Juju Watkins leads Sierra Canyon past Etiwanda to win Open Division girls’ basketball title

Juju Watkins showed why she is one of the nation’s top high school recruits Tuesday night, pouring in a game-high 29 points and contesting numerous shots on defense to lead Chatsworth Sierra Canyon to a 60-51 upset of top-seeded Etiwanda in the Open Division regional finals in Rancho Cucamonga.

Sierra Canyon built a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter, but Etiwanda sliced its deficit in half before Watkins made a pair of free throws to stem the tide. The Trailblazers will play for their fifth state championship Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento against San Jose Archbishop Mitty.

Trailing 42-35 with eight minutes left, Etiwanda tried to rally but missed its first six shots of the fourth quarter. Watkins hit a three-pointer and Izela Arenas made a layup to push the Trailblazers’ lead to 12 at the six-minute mark and they led by as many as 14.

Arenas had eight points and Kayla Malek, Crystal Wang and MacKenly Randolph each added seven for Sierra Canyon, which avenged a 69-57 defeat in the Southern Section final Feb. 26 on the same floor.

Destiny Agubata had 17 points and Aliyahna Morris had 14 for Etiwanda (29-1), which was vying for its first state finals trip. Eleven of its wins were against teams ranked in the top 25 in California; they were unable to make it 12.

Watkins, a junior, scored 20 in the first half of the previous encounter but had only four in the second half and fouled out with 3:58 left. She transferred from Windward in the summer of 2021 and sat out the first six games this season due to CIF transfer protocol.

Etiwanda’s Destiny Agubata drives around Sierra Canyon’s MacKenly Randolph during the Open Division regional final in Rancho Cucamonga on Tuesday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

She debuted Dec. 3, hitting the winning basket and scoring 30 points in a 65-64 OT win versus New Hope Academy of Landover, Md. In the championship game later that day she had 33 points in a 63-42 victory over Princeton (Texas). She is among the top 2023 prospects in the country.

“We learned a lot from that game,” Watkins said. “We were extra hungry and we knew we couldn’t go to state if we didn’t win this game so now we’re headed to Sacramento. The last time was humbling for me, having to watch from the bench at the end so I knew I had to be smart. No more fouling out for me.”

Alicia Komaki has coached the Trailblazers to four state titles in her 10 seasons.

“In the last game against them we tried too much scheming so this time we played them mostly man-to-man and trusted that we could guard them. We stuck to what we’re best at and it worked.”