Orange County scores and player stats for Friday, March 14

• March 15, 2025

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Scores and stats from Orange County games on Friday, March 14

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FRIDAY’S SCORES

SOFTBALL

NONLEAGUE

Sunny Hills 11, Norwalk 1

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

SUNSET LEAGUE

Los Alamitos def. Fountain Valley, 3-0

​ Orange County Register 

San Gabriel Academy boys basketball hangs on to win first CIF State championship

• March 15, 2025

SACRAMENTO – The San Gabriel Academy boys basketball team had a 13-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

At the end of the game, its lead was down to one point.

That was enough for the Eagles to survive a chaotic ending, as they held on — barely — to beat King’s Academy 52-51 in the CIF State Division III championship game Friday at Golden 1 Center.

Although they were outscored 16-2 during a stretch late in the final quarter, the Eagles won their first CIF State boys basketball championship and finished the season 21-13.

King’s Academy, a private school in Sunnyvale, finished 27-5.

San Gabriel Academy 6-11 sophomore Mahamadou Diop scored 20 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked seven shots. He was 10 of 16 from the floor including a few entertaining dunks.

Diop, who has offers from Texas Tech and UC Riverside, was the only Eagles player to score in double figures. Senior guard Coco Britt scored eight points. Sophomore guard Xavier Wang scored seven points including two free throws with 11 seconds left to give the Eagles a three-point lead, 52-49.

The Eagles defense was good for most of the game, holding King’s Academy to 31 percent shooting.

RELATED: Memorable run for Diamond Ranch boys basketball ends with loss in CIF state final

Back-to-back baskets by Diop gave San Gabriel Academy a 48-36 lead. That’s when the unraveling began for the Eagles. The King’s Academy press began creating turnovers that led to baskets for the Knights, and San Gabriel Academy committed several costly fouls.

King’s Academy junior guard Claxton Ladine made a 3-pointer with 20 seconds to go to cut the San Gabriel Academy lead to 50-49.

Wang made his two free throws to make it 52-49 and the Knights’ Karan Kolappa put in a layup at the buzzer for the final one-point margin.

“Lost some years off my life there,” said San Gabriel Academy coach Daniel Piepoli.

Piepolio regretted calling the team’s final timeout late in the contest when Wang dove on a loose ball. The officials signaled the timeout just before a jump ball would have been called.

“I went to the scorer’s table and said I hope that doesn’t come back to bite me,” he said. “And it definitely did. We didn’t have a timeout to stop them, try to draw something up.”

The game appeared to be headed for a one-sided result early when San Gabriel Academy built a 17-point lead in the second quarter. King’s Academy got hot in the third quarter and reduced the lead to four points in the quarter.

King’s Academy pulled with four points again in the fourth quarter before San Gabriel Academy did a better job of taking care of the basketball and resumed using its height advantage to regain control.

The teams traded the lead for most of the first quarter. San Gabriel Academy took the lead for good, 12-10, on one of Diop’s many dunks, the final points of the opening quarter.

Diop’s two-handed slam started a 14-1 run for the Eagles that moved them to a 24-11 lead midway through the second quarter.

The Eagles’ lead reached 17 points, 31-14, at one point and was 31-18 at halftime.

The teams combined for 46 turnovers, 25 by San Gabriel Academy.

The Eagles qualified for the CIF state playoffs by reaching the CIF-SS semifinals, in which they lost to Sage Hill. San Gabriel Academy defeated Maranatha in the CIF SoCal Regional Division III championship game Tuesday to get to the state championship game.

San Gabriel Academy is young, talented and playing for its first state basketball championship

Strong finish lifts San Gabriel Academy boys basketball past Maranatha in Division III regional final

​ Orange County Register 

3 excellent books ‘Lion’ author Sonya Walger recommends

• March 15, 2025

Sonya Walger talked to Erik Pedersen about her decision to write her autobiographical first book, “Lion,” as a novel rather than a memoir. As well, the actor known for her roles on “Lost,” “For All Mankind” and “The Mind of the Married Man” shared what it’s been like after losing her home in the Palisades fire. A lifelong reader, she also took the Book Pages Q&A and shared some of her favorites.

