals to lead the No. 2 Lightning (21-11), who play host to Brentwood in the semifinals Saturday.

In Division V:

Santa Ana 49, University Prep 36: Cynthia Silva scored 21 points and Kalleigh Solis had 11 points as the Saints won on the road to advance to Saturday’s semifinals at Hillcrest. Santa Ana fell to Hillcrest 36-26 in the CIF-SS Division 5-AA final last weekend.

​ Orange County Register 

Kyren Paris drives in 3 runs as Angels tie Mariners

• March 7, 2025

THE GAME: The Angels rallied from two separate two-run deficits in a Cactus League game that ultimately ended in a 5-5 tie with the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night in Peoria, Arizona.

PITCHING REPORT: Starter Kyle Hendricks gave up two runs on four hits over 3⅔ innings in the longest of his three outings this spring. The right-hander has three strikeouts in each of his first three starts and walked his first batter Thursday, while throwing 60 pitches. “The bad swings I’m getting, a lot of check swings, foul balls, stuff like that. I just know they’re not seeing it. They’re not on it. I’m not being predictable,” Hendricks said. … Left-hander Jose Suarez opened his relief outing with two strong innings, gave up a run in his third inning of work when he was hurt by a misplay in left-center by Kyren Paris and then finished the game with a pair of strikeouts.

OFFENSIVE REPORT: Jo Adell drove in a run on a two-out, fourth-inning single to match Jorge Soler and Nelson Rada with six RBIs this spring. … A Taylor Ward double in the fifth inning moved Chuckie Robinson to third base, with Robinson immediately scoring on a passed ball. … Paris delivered a go-ahead, three-run double in the seventh, which was helped by a bad route in left field, to give the Angels their first lead of the game at 5-4. Paris now leads the Angels with seven RBIs this spring. … Christian Moore and J.D. Davis each struck out in their first three at-bats. Davis, a third base candidate, has 12 strikeouts in 11 games.

UP NEXT: Angels split squad (LHP Yusei Kikuchi) vs. Diamondbacks (RHP Zac Gallen), Friday, 12:10 p.m., at Tempe Diablo Stadium, FanDuel Sports Network, 830 AM; Angels split squad (RHP Jose Soriano) vs. Royals (RHP Seth Lugo), Friday, 1:05 p.m., at Surprise Stadium

​ Orange County Register