Although no high school basketball team from the Santa Clarita Valley was able to win a California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section championship this season, that doesn’t mean there isn’t any hardware left to play for.
The CIF state playoffs are scheduled to begin on Tuesday and for three teams in the SCV, the hope of ending the season with a championship is not yet over.
Here’s a look at Tuesday’s first-round matchups:
Valencia at Centennial
After a loss in the Division 1 Southern Section championship to the La Salle Lancers of Pasadena, the Valencia girls’ basketball team will begin its state playoff run on the road with a matchup against the Centennial Huskies of Corona.
The Vikings, who were placed in the Division 1 state bracket as the 12th seed, will have a tough matchup in the Huskies for the first round.
The Huskies are coming off having won their state play-in game in the Open Division, the toughest bracket in the CIF Southern Section. And in January, the Vikings and Huskies matched up for a non-league contest at Valencia High School with Centennial coming out with a 60-57 win.
For Tuesday’s matchup, the Vikings will hope to bounce back on Tuesday as the game between Valencia and the Huskies is set to tip off at 5 p.m. at Centennial High School.
Saugus vs. Lincoln
The Saugus girls’ basketball team will look to bounce back in the Division 2 state bracket following a loss to the Crescenta Valley Falcons in the Division 2 Southern Section championship.
The Centurions, who are the No. 4 seed in the bracket, will host their first-round matchup against the visiting Lincoln Hornets of San Diego at Saugus High School.
The Hornets, who are the 13th seed, won the Division 2 San Diego Section championship, and are ranked as the 95th team in the state, according to MaxPreps.
The game between the Centurions and Hornets is set to tip off at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Saugus High School.
Boys: Canyon vs. Franklin
Following a loss in the Division 7 Southern Section semifinals, the Canyon boys’ basketball team will kick off the state playoffs at home in the first round of the Division 5 bracket.
With the home matchup, the Cowboys are set to host their first-ever state playoff game as the No. 3 seed in the bracket and will have a favorable matchup over the visiting Franklin Panthers of Los Angeles.
The Panthers, who won the Division 4 Los Angeles City Section championship, are the 14th seed in the state bracket.
The game between the Cowboys and Panthers is set to tip off at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Canyon High School.
