California Live was as exciting as ever at its Girls 2025 edition earlier this month.
Last week, we took a look at the 15 high school girls basketball teams that went unbeaten in varsity brackets at the NCAA live period event, most of which played four games.
And there were many other teams that had a standout weekend without winning out.
For what it's worth, it's impressive for almost any team to simply play competitive games in the loaded Open bracket or for any up-and-coming programs to win at all in the deep BABCA bracket. But we are just taking a closer look here at some teams whose impressive performances showed up in the wins column.
OPEN BRACKET
Going 3-1 in the Open bracket were Clovis West, Central (Fresno), St. Ignatius, Villa Park, and South Medford (OR). Brentwood also gets a shoutout here for its winning record in five games going 3-2.
South Medford, a perennial state title contender among Oregon's best teams had the strongest performance at Cali Live among teams that lost a game. In fact, most in attendance thought the Panthers were the best team there besides Archbishop Mitty, which defeated them 71-54 in an unofficial championship game to wrap up the festivities. Before that, South Medford drubbed Valley Christian (San Jose) and Clayton Valley Charter and then narrowly defeated Brentwood and Clovis West.
The Panthers went 22-7 last season in what was considered a down year by their lofty standards, but nearly their whole core is back and ready to contend for the Oregon throne once again. Per Cal-Hi Sports, which ranked them as the No. 2 team of the event, senior center Mayenabasi Akpan averaged 18.6 PPG for the weekend and was one of the premier players at the showcase. South Medford went 26-3 the prior season and more or less rolled to an Oregon 6A state title, finishing the season ranked first in the state and 58th in the nation by MaxPreps.
Central Section juggernaut and reigning Northern California runner-up Clovis West, which finished last season ranked No. 20 in the country, was outstanding despite the close upset loss to South Medford. The Golden Eagles beat West Linn (OR), Clayton Valley Charter, and Valley Christian (San Jose) by an average of 23 points. No matter how many outstanding seniors they graduate, the 13-time reigning CIF-CS champions always manage to reload primarily through internal development, and this year won't be any exception with the likes of guards Ramie Chatman, Malohni Warren, and Sydney Swillis in tow.
St. Ignatius turned heads with double-digit wins over Carlsbad, Ventura, and Victory Christian Academy and a nine-point loss to Brentwood. SI went 15-13, including a 1-2 record in CIF-CCS Open Division pool play, with a host of narrow losses against outstanding teams. The Wildcats will be formidable returning a whopping four out of five SF Chronicle All-Metro honorees – Julia Alcantara, Sophia Sanchez, Hayley McGee, and Lulu Giometti.
Another team that previewed a big upcoming year by going 3-1 was Villa Park, which went 24-5 and made the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs last season comprised almost exclusively of underclassmen. Villa Park lost only to Oregon heavyweight West Linn after beating Caruthers 50-48, Valley Christian (San Jose) 47-30, and Piedmont 53-40. 5-foot-10 Bailey Roczey led the Spartans in all five base stats last season and headlines one of the top rising senior classes in Orange County.
Central East is another one of those public school powers that makes an annual tradition out of graduating key players and quickly reloading no matter who is no longer there. If Cali Live was any indication, the Grizzlies Bengals will at minimum reload despite losing a couple standouts and perhaps take another step forward. They gave St. Mary's (Stockton) a good effort, losing 50-40, and then won by double digits against Victory Christian Academy, Valencia (Valencia), and Carlsbad.
And going 3-2 was Brentwood, which will keep on keeping on in 2025-26 despite graduating one of the best backcourts, if not the best, in program history – and in all of California. Brentwood started with a thrashing of Salesian and a narrow loss to dangerous Clovis before hitting its stride. It went on to win 73-55 against Archbishop Riordan, nearly defeated South Medford in a 65-59 loss, and handed St. Ignatius its only loss by a score of 71-62. The Eagles bring back a well-rounded and talented core of wing Reena White, lead guards Kelsey Sugar and Jessica Liu, and athletic post Logan Scott, the only senior of the bunch.
BABCA BRACKET
The rest of the teams discussed were in the main BABCA bracket – but don't be fooled by the name as many of its entrants were literally Open Division CIF playoff teams last season who will be again in 2025-26. All the following went teams went 3-1 unless otherwise noted.
Speaking of teams known for rebuilding or reloading quickly, Pinewood graduated one of the premier trios in NorCal, and probably the whole state, and still won three games with each coming by at least 19 points.
Fellow Central Coast Section power Saint Francis (Mountain View) is most likely poised for a big 2025-26 campaign returning All-Metro selections and double-digit scorers Paige Spencer and Grace Curley in addition to a handful of other up-and-coming rotation players. The Lancers took down McClatchy, Pacifica Christian (Newport Beach), and Buchanan (Clovis) before falling by nine points to Flintridge Prep.
Speaking of McClatchy, CKM won all three games after its 50-39 loss to Saint Francis. Not a bad look for the reigning Sac-Joaquin Section champion after losing three double-digit scorers, including Sacramento Bee Player of the Year and 4-star Washington signee Nina Cain. Senior wing Daisy Throckmorton is likely in store for a huge senior year.
Bishop O'Dowd, led by 4-star junior guard Myella Chapman, was arguably a top-10 team at the event. Before closing with a close loss to Priory, the Dragons destroyed Bakersfield Christian and Pleasant Grove in addition to beating St. Joseph (Santa Maria) 67-53.
Antelope fell narrowly to Flintridge Prep but was otherwise dominant, and might return to the state's upper ranks come winter. It blew out King/Drew, Buchanan (Clovis), and University. Londyn Odom is one of California's top forwards in the Class of 2028 and will be joined by numerous other impact returners.
The other BABCA teams to go 3-1 were Monterey Trail, Christian Brothers, Arcata, Sacred Heart Cathedral, St. Margaret's Episcopal, Davis, Half Moon Bay, Clovis North, and Village Christian.
San Ramon Valley's B-team (JV, presumably) went 2-1 against solid varsity competition. The varsity Wolves had one of the best showings of the weekend at 3-0.
Lastly, Division 6 regional and sectional champion Faith Christian went 3-2 with its only losses coming competitively against Acalanes and Lincoln (Stockton). Not bad for a school of roughly 50 high schoolers. Faith Christian returns seniors Lauren Harris and Presley Berry in addition to rising senior Mia Bryan. Harris led the entire nation last season with 191 made threes at a 37% clip, averaging 29.9 points, 14.2 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 2.9 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game.
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- Windward edges out rival Sierra Canyon to win Section 7 bracket