Girls basketball: L.A. City Section Open Division playoff bracket breakdown

Here's a full primer on the upcoming CIFLACS Open Division girls basketball playoffs

It's an exciting time for high school hoops fans as the L.A. City Section girls basketball postseason is officially underway.

Play-in games in Divisions 1-5 took place on Tuesday, and the Open Division kicks off with the quarterfinals on Thursday.

As usual, the Open Division field includes a couple clear favorites and a multitude of other teams that might just make some noise. Here's an in-depth look at the field and the first round (quarterfinals) matchups.

QUARTERFINALS MATCHUPS:

No. 1 Granada Hills Charter (23-4) vs. No. 8 San Fernando (24-3)

Players to watch:

G Marianne Boco – Granada Hills Charter – Jr.

C Emma Perez – Granada Hills Charter – Jr.

F Karma Paez – Granada Hills Charter – Jr.

C/F Samantha Maldonado – San Fernando – Sr.

G Natalia Gaspar – San Fernando – Sr.

F/C Kayla Stotts – San Fernando – Sr.

Analysis:

After winning Division 2 in 2020-21 and making the Division 1 semifinals as an 11th seed last year, San Fernando has officially played its way into the Open Division. 

With their only losses coming against Palisades, Westchester, and Ventura, the Tigers have beaten almost every team they're "supposed" to beat, and a good few that some would say they weren't. When it came time for league play, they went 12-0 in the Valley Mission League without any remotely close calls. A 54-40 win against Los Angeles CES, now the third seed in Division 1, was likely pivotal in San Fernando getting the nod.

So, the Tigers' season – and run of at least three seasons – has been a raging success. The bad news for them is the numbers are against them here. Other than the pandemic-plagued 2020-21 season, when it opted out of the postseason, Granada Hills Charter is an absolute machine in the first round of Open Division playoffs dating back to the 2015-16 campaign, winning by at least 15 points every time. In last year's 61-33 victory against King/Drew, the Highlanders played one of their better games of the season from the opening seconds of the game onward.

Top-seeded Granada Hills has been unwavering against City Section competition, sweeping the West Valley League without ever getting played down to single-digits. With arguably the best defense in the LACS in many recent years, the Highlanders almost never lose in shockers. Their only losses this season came down to the wire against upper-division Southern Section championship contenders Leuzinger, Chaminade, Westlake, and Redondo Union, and they're probably the most battle-tested team in the section.

While GHC has one of the section's most dominant players, reigning LACS Wooden Award winner Marianne Boco (16 points, 4.5 assists, 4.4 steals per game), San Fernando has one too. C Samantha Maldonado leads the team with 16.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game despite her scoring average falling during league play as a result of sitting late in so many blowout wins. She'll be tasked with carrying the Tigers while matched up with Emma Perez, who's arguably the top paint anchor in the City. Although San Fernando doesn't have any other players averaging 10 PPG, it does have a handful of other players who can get hot and make an impact on any given night, especially steady senior PG Natalia Gaspar. In order to compete, San Fernando will need to fight to control the tempo, get Maldonado going early, and have multiple other players make a dent in the scoring column.

No. 2 Westchester (26-1) vs. No. 7 Taft (18-9)

Players to watch:

F Mariah Blake – Westchester – Jr.

G Rylei Waugh – Westchester – Sr.

F Ron'yae Jackson – Westchester – Sr.

F Evelyn Birau – Taft – Sr.

C Brigita Bulotaite – Taft – Jr.

G Aliyah Muhammad – Taft – So.

Analysis:

Last season, the Comets came a couple buckets away from winning an Open Division title as an underclassmen-heavy fourth seed. Since they won the Division 1 title in the 2019-20 season, it's been no secret that the 2022-23 campaign would be their best chance to win the Open Division. After nearly going undefeated in the regular season, they're as dangerous as ever, with Mariah Blake and Rylei Waugh both in the Player of the Year discussion and Ron'yae Jackson and Anyse Grimble among other big difference-makers. But they can't overlook Taft in their title pursuit.

After making the Division 1 finals last season, the Toreadors silenced the naysayers for the second straight season led by the dominant frontcourt of Evelyn Birau and Brigita Bulotaite. And once sophomore transfer and three-point bomber Aliyah Muhammad became eligible, they became much more dangerous. In WVL play, they upset Birmingham the first time around and held off all other foes besides GHC to finish tied for second, making them a no-brainer for the Open Division. That league run included holding off crosstown rival El Camino Real, which defeated them in the D1 finals last year, twice.

Westchester hasn't lost to LACS competition this season despite playing in the Western League and facing Crenshaw twice in addition to other top City teams. While Taft has proven able to play both fast and slow, and defensively contain very dangerous teams, Westchester still looks like the heavy favorite. Both teams are big and physical up front, Westchester is also big and physical in the backcourt and on the wings, and that could prove to be the key matchup advantage if it's a close game.

