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Haugh, Rice Named to All-CIF Basketball Teams

Two dynamic scoring stars led their respective Dana Hills basketball teams to big achievements this season, and both boys junior Collin Haugh and girls freshman Kayla Rice were named All-CIF for their performances on Monday, March 25.

Haugh led Orange County in scoring as a sophomore, and he did it once more in his junior season with a torrential downpour of 3-pointers to be named All-CIF in Division 2AA.

Haugh averaged 26.2 points per game, with 135 of his 257 shots made this season coming from beyond the arc. The junior shot 55% from the field and 47% from 3-point range. Haugh also made 92% of his free-throw attempts. 

For the fourth time in his Dolphins career, Haugh set the Dana Hills single-game scoring record with 47 points in a tournament game on Dec. 27 by knocking down 12 of his 17 3-point attempts and shooting 70% from the field.

As a team, Dana Hills posted its best overall record since 2009 with 24 wins and won its second of back-to-back league championships for the first time in program history. The Dolphins also played up in their highest CIF-SS division since the start of the current rankings-based system, and Dana Hills lost in the first round.

On the girls side, Rice burst onto the scene to help orchestrate the most historic season in Dana Hills girls basketball history and be named All-CIF in Division 3A.

Rice averaged nearly 20 points per game and just under nine rebounds per game as a freshman. She also averaged three steals per game and 48% shooting from the field. In just her third game at the high school level, Rice dropped 41 points in a tournament game on Nov. 21.

After Dana Hills won its first Sea View League championship since 2018, Rice somehow raised her game in the playoffs. The freshman averaged nearly 25 points per game in the postseason as the Dolphins reached their first CIF-SS quarterfinal and semifinal and qualified for the CIF State Regional playoffs for the first time. Rice scored 33 points in the CIF-SS semifinals.

 

Baseball Walks Off League-Leading Tesoro, Ties for First

The overall records aren’t even close, but that didn’t matter to the Dana Hills baseball team against defending league champion Tesoro on Wednesday, March 27.

Down one run in the seventh inning, Andrew Szkiba scored on a one-out double by Evan Daly to tie the game, and pinch-runner Spencer Davis scored for Daly off a Brody Bateson single, as Dana Hills knocked off league-leading Tesoro, 5-4, to force a tie atop the South Coast League standings.

Tesoro (9-4, 3-2) will host Dana Hills (5-10, 3-2) for the rubber match of their three-game set on Friday, March 29, at 3 p.m. Winner will go into the second half of league play in control of the South Coast League.

Tesoro won the first game of the series at home, 1-0, on Tuesday, March 26 with the only run of the game scored by the Titans on an error in the first inning.

Tesoro grabbed the lead first again on Wednesday with two runs in the third inning on a wild pitch and a double. Bateson scored on an error in the bottom of the inning to get Dana Hills on the board.

The Titans scored another two runs in the fourth inning on a double and balk that scored a runner from third base. Tesoro led, 4-1.

Dana Hills, which has struggled to score at times this season, finally found some offensive answers in the sixth inning.

Bateson was hit by a pitch to open the inning and advanced to third on an error. Dane Thompson doubled home Bateson, and Michael Rodgers scored on a ball in play before the third out was eventually recorded to bring the Dolphins within one run heading into the final inning.

Szkiba led off the bottom of the seventh with a double before tying the game on Daly’s run-scoring double two batters later.

On the mound, Grady Faris started the game and allowed four runs, three earned, on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts in four innings pitched. Skyler Sievert tossed two scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts, and Ryan Chesser picked up the win after allowing just one hit in the top of the seventh inning.

Next week, Dana Hills enters the Ryan Lemmon Tournament at the Great Park in Irvine for spring break before returning to league play against Mission Viejo at home on April 9.

 

Other Spring Sports Results

Senior runner Logan Harris was the only Dana Hills athlete to earn gold at the Azusa Meet of Champions last Saturday, March 23. Harris set a personal record in the 3,200 meters, clocking in at 9:19.57.

Dana Hills softball (7-7, 0-2) remained winless in the South Coast League with a 6-0 home defeat to Tesoro last Thursday, March 21. The Dolphins came back with two nonleague games on either end of the spectrum, a 15-0 road win at Newport Harbor and a 10-0 home loss to Valley View on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 26 and 27. Dana Hills was back in league play on Thursday, March 28, at San Juan Hills, but results were not available at press time. The Dolphins next host Aliso Niguel on April 9.

Both the Dolphins boys and girls lacrosse teams are 1-1 in Sea View League play. The Dana Hills boys (5-6) lost to San Juan Hills, 17-1, on March 21 and defeated Capistrano Valley, 19-7, on Tuesday, March 26. The defending league champion Dana Hills girls (3-8) defeated Capistrano Valley in overtime, 13-12, on March 22 and lost to Tesoro, 15-5, on Tuesday. Both teams are next in action on April 9.

Dana Hills boys volleyball (5-13, 0-5) remained winless in league play. The Dolphins have captured one set in league and have been swept in four straight matches. Dana Hills is next in league play on April 9.