CIF title appearance highlights winter season

Editor's Note: The Independent looks back on the 2011-2012 high school season. Below is the second of three parts, focusing on the winter season.

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The New Year started with a bang for local teams.

In girls' basketball, Huntington Beach — which shared the Sunset League title with Edison — reached the CIF Southern Section Division 1A final, where the Oilers were edged by top-ranked Summit, 56-51. The Oilers were making their first championship game appearance in 34 years. The school also finished runner-up in 1978. Huntington also reached the second-round of the CIF State Championships SoCal Regionals, where it was defeated by host and top-seed Mater Dei. The Oilers had set a school single-game record for three-point shots (17) in a first-round win over San Diego. The Oilers hit 250 three-pointers in the 2011-12 season.

"It was a great season with lots of great memories," Huntington Coach Russ McClurg said. "I told the girls this might be one of the greatest teams in school history. They played with great discipline and made their families, school and coaches very proud. I was very proud and thankful to be a around such a great group of girls."

Edison, Fountain Valley, Marina, Ocean View and Brethren Christian also qualified for the CIF playoffs. Chargers, the No. 4-seed in Division 1AA, reached the quarterfinal round, where they were eliminated by No. 5-seed Brea Olinda, which went on to a runner-up finish. Both No. 13-seed Ocean View (3A) and No. 14-seed Brethren Christian (5AA) advanced to the second round of playoffs in their respective divisions. Fountain Valley and Marina fell in Division 1A first-round games.

Guards Maya Kennedy and Kelsey Minato — two key figures in Huntington's march to a share of the Sunset League championship and a spot in the Division 1A title game – were named to the 2011-12 All CIF-SS 1A Team.

In boys' basketball, Ocean View claimed another Golden West League championship, enjoyed an 18-game winning streak and a No. 1 ranking in Division 2AA before it was upended in a second-round game at Thousand Oaks. The Seahawks have won or shared a league championship in 14 of the past 15 years.