No. 3 Crenshaw (19-6) vs. No. 6 Palisades (13-14)

Players to watch:

G Dalayja Floyd-Hurt – Crenshaw – Sr.

G Citlali Salazar – Crenshaw – Sr.

G/F Bailiey Prewitt – Crenshaw – Fr.

F Taylor Arnold – Palisades – Sr.

F Elise Arnold – Palisades – Sr. 

G Brooke Shibata – Palisades – Sr.

Analysis:

On one hand, Crenshaw is undeniably the favorite in this one. Crenshaw routed Palisades 58-37 on Jan. 6, has a much better record and seed, and earned home-court advantage. This one of the best, if not the best, Cougars teams in a while, and they've been very consistent. 

A 21-point loss to Westchester is their only lopsided loss this season, and their other ones – including a much closer loss against Westchester – have all come against excellent foes. Wins over the likes of Mira Costa, Leuzinger, Pali, and Oaks Christian suggest that Crenshaw has the upside of a title team. And while most of the Cougars' campaign has been smooth sailing, they showed major resilience on Friday to beat King/Drew on the road in overtime to force a tie for first in the Coliseum League.

On the other hand, this game feels like a lock to be more competitive than the prior meeting. Palisades has played increasingly better ball since then as health and continuity have improved. Like Crenshaw, the Dolphins did better in the second go-around of league by winning their second game against Hamilton, and nearly beat Westchester in one of their two losses against them. When these two sides met the first time, Crenshaw's slew of quick perimeter defenders kept Palisades from getting into its sets much, racking up 16 steals, but Pali will likely be more ready for that this time.

If the Dolphins can execute and control the tempo, the game will probably turn into a battle of inside scoring versus outside scoring. When healthy, the forward duo of Taylor and Elise Arnold is very hard for anyone in the section to match up with, and Palisades is historically very good at exploiting mismatches inside. It contrasts with how Crenshaw usually plays its best ball going small. If the Dolphins bring their A-game and lead guard Brooke Shibata is in rhythm offensively, they can still give any team in the section a run for its money. Whether or not that means they can find an answer for Crenshaw's fast-paced attack – Dalayja Floyd-Hurt dominated with 20 points, 6 assists, and 6 steals on 8-13 shooting last meeting – is another story. Either way, this should be a great game with a lot of seniors fighting to play another day.

No. 4 King/Drew (15-13) vs. No. 5 Birmingham (17-11)

Players to watch:

G Anayla Anderson – King/Drew – Jr.

G Alexis Wallace – King/Drew – So.

F Christiauna Taylor – King/Drew – Jr.

G/F DeeDee Berry – Birmingham – Jr.

G Sammy Velasquez – Birmingham – Jr.

C Lili Martinez – Birmingham – So.

Analysis:

As a meeting of the fourth and fifth seeds, one might assume this game will be the most exciting of the first round. And one would probably be right. After playing a brutal non-league schedule and then tying for a conference title, King/Drew earned a home game to open the playoffs. However, it's now tasked with putting away the reigning Open Division champion. 

Birmingham proved last season that it had an extra gear in the playoffs. And it might again this year, but with Natalie Lopez reportedly injured, it might be without one of the section's top point guards. In 2021-22, the addition of Lopez was paramount in Birmingham breaking through, and as a junior, she's led the team with 5.2 APG and 4 SPG, in addition to being third on the team in scoring. Either way, Birmingham has dealt with injuries already this season, including to Lopez, and succeeded in "next man up" situations for multiple years in a row. 

Whereas Birmingham has pedigree from already breaking through last year, King/Drew is looking for that banner year right now. It didn't play the wild non-league slate including Redondo Union, Lynwood, North (Torrance), Orangewood Academy, Long Beach Poly, Mira Costa, Fairmont Prep, Crescenta Valley, Village Christian, and Bishop Montgomery in the regular season for nothing. Almost everyone who sees the floor for the Golden Eagles can shoot the ball and score in bunches when it's their night, and they've put together some defensive gems this season as well.

Part of what makes this battle exciting is that these teams are fairly similar and should match up in an interesting way. Both are athletic guard/wing-centric teams with a slew of good perimeter defenders, and neither rely overly on any one player. What might be the main difference to watch is that King/Drew shoots more consistently from range, but the Patriots have a lit bit more of an inside presence between leading scorer DeeDee Berry having great size at the wing and sophomore C Lili Martinez. Martinez stepped up in a big way as a freshman on their title run, and she has frequently been the X-factor in games where they need a boost both scoring inside and pounding the glass.