Of the dozens of Valley teams that made CIF-SS playoffs for seven winter sports, only two are going on to play for the State Championship – both in girls basketball – Murrieta Valley and Vista Murrieta. First round games were played on Wednesday, March 6, at 7 p.m. Both teams were at home.

The Murrieta Valley Lady Nighthawks won the CIF Southern Section Division 2A Championship last Friday at the Anaheim Convention Center by defeating the Culver City Centaurs 49-37. Last year was their first time in playoffs; this is the first CIF Championship for the girls basketball program.

The Lady Nighthawks (26-5) will host Westchester (27-8, #2 Western League) for the first round. Westchester lost to Granada Hills, 51-43, in the finals round of the LA City Section Championships. The winner will face either Ridgeview (26-3, #1 South Yosemite League) Central Section Division 1 Champion in Bakersfield or Redondo Union (19-12, Bay League #3) at home. Murrieta Valley eliminated Redondo Union 60-56 in the semifinals round of CIF-SS playoffs.

Ridgeview is the top seed in the SoCal bracket; St Francis from Mt View (21-8, Central Coast Section Champion) and Clayton Valley (22-7, North Coast Section #2) are the top seeds in the NorCal bracket.

The Vista Murrieta Lady Broncos (25-6) won the Southwestern League title and rolled through their playoff opponents until they were knocked out of contention in the semifinals by the eventual Division 1 CIF Champion, Canyon Springs, 78-69. The Broncos (25-6) were awarded a state playoff berth.

The Broncos host a first round game against Rancho Buena Vista (21-11, Avocado-West #2) San Diego Section runner-up who lost in the Championship Round to Granite Hills, 55-44. The winner will face either Clovis West (23-5) Central Section Division 1 Champion or Millikan (26-4, Long Beach #2) who was eliminated in CIF-SS quarterfinals by Santiago, 78-63.

Etiwanda is the top seed in the SoCal bracket; Monte Vista of Danville (24-5, North Coast Section Champion) and Wilcox of Santa Clara (23-4, Central Coast Section semi-finalist) are the top seeds in the NorCal bracket.

The second round games will be on Saturday, March 9, at 7 p.m., followed by Regional Semifinals on Tuesday, March 12, at 7 p.m. Second and third round games will be played at home sites. Regional Finals will be held Saturday, March 16, at 10 a.m. at the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario. The Northern California brackets mirror the same schedule.

The CIF State Finals will be held in Sacramento at the Sleep Train Arena. The Southern California Division I winner will meet the Northern California winner on Friday, March 22, at 6 p.m. The Division 2 winners will face off on Saturday, March 23, at 2 p.m.