In the CIF-SS Division 1 Championship, La Salle secured its third section title in five years with a 51-35 win over Valencia on Friday night at the Toyota Arena.

The Lancers took control from the opening tip and never relinquished it. Even in the closing seconds, the Vikings continued to battle — an effort Valencia Head Coach Jared Honig said he appreciated.

“I was proud of our girls for competing all the way through to the final buzzer. Obviously, La Salle has a great team and credit to them for always being ready to play basketball. They have great coaches and great players,” said Honig.

Honig added that Valencia typically aims to be the more aggressive team, but in the championship game, it was La Salle that dictated the tempo.

The Lancers were particularly effective in the paint, with nearly 43% of their points coming inside.

La Salle was led by Aislin Tamez Torres, who paced all scorers with 15 points. Emily Fong and Riley Higgins added 11 points each.

Valencia, meanwhile, struggled offensively. The Vikings scored in double digits in just one quarter — the fourth — when they put up 17 points.

“I was looking at the box score and we had three single-digit quarters to start the game, which is pretty atypical of us,” said Honig. “We weren’t able to get to the hoop like we normally do, which then creates outside opportunity.”

Despite the loss, Valencia now turns its attention to the CIF State Tournament.

“A lot of the time over the last couple of seasons, losses have led us to be better than before. So I’ll just try to use this as a springboard to just be better next time,” said Honig. “I have to do a better job of preparing the team moving forward so we’ll be ready to go with whoever we get matched up with Tuesday.”

The state tournament bracket will be released Sunday, March 1, with first-round games scheduled for Tuesday, March 3.

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