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 Sonora coach Melissa Barajas addresses her players during a CIF-SS Division 3AA semifinal against Patriot of Riverside on Saturday.
Sonora coach Melissa Barajas addresses her players during a CIF-SS Division 3AA semifinal against Patriot of Riverside on Saturday.
Associate mug of Kenny Connolly, Anaheim reporter.

Date shot: 12/31/2012 . Photo by KATE LUCAS /  ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Sonora coach Melissa Barajas put it best when she likened matching up with Orange Lutheran to looking into a mirror.

The similarities between the Raiders and the Lancers are undeniable and revolve around a tenacity the two squads have demonstrated on the defensive end of the floor.

Because each has embraced playing a suffocating brand of basketball, the teams will square off Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at Azusa Pacific University in the Division 3AA championship game.

Orange Lutheran will be making its second consecutive trip to a CIF-SS title game; it won the 3A title last March. Sonora will be playing in the program’s first CIF championship game after throttling Patriot of Riverside, 59-34, Saturday in a semifinal.

“It was exciting because we were sitting in that same locker room two years ago at Patriot having just lost a first round playoff game,” Barajas recalled. “We watched our boys team go on this same ride last year (to the final), so it’s great for the girls to see their hard work has paid off.”

The Raiders (27-3) limited opponents to 30.6 points per game, and 15 times it held foes to 29 points or less. The Lancers are allowing 32 points an outing, and on 13 occasions they kept the opposition to a point total in the teens or 20s.

“It’ll be interesting to see which team is more efficient offensively,” Barajas said. “We’re both solid on ‘D’, but it may come down to who can get a few easy baskets in transition or off of turnovers.”

When asked if the game makes it out of the 40s, Barajas chuckled, saying “I’d be very surprised if it got past that.”

In its championship game last year, Orange Lutheran gutted out a 35-31 win over Santa Margarita. Lancers coach Tom Howard said his squad is ready for another grind-it-out affair.

“Both teams are capable of getting hot and putting up points, and there are players that have the potential to do that,” Howard explained. “But you’re going to see two teams that are comfortable in low-scoring games.”

ON THE HORIZON

The basketball season doesn’t end with this weekend’s slate of Southern Section championship games.

The CIF will release brackets Sunday for the Southern California Regionals, which officially begin March 9. The CIF State championship games are March 24 and 26 in Sacramento.

On Monday, some of the at-large berths for the regionals were announced. Corona del Mar (a Division 4 semifinalist) and Oxford Academy (a Division 5 semifinalist) were the county teams awarded berths.

The Sea Kings lost a heartbreaker to La Canada, 55-52, on Saturday. La Canada won the game with a controversial 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Oxford Academy was held to a season-low in points in a 39-24 loss to Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo.

O.C. SHARPSHOOTER

Beckman’s Janessa Paredes has advanced to the semifinals in the nationwide voting for the American Family Insurance High School’s 3-Point Championships in Houston, Texas.

Paredes, a senior, was one of the county’s top 3-point shooting threats this season, draining 91 shots from beyond the arc.

Fans can vote for Paredes at www.highschoolslam.com. Semifinal voting ends Wednesday at 10 a.m. The event will be aired on KCBS on April 3.

Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com