Girls’ Basketball Roundup: Edison, HB, FV earn first-round wins

Three local Sunset League girls’ basketball teams emerged unscathed Saturday from the opening round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs.

Edison, Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley all won to advance in postseason play. A fourth local team, Ocean View, was eliminated Saturday following a second-round playoff loss. The Chargers, Oilers and Barons each played a second-round game Wednesday but the scores from those games weren’t available at press time.

Winners from Wednesday’s games advance to division quarterfinal-round games which are at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Quarterfinal round games are at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Edison held off visiting Chino Hills, 47-40, in Division 1AA. Senior guard Geena Gomez scored 15 points and junior forward Loli Gomez scored 12 points for the No. 12-seed Chargers (18-7). Freshman Alyssa Atencio, who came into the game from the bench and hit a clutch, three-pointer to preserve the lead late in the game, finished with seven points.

Edison Coach Dan Wiley said his Chargers made only 16 of 60 shots from the field against the Cowboys, who tied for second place in the Sierra League.

“We need to shoot better if we are to advance,” Wiley said. “That [16 of 60] won’t get it done at any level.”

Wiley said that freshman forward Justine Modde was injured after taking a charge with 2:26 left in the game and taken to a local hospital. He said Modde, who was released from the hospital that same night, suffered a “concussion and severe neck pain,” and would not play in Edison’s second-round game Wednesday against No. 5-seed Etiwanda (Baseline League No. 1).

Huntington Beach started the season in November with a win over Montebello Schurr, and started the Division 1-A playoffs with another win over the Spartans. The 60-44 road victory Saturday put the No. 12-seed Oilers into a second-round matchup Wednesday against No. 5-seed Ventura (Channel League No. 1).

Huntington, the third-place team from the Sunset League, jumped out to an early lead on Schurr (Almont League No. 2) and led by as many as 20 points. Junior guard Stephanie Louie led the scoring with 23 points and junior guard Paola Roa netted 19 points.

“The girls played very well on the road and kept their nerves in check,” said Huntington Coach Russ McClurg, who now has 299 career coaching victories.

Fountain Valley also was on the road Saturday for its Division 1-AA opener. The Barons, an at-large entry to the playoffs from the Sunset League, went to Burbank to face Burroughs and knocked off the No. 8-seed Indians, 61-57.

Junior guard Dani Kennedy, who Barons Coach Cory Clarke said, “broke down defenders all night” led the scoring with 19 points and had four assists. Senior forward Kelcie Mayott, who came off the bench, went six for six from the floor (12 points) and led the Barons (12-15) in rebounding with seven boards. Senior guard Jasmine Matar, who Clarke said, “made great defensive plays,” had 10 blocks. Matar also knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the final two minutes after the Indians had rallied to tie the score. Matar finished with eight points and also had six assists and three steals.

Junior forward Emily Krause scored 13 points and had five rebounds, senior forward Danielle Tran had four points and three rebounds, senior forward Marisa Teng took a key charging foul in the fourth quarter, and sophomore guard Ashely Masuda hit two free throws with 33 seconds left to put the Barons up by three.

“The girls put in a complete effort,” Clarke said. “We got outstanding contributions from everyone. We were able to attack their full-court pressure and score in transition in the first half to build a 15-point lead. In the second half, we got in foul trouble with our post players (Mayott, Tran), and Burroughs made a run to tie the game with just under three minutes. We kept our composure, made some big plays on offense and defense to get the win.

“It’s been 17 years since Fountain Valley High girls’ basketball has won a CIF playoff game. Our girls earned the victory together.”

The win put Fountain Valley into a second-round game against No. 9-seed Westminster on Wednesday.

Ocean View, the No. 12-seed in the Division 3A playoffs, were eliminated in a second-round game Saturday at No. 5-seed South Pasadena (Rio Hondo League No. 2), 61-34. The Seahawks (18-10), the No. 3 team from the Golden West League, previously won their playoff opener on Feb. 14, 22-18, over Covina (Valle Vista League No. 4).

michael.sciacca@latimes.com

Twitter: @MikeSciacca