OCEANSIDE – The School for Entrepreneurship & Technology is a public charter school with an enrollment of 247. The Kearny Mesa program has been competing in CIF San Diego Section sports for 14 years.
The school does not have a gymnasium. But there is wall space next to the main office and sometime in the near future a championship banner will be hung there.
Late Thursday night at MiraCosta College, the Lions won the school’s first section title in any sport, coming from behind to beat Foothills Christain 24-21 in the girls Div. 5-AA basketball hampionship.
“Honestly,” said senior guard Jannat Assaiban, “I am so speechless.”
Assiaban was the late-game hero. With 25.9 seconds to play and the game tied, Assiaban hit a 15-foot jumper from the right elbow to give the fourth-seeded Lions a 23-21 lead. It was SET’s first lead since late in the second quarter. And it was Assiaban’s first points of the game.
“I was stressed because it was so tight,” said Assiaban. “I was a little bit off-balanced and thought I’d miss. When it went in, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. I got it in.’ I was overjoyed.”
SET (13-8) starts five seniors. Three years ago, as freshmen, the players didn’t win a single game. In this year’s playoffs, they knocked off the No. 1 seed (Warner) and No. 2 seed (Foothills Christian)
Early in the fourth quarter, Foothills Christian led 20-14, taking the biggest lead in the game.
“I told them we were down by six but we hadn’t even played our best basketball,” said head coach Nicky Geis. “We feed off playing great defense and we didn’t play our best defense ’til the end of the game. It was about getting stops and getting rebounds.”
Here’s how good SET’s defense was down the stretch. In Foothills Christian’s last 14 possessions, the Knights were 0-for-7 from the field, turned the ball over seven times and hit 1 of 4 free throws.
Said SET’s Kameron Owens, who had double figures in steals and rebounds, “It’s like (the Eagles’) Jaylen Hurts said. Defense wins championships.”
Anicka Redondo led SET with nine points. Owens scored eight. Gigi Kent and Kate Botticelli scored six for Foothills Christian.
Foothills Christian (11-6) was also looking for its first girls basketball section title. The Knights have now finished runner-up three times: in 2014, 2019 and 2025.
— DON NORCROSS
Santana beats Del Lago for Division 5 title
CHULA VISTA – Santana went on a 32-0 run in the second and third quarters and went on to beat Del Lago 46-26 in Thursday CIF San Diego Section Division 5 championship at Mater Dei Catholic.
The Sultans missed their first nine shots before going on their epic run and Del Lago never got closer than 20 points.
In winning its first CIF title since the 2005-06 season, Santana held Del Lago scoreless for more than 17 minutes and shut the Firebirds out in the second quarter. Santana (25-6) was 5-22 last season and 7-20 the season before that.
“I’ve never seen a run like that,” said Sanata sophomore Harper Diaz, who finished with nine points and 13 rebounds.
“This team is so much fun. We’re together as a group. The chemistry is great.”
Sanatana freshman Sam Mora led all scorers with 18, including four 3-pointers.
“This team trusts each other,” Mora said. “We have great coaches, and we trust them, too. Winning this means a lot.”
Brynn Warren added eight points and had nine rebounds for Santana. Senior Emma Stephens led Del Lago with 11 points and added seven rebounds. Jasmine Callier scored two points for the Firebirds, but had nine rebounds. Sophie Berzanski had five points and seven rebounds. Del Lago turned the ball over 20 times, with nine of em coming in the second quarter.
Del Lago finished the season 15-10. The Firebirds had never won more than 12 games in a season since the school opened in 2013 and had never been to a championship game.
— JOHN MAFFEI
Crawford wins Division 4 title
Crawford erased a nine-point halftime deficit, defeating Escondido High School 38-37 late Thursday in the San Diego Section Division 4 championship game at Sage Creek High School.
“They’ve worked so hard to get this,” Crawford coach Dave Lockett said.
Escondido did not expect to be in this position after losing earlier in the week.
Fourth-seeded El Cajon Valley defeated Escondido in Tuesday’s semifinal round, 39-31. The following morning, El Cajon Valley informed the San Diego Section office that it had used an ineligible player in the victory. El Cajon Valley was forced to forfeit and Escondido was in the finals.
Escondido led 14-7 after the opening quarter and 22-14 at the break, thanks in part to junior forward Anaya McGlory. She used her physicality to grab rebounds and block shots while showcasing her perimeter scoring to put the Cougars in the lead.
In the second half, Crawford tasked senior Sandjhie Charve with face-guarding McGlory the length of the court, forcing the Cougars to turn to other offensive options. Unable to free herself from Charve, Crawford was able to pick away at the lead but still trailed by seven going into the final quarter.
“She’s so strong,” Lockett said of McGlory. “She can shoot a 3, she can shoot at the block, so I had to tell my best defender to stay with her and hold onto her tight and it worked.”
Senior captain Fatuma Abdi carried the Colts throughout the night, scoring 20 of the team’s first 27 points. Unable to get her shot to fall early in the fourth quarter, Crawford sophomore Samitioata Fidow stepped up with six second-half points to help close the deficit.
As Escondido struggled with the press in the closing minutes, Abdi found herself with the ball, down one point as the clock ticked under 45 seconds. Her 3-point attempt from the right wing banked in, giving Crawford their first lead since the opening quarter.
“I give Fatuma the green light,” Lockett said. “She makes decisions for me and tells me what’s not working if I don’t see it myself. She’s coaching and playing at the same time, so I love it.”
— BODIE DESILVA
