It was a good weekend for Los Al Griffin Sports, with strong showings by both basketball teams, girls soccer, and girls water polo.
The Los Al Girls Water Polo team finished in third place at the Villa Park Classic after falling to eventual champion The Bishop’s School of La Jolla 12-9 in the morning semi-finals, but rallying to defeat Long Beach Wilson 14-7 in the third-place match.
The Griffins, who moved up to fifth place in the latest CIF polls, went 4-1 in the three-day tournament and improved their season record to 5-2. They return to action Friday with a match against Los Altos in the Wolfpack Holiday Tournament.
On a side note, a testament to the quality of the new Griffin Aquatics facility is that host Villa Park chose to play all the championship round matches at Los Al.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
The Los Alamitos Girls basketball team downed Canyon 62-32 to improve their record to 7-1. The Griffins’ scoring parade was led by Sophomore guard Kaylie Liew with 16 points while fellow sophs Megan Lee and Kassidy Beach added 12 pts and 10, respectively.
The Los Al girls are now ranked No. 22 in the Register’s latest OC rankings. They return to action this weekend with a home match against Trabuco Hills on Friday night, and an away game against Valencia of Placentia on Saturday at 6pm.
GIRLS SOCCER
Los Al advanced to next week’s Championship bracket by finishing atop their pool at the Best in the West Tournament hosted by Newport Harbor High. Playing at University High, the Griffins defeated Mater Dei 2-1 behind two goals by Senior Mimi Abusham. It was Abusham’s third goal of the season. Mater Dei was ranked No. 7 in the CIF rankings, while Los Al was at No. 8
In the late morning match, Los Al tied Santiago 0-0. Santiago, currently ranked No. 2 in Division 1, had ended Los Al’s season last year by handing the Griffins a loss in the CIF playoff quarter-finals. Santiago and Mater Dei then tied 1-1, securing Los Al atop the pool.
In next Saturday’s tournament final rounds, the Griffins will again play at University High, with a semi-final match against No, 3 ranked San Juan Hills, which finished ahead of top-ranked Harvard-Westlake. San Juan tied H-W, but defeated University. Harvard-Westlake could only manage a tie against University. The Los Al ladies’ record is now 1-1-2.
If the Griffins win, they would advance to the championship game and face the winner of the Newport Harbor-Temecula Valley match. Temecula Valley is tied for the No. 10 CIF spot.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Los Al won its final game of the Corona Del Mar Beach Bash tourney, beating Pacifica Christian 54-44 on Saturday. The Griffins were led by Niko Griset, Jake Petroff, and “Toothless” Ty Matthews who each had 11 points.
Los Al went 3-1 in tournament, and is now 8-3 on the season.
The Griffins, who moved up to No. 15 in the Register’s OC Rankings, return to courts this Tuesday with a road match at Cypress, then play host to La Mirada on Thursday.
