Girls basketball beat Etiwanda today 42-28 in the Open Division CIF Southern Section semifinals to advance to the championship, marking their 24th win of the season.

The team is now 24-4 overall with their last loss coming against Centennial on Jan. 15 in the St. Mary’s Shootout tournament.

The team began the game leading 12-9 after the first quarter and held Etiwanda to 12 points in the first half. The Wolverine defense allowed only six points combined in the second and third quarters. Guard Ashlee Wong ’18 said that she was pleased with the team’s defense.

“Our defense was really good.” Wong said. “We did all the little things, and we knew their personnel well. We communicated and boxed out, which was what kept them to 12 points in the first half.

Center Kiki Iriafen ’21 finished with 10 points and forward Jayda Ruffus-Milner ’18 finished with 13 points.

The Wolverines will play in the Open Division CIF-SS Championship against Windward on Friday. Iriafen said that she is proud with the girls’ hard work this year.

“We have worked so hard to get to the championship and this was the game we needed to win in order to reach that goal,” Iriafen said.

This season, the squad has already played Windward twice, losing the first game 68-67 on Nov. 22 and winning the second game 67-54 on Dec. 2. Wong said that the team has some areas to focus and improve on before the game.

“We’ve played Windward before, so we know their type of play.” Wong said. “I think we just need to focus on team defense, run through plays, and feel confident in our game plan.”