The girls’ basketball team defeated Troy High School 55-42 Feb. 29 and were crowned CIF-SS Division I champions.
Preview
Previously, the squad defeated Troy High School 40-23 in the Redondo Tournament earlier in the season. In its most recent game, the girls defeated Troy High School 55-42, with forward Kiki Iriafen ’21 finishing with 31 points and guard Melissa Zozulenko ’21 scoring 12 points. Heading into the championship matchup against the Warriors, the girls’ had an overall record of 22-8.
The Game
The team started quickly and found themselves up 15-2 with 2:09 left in the first quarter. At the end of the quarter, the squad was up 17-6, with guard Kimiko Katzaroff ’21 responsible for 11 of those points. However, the Warriors bounced back in the second quarter, scoring 11 points and found themselves only down eight heading into the second half. At the half, Iriafen had a double-double for the Wolverines, while Katzaroff had not missed a shot.
CIF-SS DI Girls’ Basketball Championship Game: @HWgirlshoops leads @troyhs_gbball 25-17 at half. Iriafen has 12 and Katzaroff has 11 for the Wolverines. pic.twitter.com/LIquthbnYZ
— Harvard-Westlake (@hwathletics) March 1, 2020
Throughout the game, the Warriors utilized both zone and man defenses, but the squad pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring their opponent by nine points and finding themselves up 39-22. Iriafen led this dominant run, scoring 12 points in the quarter for the Wolverines. Despite a comeback attempt from the Warriors, the team maintained its lead in the final quarter, winning the game 55-42.
Iriafen finished with 27 points for the Wolverines, while Katzaroff added 18. The win marked the girls’ basketball program’s fifth CIF-SS title and its first since 2010. Iriafen described the feeling of winning her first CIF title.
“It was amazing,” Iriafen said. “All of our hard work really paid off in that moment. It was just nice to finally achieve this goal that most of us have had since our freshman year.”
🏀The Wolverines of Harvard-Westlake are the 2020 #CIF Division 1 Champions
Harvard-Westlake 55
Troy 42. pic.twitter.com/en3oJJMwD1— Matthew Kovach (@MattyK31) March 1, 2020
State Playoffs
The girls’ next game is in CIF State Playoffs, with the site and time set to be released the evening March 1.
