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Coach Jon Hughes guided Calvary Chapel’s boys basketball team to its first CIF-SS title in 2021 and to 22 victories last season, but one of his most important maneuvers was yet to come.

He resigned as the Eagles’ boys coach after last season to take the helm of the girls program.

Hughes made the move to strike more of a balance between his young family and the X’s and O’s of basketball.

“(With) the girls program, I could have practice right after school and the girls games are at 5 p.m. compared to the boys games at 7 p.m.,” Hughes explained. “(The switch) gives me more time to help put my kid to bed but also keep coaching.”

The arrangement is certainly working out for Calvary Chapel’s girls this season.

The Eagles on Monday cracked the Orange County rankings at No. 25 and knocked off No. 19 El Dorado 63-52 to open the Santa Ana Elks Classic at Segerstrom High.

Calvary Chapel, in CIF-SS Division 3A, will carry a 7-2 record into its tournament game Wednesday against No. 24 Cypress (8-1).

A victory Wednesday would be big for Calvary Chapel and send the team to the tournament semifinals. Cypress edged Calvary Chapel 48-45 earlier this month.

“It’s awesome,” Hughes said of transitioning to the girls program. “The girls listen very well and play hard, and are super sweet.”

Hughes has the Eagles playing an uptempo style, and his guards are flourishing. Senior Chloe Zazueta (24 points) and sophomore Michaela Hanning (22 points) combined for 46 points against El Dorado.

Calvary Chapel’s squad includes Zazueta’s twin sister, Cassandra, who is coming off a knee injury, and 5-foot-5 Marley Zackey, a junior.

The Eagles are undersized but have responded to a challenging schedule constructed by Hughes. Their offense found some success in a 68-49 loss to No. 3 Orange Lutheran, a Division 1 team with an imposing front court.

Calvary Chapel will face No. 10 Crean Lutheran in a nonleague game.

EL DORADO’S RAYA PLEASED WITH START

First-year El Dorado coach Matt Raya is pleased with the Golden Hawks’ 5-2 start.

“We beat some good teams and lost a close one to Portola,” the former Rosary assistant said. “(I’m) finding out we have some fight in us.”

El Dorado is led by senior Avery Shiring, who had 16 points and 11 rebounds in Monday’s loss to Calvary Chapel, along with her sister Delaney, a freshman.

DUAL SPORT STANDOUT

Junior Zona Miller is helping San Clemente’s basketball and soccer teams succeed.

As a reserve midfielder in soccer, she scored a goal in a 3-1 win against Torrey Pines last week. And in basketball, she posted a triple-double against Santa Margarita on Dec. 2. She scored 16 points with 11 rebounds and 11 steals in the effort.

San Clemente’s basketball team (7-3) is ranked ninth in the county this week.

The Tritons’ soccer team won the Butch Lee Classic on Saturday to improve to 5-0-1.

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NOTES

Orange Lutheran’s Shea Joko, San Clemente’s Kyle Franklin, Esperanza freshman Madi Lam and Troy’s Kayla Borgelt were named all-tournament in the Troy Classic. …

Orangewood Academy freshman Emalynn Vong and Santa Margarita’s Madison Leiva were among the all-tournament picks at Orangewood’s Spartan Classic.