Q. Is there a book or books you always recommend to other readers?

Several I have found myself urging on people over the years are “Light Years” by James Salter, “Her First American” by Lore Segal and “The Fortnight in September” by R.C. Sherriff. All exquisite in their different ways, nuanced and unerringly observed.

SEE ALSO: Like books? Get our free Book Pages newsletter about bestsellers, authors and more

Q. What are you reading now? 

“The Last Samurai” by Helen DeWitt. No, the movie is not based on it. It’s sprawling, undefinable, it contains multitudes. I’m glad I didn’t read it before I started writing because had I known a debut could look like this I might never have picked up a pen.

Q. How do you decide what to read next? 

I have always a stack to choose from. I will hover over what calls me, what I am in the mood for, or what research dictates I should be reading next. I often have one book by the bed and at least two others dotted around the house – a kitchen read for while I wait for pasta to boil, a desk read for when I can’t face the blank page.

Q. Do you remember the first book that made an impact on you? 

“David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens. I was riveted. As stunning a depiction of childhood and loneliness as anything I’ve ever read before or since.

Q. Is there a book you’re nervous to read? 

“Moby Dick.” I will, I must, but I haven’t yet.

Q. What’s something – a fact, a bit of dialogue or something else – that has stayed with you from a recent reading?

A fragment that echoes in me at the moment are the lines from Mary Oliver’s “Wild Geese”:

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. 

Meanwhile the world goes on.

I think of it often as those of us who have lost everything in the fire gather and weep and share our stories and clutch each other’s arms and hold each other’s grief, and meanwhile the children must go to school and the bills must be paid and dinner somehow arrive on the table.

Q. Do you have any favorite book covers? 

MINE!

Q. Do you listen to audiobooks? If so, are there any titles or narrators you’d recommend? 

Love them. Always have one on the go. A favorite is “The End of The Affair” by Graham Greene, narrated by Colin Firth. It might be his best work. “Middlemarch” by George Eliot, narrated by Juliet Stevenson. In fact, anything narrated by Juliet Stevenson. “To the Lighthouse” by Virginia Woolf narrated by Nicole Kidman. And, niche, but just as brilliant, “The Weirdies” by Michael Buckley narrated by Kate Winslet – just incredible kids’ book that we all adore.

Q. Is there a genre or type of book you read the most – and what would you like to read more of? 

I read fiction, and I love forgotten fiction. I love books that have been overlooked. I love English female writers from the ’50s and ’60s, Margaret Drabble, A.S. Byatt, Penelope Mortimer, Doris Lessing. I love books about intimacy, about the tiny moments in a family, a friendship, a marriage that carry so much weight.

I’d like to read more poetry, and more international fiction. I get locked in my own interests. My podcast, Bookish, made me a much wider reader (I interviewed interesting people about the five books that had shaped their lives) but for now I don’t have time to do it and write my own books. But I loved how far it flung my net.

Q. Do you have a favorite book or books? 

No. Like picking your favorite child!

Q. Which books are you planning to read next? 

“Audition” by Katie Kitamura – I just got an advance copy and cannot, cannot wait. “This is Happiness” by Niall Williams.

Q. Do you have a favorite character or quote from a book?

Isabel Archer from “The Portrait of a Lady.”

Q. Are you a re-reader of books? If so, what are some that you return to?

Yes, but sparingly. I re-read the classics. “Anna Karenina,” “Madame Bovary,” “Middlemarch,” “War and Peace.” I re-read those within the last five years and it’s really a re-reading of the self that happens. It’s so confronting to realize that what you thought the book was about in your 20s or 30s (unrequited love, despair, passion) now in your 50s is about steadiness, devotion, faith.

Q. Do you have a favorite bookstore or bookstore experience?

I have favorite stores in every city. In London, I love Daunt and John Sandoe, in NYC The Strand and Three Lives, and in L.A. Book Soup was the first place I felt at home in the city.

