CIF-SS Basketball Wrap-Up: Steals record broken; second edition of computer rankings

A national record was broken in girls basketball; plus, a ton of movement in the second edition of the basketball computer rankings.

Basketball huddle / Weston Hancock

Welcome to the 'CIF Southern Section Basketball Wrap-Up'.

Every week, High School on SI senior reporter Tarek Fattal will recap the CIF Southern Section's best basketball performances, notable headlines and scores - and of course - an updated boys basketball Top 25 rankings.

This week's wrap-up covers the second edition of the playoff computer rankings, which had significant movement even at the top in both boys and girls. We'll look at the top league games this week. Recognize a national record being broken in girls basketball and give another example of the CIF Southern Section producing America's top professional athletes.

ALL-IMPORTANT LEAGUE PLAY BEGINS

League play begins this week. Here are the biggest boys' matchups this week that will likely impact the computer rankings among the top 20 teams:

• St. Francis at Sierra Canyon, Jan. 7
• Crespi at Alemany, Jan. 7
• Damien at Etiwanda, Jan. 8
• St. John Bocso at Santa Margarita, Jan. 9
• Harvard-Westlake at Crespi, Jan. 9
• Brentwood at Crossroads, Jan. 9
• Oaks Christian at Thousand Oaks, Jan. 9
• Mayfair at La Mirada, Jan. 9
• Orange Lutheran at JSerra, Jan. 9
• Notre Dame at Sierra Canyon, Jan. 9 (8:30 p.m. on ESPN2)

GIRLS BASKETBALL NATIONAL RECORD IN STEALS

Westlake High's Olivia Elsokary had a mind-boggling 25 steals in the Warriors' 48-31 win over Santa Barbara on December 20. Elsokary had 14 steals by halftime.

Olivia Elsokary (1) had a record-setting 25 steals in Westlake's 48-31 win over Santa Barbara on December 20, 2025. / Mike Bouffard

It may seem unrealistic, but there's video of each steal!

The previous record was set at 24 by Sureka Hammonds of Parkwood High in North Carolina in 1992.

TOP 25 EXPERT RANKINGS

There will be two rankings published every week in the CIF Southern Section as it pertains to boys and girls basketball. There are the traditional expert rankings, which is a Top 25 compiled by a reporter, and there are the computer rankings, which are used to place teams come playoff time.

Here are the latest expert rankings as of Jan. 4.

EXPERT: BOYS TOP 25 RANKINGS | GIRLS TOP 25 RANKINGS

COMPUTER RANKINGS

The second edition of the computer rankings was released Tuesday for boys and girls basketball.

As teams are vying for league placement, which will determine their playoff eligibility, working in the background is CIF's 'competitive equity' model that uses computer rankings to determine where teams should fall come playoff time. The computer will determine which division and where within that division a team should be placed based on the results from the current year.

COMPUTER: BOYS BASKETBALL | GIRLS BASKETBALL

NOT BASKETBALL, BUT WORTH NOTING

Dec 21, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) celebrates with wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) after a play during the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The CIF Southern Section is known for its high-level talent in all sports. Some of America's greatest athletes came from the Southern Section. Another example of that presented itself this past weekend in the NFL.

Two of the more dominant football players to compete in the Trinity League — Mater Dei QB Bryce Young and Servite WR Tetairoa McMillan — helped the Carolina Panthers clinch its first playoff berth snice 2017.

• STORY: Panthers' Bryce Young, Tetairoa McMillan once football rivals, now in NFL playoffs

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