The St. Monica boys and girls basketball teams both earned playoff berths but will have to play their first round games on the road.
The boys were awarded the No. 14 seed and were scheduled to open Wednesday night, February 14, against unseeded Faith Baptist of Canoga Park, which was given the home game.
Coach Tony Depa’s Mariners made the playoffs for the first time in four years, clinching third place in their league with an eight-point win over St. Paul on Wednesday, February 7, after losing by two points to Cathedral two nights earlier.
St. Monica begins the playoffs with a 15-11 record. Faith Baptist is a second place team with a 13-7 overall record.
In the win over St. Paul, center Patrick Russell led St. Monica in scoring for only the second time this season. He led a balanced attack with 12 points, one more than teammate Bryce Hamaguchi.
Should St. Monica win its opening game it likely would play powerful Whittier Christian in the second round. Whittier Christian easily won an early season game between the teams.
“We feel really good about making the playoffs and we have 10 players returning next season,” said Depa.
The St. Monica girls coached by Terese Charkut finished in a three-way tie for second place and won a coin flip for a playoff berth. However, the team has a difficult first round game Thursday night, February 15, at Windward, a defending CIF champion.
