The Canyon and West Ranch girls basketball teams looked strong in their first round CIF playoff games.
Canyon beat Pioneer Valley, 80-43, behind 21 points from Brooke LeMar and 30 points from the bench players, in the Division IIAA playoffs.
West Ranch jumped all over Serrano early and won, 68-50, in its Division IIAA playoff game. Erin Ruiz scored a team-high 21 points and Brittini Walker added 16 for West Ranch.
The Valencia girls lost to Crescenta Valley, 53-48, in the first round of the Division IA playoffs.
The Vasquez girls lost to Pilibos, 40-25, in the first round of the Division VA playoffs.
In CIF soccer playoffs, Canyon had a tough first-round matchup. The Canyon boys beat Anaheim, 7-6, in a shootout to advance to the second round of the Division III playoffs.
The game was tied, 2-2, at the end of regulation. Jordan Markovich scored two goals for Canyon. His second goal gave his team a 2-1 lead. Mohammed Roknipour assisted on both of Markovich’s goals.
The Valencia boys lost to Santa Maria, 1-0, in the first round of the Division III playoffs.
The Saugus Dance Team will host a United Spirit Association (USA) Regional Dance Competition at the Saugus gym on Saturday.
Canyon, Hart, Valencia and West Ranch are expected to join dance teams from throughout Southern California in the competition. Tickets go on sale at 7 a.m. at Saugus High School.
The Master’s College men’s basketball team lost to Cal Baptist, 69-62. Dean Hadley scored 16 points to lead The Master’s College.
The Master’s College women beat Cal Baptist, 82-71, behind 18 points from Erica Inge. Brittany Henderson scored 16 points and had 13 rebounds in the win.
The Kobe-less Lakers lost to the visiting Boston Celtics, 87-86. Derek Fisher missed a 20-foot jumper with two seconds left in the game. The Lakers suffered their first loss without injured all-star Kobe Bryant and are 4-1 since Bryant has been sidelined with a sprained ankle.
The Dodgers signed Eric Gagne to a minor league contract. Gagne won the Cy Young award in 2003, when he was a perfect 55-for-55 in save opportunities. He converted 84 straight save chances over three seasons as the closer for the Dodgers.
In the Winter Olympics, USA added another gold medal and bumped its medal total to 18.
Evan Lysacek won the gold in men’s figure skating. Skier Julia Mancuso notched her second silver medal of the Olympics. She finished second in the women’s super-combined.
In hockey, Team USA beat Norway, 6-1. Jack Johnson had an assist on Ryan Malone’s goal in the third period.
USA leads the medal count with 18. Germany is second with 11.