Brentwood School girls basketball routs Santiago (Corona) for second straight CIF-SS title: 5 takeaways

ONTARIO, Calif. - Deja vu?

After stampeding its way to the Southern Section championship, Brentwood School make short work of a highly-touted opponent in the title game, cruising past Santiago (Corona) 70-53 for a Division 1 title.

If that sounds familiar, it's because the Eagles did the exact same thing last year to win Division 2AA. And now, they're back-to-back CIF-SS girls basketball champions for the first time in program history. 

Lev Feiman led Brentwood with 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and four steals on 8-13 shooting, with 15 of her points coming in the second half.

Here are five takeaways from the game:

1. Brentwood's beautiful basketball shines on biggest stage

All too often, outstanding offenses that are dependent on ball movement and the three-point shot fall apart in championship games – especially in big arenas.

Not Brentwood's. 

The Eagles put on a clinic against a long, athletic, and physical Santiago defense, highlighted by their 13-27 clip from downtown. They shot 24-49 overall, and assisted on 14 of their field goals.

Scoring 70 points against Santiago speaks for itself.

And it was practically another night at the office for one of the Southern Section's most consistent pace-and-space offenses.

"The plan was to push the ball, push the ball, push the ball," said Brentwood head coach Charles Solomon. 

"Get out in the open floor and move the ball. We're very unselfish."

In the half-court game, Brentwood spaced the floor and drove into the paint frequently. It converted at the rim at a strong rate while dominating in the drive-and-kick game.

"Our [preferred shots] are inside-out threes," Solomon said. 

"When there is a paint touch and we kick it out for a three – that's over a layup. So our kids know to attack, kick... and that's what we did all day today. I couldn't be more proud as a coach that they're that unselfish on this kind of stage."

Brentwood School led by just two points after a tight first quarter, but upped its lead to 34-21 by halftime and never looked back.

Santiago's best offensive quarter was the fourth quarter, when it upped its level of physicality in attacking the rim and scored 19 points. But it was far too little, too late. Brentwood had its largest lead of the game when it led 70-46 just over halfway through the fourth quarter.

"I think we executed the game plan really well... to not let them get into the paint," Solomon said. 

"It frustrated them. We forced them to take a lot of threes, which is kind of not what they like to do. They like to bruise you and get inside and take advantage of their size. We sagged off them."

Few undersized teams gang rebound like Brentwood. Santiago won the rebounding battle 38-28 and scored 18 second-chance points, but didn't outright take over the game on the offensive glass.

2. Eagles survive Pascual's foul trouble

Brentwood's lopsided victory transpired despite senior wing Jocelyn Pascual, who averages 14.8 points per game, sitting more than half the game with foul trouble. She totaled under 14 minutes of game time, fouling out halfway through the fourth quarter, and still got her average of 15 points.

"And to do it with her...in foul trouble the entire game," Solomon began. 

"She's the heart and soul of our team, our league MVP. And for the girls to step up with her off the floor, to me, that's probably the most impressive part of it all."

Aariah Roa added six points, four assists, and two steals for the Eagles. Payton Sugar shot 4-7 from deep for 12 points, and Reena White was 3-5 from behind the arc for 11 points and five rebounds.

3. Revenge tastes sweet

A season ago, Santiago pummeled Brentwood School 71-47 in the CIF Southern Region Division I playoffs to end its season.

While the Eagles probably didn't need any extra motivation on Saturday, they certainly had it.

Solomon said his players had hoped for a chance at revenge all playoffs.

"They wanted it. [Santiago] beat us in 2019 when we were the one seed, and that's probably the worst loss of my career. Between that and them kicking our butts last year – and it wasn't close – we wanted Santiago very bad."

4. Brentwood achieves uncommon feat

While there have been a few high-profile instances in the last five years, it's very rare for teams to win multiple Southern Section basketball championships in a row. Especially in the upper divisions.

But how many teams have done it without a single game in either section title run coming down to fewer than nine points? And this time, Brentwood beat every playoff foe by 11 points or more.

"I kind of treat state like it's a bonus... it was all about winning this championship," Solomon said. 

"That was what we wanted. No Brentwood team has won back-to-back. When we won our first one in 2014, we were in Division 4. When we won in 2018, we were in Division 3. Last year we were in 2, and now we're in 1. For this group of seniors and juniors, it was all about this – winning Division 1."

5. Santiago adds to list of playoff runs, isn't done yet

Not all is lost for the Sharks. Despite the loss, they've now made a Division 2A title game, an Open Division appearance, and a Division 1 final in the last three seasons. They won the 2A title in 2022, and last year, they bounced back from getting swept in Open Division pool play to win a CIF Southern Region Division I championship.

And they'll be a team no team wants to face in this year's Division I regional bracket, save for maybe Brentwood.

Head coach Mike Mitchell is optimistic that his team can bury this underwhelming performance in the past and regroup, with the potential to make another state finals appearance.

 "The schedule that we played – as long as we keep our heads together, it should manifest in a state run," he said. "So, all we got to do is get our heads up, wash this off... If we come back and win another four straight, we'll be right back where we were last year."

"I don't think there's a whole lot [tactically] to fix. But we need effort," Mitchell said. "When we play with great effort and intensity, [it's] a different ballgame."

Senior wing/forward Zawadi Ogot, who spearheaded Santiago's strong fourth quarter offense, was her team's main bright spot. She led the game with 22 points, nine rebounds, and 69.2-percent shooting (9-13 FG). Rylee Ghent and Jayda Cobbs scored 13 points and nine for the Sharks, respectively, and each grabbed nine boards as well.

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