Breaking down Division 5AA of the girls basketball playoffs:
DIVISION 5AA
Top seeds: Orangewood Academy, Ribet Academy, Flintridge Prep, Mission Prep
County representatives: Orangewood Academy, Connelly, Saddleback Valley Christian
Rapid Reaction: We very well could see a rematch of last season’s Division 5A final, which saw Orangewood lose to Ribet Academy, 47-27. A year later and a division higher, the Spartans and Fighting Frogs have showed no signs of a drop off, as they were the top-two seeded teams in the bracket.
Ribet Academy’s 6-foot-1 forward Celine Bolton-Ford proved to be a nightmare matchup for an undersized Orangewood squad last March, scoring 22 points and grabbing 17 boards in the championship game. This season, the Spartans match up much better with the Fighting Frogs thanks in large part to a pair of stellar freshman.
Six-foot forward Jaqueline Saucedo averaged a double-double in the regular season (10 points and 10 boards), while 5-foot-10 teammate Estafania Giner led the team with 13 point a night and was second with 8 rebounds per.
A rematch in the final would be much closer than last year’s 20-point outcome.
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