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Girls' basketball: Saints, Knights, Trojans, Conquerors destined for league titles

shad powers, palm springs desert sun
·3 min read

As the final week of the high school girls' basketball regular season is upon us, let's take a look at where the league races stand and what the playoff field might look like.

Last year, if you recall, was one of the most impressive girls' basketball postseasons for the desert collectively as both Shadow Hills and Desert Christian Academy played for a CIF-SS title, while Yucca Valley, knocked out in the CIF-SS semifinal, made a deep run in the state tournament.

Let's see how those teams and more are trending heading into the 2023 postseason, which tips off next week.

DESERT EMPIRE LEAGUE

STANDINGS

  • Xavier Prep 7-1

  • Shadow Hills 7-1

  • La Quinta 5-3

  • Palm Desert 2-5

  • Palm Springs 2-6

  • Rancho Mirage 0-7

Status report: The crucial game came Friday night when Xavier Prep pulled away late to edge Shadow Hills and force what will likely be a DEL co-championship. The same two teams finished tied for the title last year with identical 9-1 records and this year is shaping up to be the same. Xavier Prep does end the season with a game against third-place La Quinta, who has also clinched a playoff spot, on Thursday so they can't look past the Blackhawks.

Xavier Prep tops Shadow Hills in tense tilt as Saints grab share of top spot in DEL

Playoff outlook: The three top seeds and automatic playoff bids are already locked in, and the Saints, Knights and Blackhawks will learn their playoff fate when the brackets are released on Sunday. The other three DEL teams would not gain a wild-card entry and their résumés likely aren't strong enough to warrant one.

DESERT VALLEY LEAGUE

STANDINGS

  • Yucca Valley 12-0

  • Twentynine Palms 10-2

  • Coachella Valley 8-4

  • Banning 7-5

  • Indio 5-7

  • Desert Hot Springs 4-8

  • Desert Mirage 2-10

  • Cathedral City 0-12

Status report: The unstoppable Yucca Valley train keeps rolling as they have clinched at worst a share of the league title, but will almost certainly finish the Desert Valley League slate with a perfect 14-0 record. Twentynine Palms has a stranglehold on the No. 2 spot, but its that third-place spot and automatic bid that still has some life left in it. Coachella Valley has a one-game lead on Banning and the two teams play each other on Monday at Coachella Valley. A win there clinches the No. 3 spot for the Arabs.

Yucca Valley's Malia Ulery (21) advances toward the hoop during the third quarter of their game in Yucca Valley, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022.
Yucca Valley's Malia Ulery (21) advances toward the hoop during the third quarter of their game in Yucca Valley, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022.

Playoff outlook: Yucca Valley will be off to the postseason, but its success last year moved them up into Division 2A. It's a tough division, in which the Trojans are not ranked in the top 16, despite their success. Twentynine Palms has secured a playoff spot as well. Coachella Valley and Banning both may be ticketed for the postseason, but you don't to leave it up to the committee to hand you a wild-card berth, so it'd be better to secure that third-place spot.

Don't forget DCA

The Conquerors, fresh off a runner-up finish in Division 5AA last year, are up to their old tricks again this year. They are 9-1 in their new league, the South Valley, and appear destined for a co-championship there. This year they are in Division 4A where they are currently ranked No. 12.

The pairings for the CIF-SS girls' basketball postseason will be released at noon Sunday.

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Girls' basketball: Saints, Knights, Trojans, Conquerors destined for league titles