By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS, Rafu Sports Editor
The girls of Redondo Union are one win away from a trip to the CIF State Div. III final, after the Sea Hawks bounced back from a halftime deficit and outlasted visiting Oak Park on Saturday, 57-45.
With the win, 20-12 Redondo will meet top seed Los Osos (27-5) tonight in the Div. III SoCal regional final, the winner advancing to the title game Friday in Sacramento.
Bri Boyd led the way with 21 points for Redondo, and Ella Zimmerman scored eight of her 20 points in a third quarter that saw the home team take the lead and not look back. Elyse Cho added six for Redondo, while Chloe Choy, whose participation in the game had been uncertain after a scary knee injury in last week’s win over El Dorado, scored two.
Redondo missed out on a chance at the CIF Southern Section championship with a semifinal loss to eventual champion La Serna.
Kyra Arakawa, Ashley Minei, Coco Funakoshi and the rest of the Sea Hawks are in the thick of a magical season that included a breathtaking win in the Southern Section playoffs that saw them survive being 0.6 seconds away from elimination.
Last Thursday, Redondo won another thriller, this time in the State tournament, holding off a late charge by El Dorado and winning by two points. El Dorado, with Kaelyn Kawaguchi, Kaylee Shimoda and Riley Morikawa, finish their season with an overall record of 22-10.
In Div. V of the State tournament, Amanda Marumoto and Marina will also vie for a trip to the finals when they travel to San Pedro tonight.