Q. What’s something about your book that no one knows?

It was born from journals, every one of which I lost in the fire.

Q. If you could ask your readers something, what would it be?

Keep journals. Hold them lightly. Hold everything lightly.

​ Orange County Register 

The VW bus is 75 years old, here’s a look at its history

• March 15, 2025

The buzz about the bus

75 years ago this month the VW bus began production.

On March 8, 1950, Volkswagen, maker of the Beetle automobile, began producing its second vehicle, the microbus, known officially as the Volkswagen Type 2 (the Beetle was the Type 1) or the Transporter.

The VW bus was reportedly the brainchild of Dutch businessman Ben Pon, an importer of Beetles to the Netherlands, who saw a market for a small bus and in 1947 sketched out his concept. Volkswagen engineers further developed the idea. The bus eventually collected a number of nicknames, including the Combi (for combined-use vehicle), the Splittie (for its split windshield) and in Germany it was known as the Bulli.

According to “Bug” by Phil Patton, when Grateful Dead musician Jerry Garcia died in 1995, Volkswagen ran an ad featuring a drawing of the front of a bus with a tear streaming down it. The bus was a favorite of the hippie counterculture in the 1960s and surfers still today.

In the 1950s, the Volkswagen arrived in the U.S., and the initial reception was not very good but after a successful advertising campaign from the ad agency Doyle Dane Bernbach sales increased dramatically. VW became the top-selling auto import in the U.S. In 1972, the VW Beetle passed the iconic Ford Model T as the world’s best-selling car, with over 15 million vehicles produced.

Although the bus saw much success for over 40 years, its sales declined in the ’90s with so many minivans on the market. While the newer-model buses continued to struggle with sales, the classic VW Bus was finding huge sales at auction.

At the 2013 Palm Beach Barrett-Jackson classic car auction, a 1963 23-Window Safari Samba Microbus sold for $126,500. In Scottsdale the following year, a bidder bought a 1961 Deluxe 23-Window Microbus for $148,500 and every year since then, the sales of classic VW buses continually grows. Last year at a Barrett-Jackson auction in Palm Beach, Florida, a 1961 23-Window sold for $291,500.

Sources: Volkswagen, Ratwell.com, Car and Driver, History.com, motor1.com, invaluble.com, The Associated Press

​ Orange County Register 

UC Irvine women bounced by UC Davis in Big West Tournament semifinals

• March 15, 2025

It might have seemed unusual the way the game unfolded between the UC Irvine and UC Davis women’s basketball teams on Friday afternoon, except a very similar scenario played out in the other Big West Tournament semifinal an hour earlier.

Second-seeded UCI fell into a big first-half hole against Davis, clawed its way back in the second half, but could never get over the hump and ultimately lost, 63-56, at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada.

The third-seeded Aggies (21-11) advanced to play fourth-seeded UC San Diego (19-15) in the championship game on Saturday at 3 p.m.

UCSD, which became eligible to play in the Big West Tournament this season after joining the conference four years ago, raced out to a 22-4 lead after the first quarter against top-seeded Hawaii, led by as much as 27 late in the second, but needed a layup at the buzzer by Sumayah Sugapong to beat the top-seeded Rainbow Wahine, 51-49.

Hawaii (22-9) and UCI (21-10) had earned double byes into the semifinals by finishing in the top two spots in the regular-season standings.

UCI coach Tamara Inoue said there’s some benefit to UCSD and Davis having a game under their belt heading into the semifinals, but she doesn’t believe the top two seeds were at a disadvantage.

“This conference has done a tremendous job of protecting your one and two seeds in the best way possible,” Inoue said.

The Anteaters didn’t have to storm from as far back as Hawaii, but they did trail by 10 after the first quarter and by as many as 21 in the second.

UCI scored the first 11 points of the second half to trim the deficit to eight, was within five to begin the fourth quarter and made it a one-point game on a free throw by Summah Hanson with 5:37 remaining, and again on drive by Ines Gnahore with 4:34 left.

That was as close as the Anteaters could get, however.

