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NEWPORT COAST — Sage Hill’s girls basketball team began the season looking like a rebuilding project. Four starters, who were foundation players for the program’s rise, had graduated.
On Tuesday, the reassembly performed masterfully, especially when it mattered most.
With returning guard Amalia Holguin leading the way, the No. 2-seeded Lightning closed the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run to defeat No. 4 seed Windward 52-41 in the Division I final of the CIF Southern California Regional at Sage Hill.
Sage Hill forward Alyssa Cuff, center, celebrates with teammates as they hold the CIF Southern California Division 1 Regional girls basketball championship plaque in Newport Beach on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill guard Amalia Holguin, left, puts up a shot for a basket around Windward’s Charis Rainey, right, in the CIF Southern California Division 1 Regional girls basketball championship in Newport Beach on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill forward Isabella Rose, left, reaches to try to keep the ball in bounds in front of Windward’s Alexie Wehrle in the CIF Southern California Division 1 Regional girls basketball championship in Newport Beach on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill guard Addison Uphoff, left, muscles her way past Windward’s Shiloh Johnson, right, in the CIF Southern California Division 1 Regional girls basketball championship in Newport Beach on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill forward Kamdyn Klamberg drives past a Windward defender to get to the basket in the CIF Southern California Division 1 Regional girls basketball championship in Newport Beach on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill guard Amalia Holguin douses coach Kerwin Walters with water as they celebrate winning the CIF Southern California Division 1 Regional girls basketball championship against Windward in Newport Beach on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill players cheer after their teammates score a basket late in the fourth period against Windward in the CIF Southern California Division 1 Regional girls basketball championship in Newport Beach on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill guard Amalia Holguin, left, and Windward’s Charis Rainey scramble for a loose ball in the CIF Southern California Division 1 Regional girls basketball championship in Newport Beach on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
The Sage Hill team pose for a photo with the CIF Southern California Division 1 Regional girls basketball championship plaque in Newport Beach on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill’s Eve Fowler, top right, celebrates with teammates after winnint the CIF Southern California Division 1 Regional girls basketball championship against Windward in Newport Beach on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
A Sage Hill cheerleader runs with the school flag during a break in the action during the CIF Southern California Division 1 Regional girls basketball championship game against Windward in Newport Beach on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill guard Amalia Holguin, center, takes a jump shot against Windward in the CIF Southern California Division 1 Regional girls basketball championship in Newport Beach on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill forward Alyssa Cuff, left, passes the ball over Windward’s Samara Durham in the CIF Southern California Division 1 Regional girls basketball championship in Newport Beach on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill guard Amalia Holguin, left, celebrates as she waits with other team members to be awarded the CIF Southern California Division 1 Regional girls basketball championship plaque in Newport Beach on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill’s Amalia Holguin, Alyssa Cuff, and Eve Fowler, from left, celebrate winning the CIF Southern California Division 1 Regional girls basketball championship against Windward in Newport Beach on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
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Sage Hill forward Alyssa Cuff, center, celebrates with teammates as they hold the CIF Southern California Division 1 Regional girls basketball championship plaque in Newport Beach on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
On the final play, Holguin fittingly grabbed the rebound and tossed the ball into the air as Sage Hill (23-11) celebrated its second trip to the state championships in four seasons. On Friday at 6 p.m., the Lightning will play Carondelet in the CIF State championship at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
“We’ve been working for this all season,” said Holguin, who scored 17 of her game-high 24 points in the second half. “It’s no surprise to me that we did that. Windward is a great team and they came through to punch us in the mouth but I think we just came stronger.”
“I’m super proud of how we kept our composure,” added the junior, who also had eight rebounds.
Sage Hill entered the final with a 2-0 record against Windward (21-11) this season but the Wildcats tied the score 41-41 on a jumper by Olivia Lagao (16 points) with about 2:25 left in the fourth.
The Lightning responded an 11-0 surge that began with a drive for a go-ahead, three-point play by freshman guard Addison Uphoff (12 points) with 2:08 remaining.
Holguin added her own drive with about 1:35 left and the sank a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 57 seconds left that Sage Hill coach Kerwin Walters called the “dagger” shot.
“Amalia does not fear the moment,” Walters said. “She’s always embraced big games, big shots. That’s just who she is.”
Holguin also drove the length of the floor with about 3:30 left in the fourth for a 41-39 lead and Sage Hill’s first points of the quarter.
But Sage Hill’s man defense was equally important to the finish. Holguin and Uphoff each blocked shots on Windward’s final possession as the Lightning forced the Wildcats to missed their final 11 attempts. Windward didn’t score for the final 2:25.
Freshman center Eve Fowler and sophomore wing Kamdyn Klamberg led Sage Hill in rebounds with 17 and 15, respectively.
Uphoff, Fowler, Klamberg and junior Alyssa Cuff join Holguin in Sage Hill’s new-look starting lineup. Freshman Leah O’Toner and senior Isabella Rose are the key players off the bench for a program that won the Division II state title in 2022.
Two of the stars of that team — Kat Righeimer and Zoie Lamkin — were in the stands Tuesday. They were part of Sage Hill’s “Mamba 5” of girls who played on the famed youth team coached by the late Kobe Bryant. Now, with Holguin and several new faces, the Lightning are headed back to state.
“There’s been a lot of ups and downs (this season) and I think we’ve just started to figure out what we really are,” Walters said. “We have a great balance of youth and we have mature leaders with Amalia, Alyssa and Kam. But our freshmen are freaking phenomenal. … I’m just excited to see what these girls do.”
