RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA — A year ago, the Tesoro girls basketball team won just four games.

This season, Tesoro is playing for its first CIF-SS championship.

The Titans beat top-seeded Savanna 53-45 Saturday in the CIF-SS Division 4AA semifinals at Tesoro High.

Tesoro (22-11) will play Serra of Gardena for the championship Friday or Saturday. The game time and location will be announced Sunday or Monday.

“It’s unbelievable to go from where we were last year to this year,” Tesoro coach Ra Reyes said. “I would say it’s a surprise, but when you’re seeing these girls grind everyday, it’s almost an expected outcome. They deserve it so much.”

Senior Jade McMahon was dominant on both sides of the court for Tesoro. The four-year varsity player had a game-high 24 points and 18 rebounds.

McMahon is the only senior in Tesoro’s starting lineup and provided the consistency the Titans needed when other players got into early foul trouble.

“She steadies us the whole way through,” Reyes said of McMahon. “We have a lot of young kids who have never been in these situations before and she’s been there. She knows when the clock is running down, the ball has to get into her hands and she figured it out.”

Even though McMahon is an experienced varsity player, playoff success has been a new experience for her and the Titans. This is the first season Tesoro has won a playoff game since 2021.

“It feels amazing,” McMahon said. “We have worked as a team and grew together. I’m loving this season, the players, the coaches and everything.”

Tesoro’s defensive strategy was to contest Savanna’s 3-point attempts and it was a massive success. The Titans allowed Savanna to make only 1 of 17 3-point attempts.

“We committed to not giving up the 3 ball,” Reyes said. “We decided that we were going to lock everything left as best as we could, and whatever help we gave was going to be soft. It’s what got us through this game.”

The game was tied for much of the third quarter and the teams traded the lead a few times in the frame. Tesoro went on an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter and didn’t allow Savanna to make a field goal for nearly six minutes.

Freshman Elyse Thomas had four points for Tesoro during the run and McMahon had the other four points.

Tesoro went on a 10-2 run to open the game which prompted a Savanna timeout. McMahon had eight points and seven rebounds in the first quarter and the Titans led 16-9.

Camaila Carigma led Savanna with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Dyanna Cruz had 14 points for the Rebels and no other player had more than five points.

Caitlyn Tse had 13 points for the Titans and Thomas added eight points off the bench. Charlotte Marvin had four fouls in the first half for Tesoro, but was a presence inside with three blocked shots and six rebounds.

Savanna (21-6) won the Coast League this season and beat Laguna Beach and Heritage Christian during its playoff run. The Rebels will play in the CIF State playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Tesoro was the third-place team in the Sea View League. The Titans beat Hesperia Christian, Foothill Tech and Maranatha in the playoffs. Tesoro had never reached the semifinals prior to this current run.

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