Tova Sabel, who scored a game-high 21 points for UCD, sank a deep 3-pointer to beat the shot clock and then finished off a 2-on-1 break to give the Aggies a 58-52 lead with 2:19 left.

“They made that one 3 in the second half that really gutted us,” Inoue said.

The possibility of a comeback still looked promising when Sabel fouled out on a three-point play by Deja Lee, trimming the lead to 58-56 with 1:02 left, but Nya Epps made a difficult left-handed bank shot on the run with 41 seconds remaining to extend the lead back to two possessions.

Hunter Hernandez scored 15 points, Lee scored 13 and Gnahore scored 10 off the bench for the Anteaters, who were trying to advance to the championship game for the fourth time in the past five seasons.

They beat Davis in the championship game last season for their first Big West Tournament title since 1995, and knocked off the Aggies in both regular-season meetings this year, including on a last-second shot by Nikki Tom on March 6.

“Watching another team cut down the nets last year, it sticks with you,” UCD coach Jennifer Gross said. “It motivates you, it drives you, and our goal was to give ourselves that opportunity again.”

Something that has been an Achilles heel for UCI flared up again in the first half against the Aggies and that dampened its chances of keeping the score close.

UCI shot 6 for 30 (20%) from the floor in the first half, including 1 for 13 from 3-point range.

“It wasn’t our offense,” Inoue said. “It was just about making shots in tournament time. That’s what matters and the way we shot the ball, I was happy with what we looked at, it just didn’t go down.”

The Anteaters missed six of their first seven shots to start the game, while the Aggies made five of their first seven to open an early 15-2 lead.

Davis then went without a field goal for the final 6:02 of the opening quarter, but the Anteaters couldn’t take advantage and only trimmed the lead to 15-7 before the Aggies re-established a double-digit lead entering the second.

UCI shot 3 for 16 from the field in the opening quarter and missed all seven of its 3-point attempts.

“After that first media timeout, I just wanted to go check (the rim), just put a ball through that hoop to see if there was anything on it,” Inoue joked. “I thought we got really good looks, they were in and out.”

The Aggies continued to expand their lead in the second quarter.

Ryann Bennett, Sabel and Mazatlan Harris each hit deep 3-pointers in the opening three minutes to increase the lead to 28-11.

Bennett was inadvertently elbowed in the face by Lee with 3:32 left in the half and Sabel made both free throws to give UC Davis its biggest lead of the game at 32-11.

Bennett, the team’s fourth-leading scorer, did not return.

The lone bright spot in the opening 20 minutes for UCI was Gnahore, who more than doubled her season average (3.4 ppg) by scoring seven points in the first half, the same as the starting five for UCI, and she made the only 3-pointer against 12 misses for the Anteaters.

UCI found its rhythm in the third quarter, shooting 4 for 5 from behind the arc and 10 for 16 overall while outscoring the Aggies 26-12 to cut the lead to five entering the fourth.

​ Orange County Register 

Here’s what the symbolism of the California State Seal means

• March 15, 2025

The deal with seals

California is turning 175 years old later this year. To mark the occasion, we will be looking at several aspects of the state seal, as well as the nation’s seal and those of other states.

The seal of a nation or state is used for authenticating documents of high importance or high ceremony issued in the name of the sovereign or the chief executive authority, such as the president or governor. The California seal has changed several times over the years. The most recent version, the full-color version, was accepted as official in 1978.

The California State Capitol Museum tells the seal’s history:

“The Great Seal of the State of California was designed and approved at the 1849 Monterey Constitutional Convention. The complex imagery on the Great Seal serves as a snapshot in time, capturing some of the main issues facing the convention members. These included many activities and localities in the future state that were important to them – mining, farming and water transportation.

After the Constitutional Convention, the first set of seals were engraved, with further changes following over the next century. The Great Seal also includes two other state symbols: the grizzly bear and the state motto Eureka.”

The State Seal is stamped on official documents including California drivers’ licenses. It is on the badge for the California Highway Patrol.

If you look to the upper left you’ll see a tiny building in the distance. There is no official explanation as to what the building is and what it symbolizes. There are theories that it could be Fort Point in San Francisco as well as other urban legends that say it could be San Quentin Prison.

Sources: capitolmuseum.ca.gov, American Heritage Education Foundation.

​ Orange County Register 

Edison, victims’ experts to begin physical inspection of towers suspected in Eaton fire

• March 15, 2025

For the first time since the Eaton fire ignited Jan. 7, Southern California Edison and investigators for the victims next week will begin physically inspecting the equipment that more than 130 lawsuits allege sparked the deadly blaze.

The close-up inspections will include scaling three transmission towers and testing power lines under investigation for possible links to the fire’s origin, said Edison spokesperson Kathleen Dunleavy. To date, the towers have only been inspected by drones.

Besides Edison investigators, electrical engineers representing the plaintiffs in the litigation — including Los Angeles County and the cities of Pasadena and Sierra Madre — will be collaborating in the inspection.

“It’s a huge step toward determining the mechanism of the fire,” said attorney Michael Artinian, one of the lawyers representing victims of the Eaton fire, which destroyed more than 9,000 structures and killed 17 people. “We already have a lot of evidence to show the sparking that caused the fire, now we’re looking at the mechanism, the ‘how.’ “

Alexander Robertson, another attorney representing victims, said plaintiffs have been requesting access to Edison’s transmission towers and power lines since the fire occurred.

“It’s unfortunate that it took multiple court hearings to make this happen,” Robertson said.

Dunleavy responded: “We recognize that not all counsel is familiar with the complexity of utilities. It’s a complex business.”

The lawsuits point to eyewitness accounts, photographs and videos depicting arcing from Edison power lines and flames burning at the bottom of transmission towers. The suits contend that sparks from the lines or current from an exposed grounding wire made contact with the brush. They also criticize SCE for not deenergizing all the power lines in Eaton Canyon after the utility was warned days ahead that powerful winds were coming.

Edison has notified the Public Utilities Commission of irregularities in the system when it reenergized lines in the canyon, noting a “small flash of white light.”

A state and county investigation into the official cause of the fire is underway.

Much of the physical inspection will focus on three towers in the area where lawsuits allege the fire began, including one tower that was deenergized more than 50 years ago. One of the allegations is that the tower somehow became reenergized and triggered the fire.

In a news release, SCE said it does not anticipate having an immediate update following the upcoming inspection and testing, expecting its investigation will not be completed for several months.

The inspection announcement by SCE comes ahead of a court hearing Monday to set the protocol for preserving and providing evidence in the lawsuits. The court also is expected to appoint a trio of attorneys to act as liaisons between the court and more than 40 other law firms in the mass tort.

The firms are asking that the following lawyers be appointed as liaisons: Amanda L. Riddle of Corey, Luzaich, de Ghetaldi & Riddle; Gerald Singleton of Singleton Schreiber; and Rahul Ravipudi of Panish Shea Ravipudi.

SCE also announced Friday its efforts to rebuild the electrical system in the aftermath of the fierce windstorms that turned the Palisades and Eaton fires into hellscapes. SCE workers have set more than 1,860 poles, installed more than 690 transformers and strung at least 161 miles of power lines, officials said.

The utility said it also has expedited undergrounding projects and begun work to underground multiple sections of lines in Altadena and Malibu, where permits have been approved and projects were already engineered.

​ Orange County Register 

Rams re-sign DT Larrell Murchison to 1-year deal

• March 15, 2025

The Rams re-signed defensive tackle Larrell Murchison to a one-year contract, the team announced on Friday.

Murchison spent the previous three seasons with the Rams, providing depth along the defensive line. But he spent the entire 2024 season on injured reserve with different injuries.

With Bobby Brown III (Carolina Panthers) and Neville Gallimore (Indianapolis Colts) signing with other teams, Murchison’s return gives the Rams valuable defensive tackle depth behind Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, Tyler Davis and free agent acquisition Poona Ford.

​ Orange County Register