Victories by Rosary of Fullerton, Serra of Gardena and Mary Star of San Pedro highlighted opening round action in the CIF Southern California Regional girls’ basketball champion tournament on Feb. 26.

Tonight (Feb. 27), fourth-seeded Bishop Montgomery (23-6) plays fifth-seeded Mater Dei (27-4) at El Camino College in round one of the Open Division portion of the tournament, an eight-team affair (the other five divisions each began with 16 teams).

Second round play in Divisions I through V is Feb. 28, followed by semifinal play in all divisions on March 2 and finals on March 5. A look at first-round action:

D-I: No. 2 Rosary exploded in the second half, outscoring No. 15 Narbonne 34-9 on its way to a 70-37 first round win. In round two, the Royals (23-8), who competed in the Open Division of the CIF-SS playoffs, will play No. 10 Long Beach Poly (21-10), which overpowered No. 7 Chaminade, the CIF-SS D-1 champion, 50-30.

D-II: No. 9 Santa Margarita lost to No. 8 Flintridge Prep 51-37.

D-III: No. 5 Serra/Gardena (15-10 beat No. 12 Cathedral City 47-43, and next plays No. 13 Diamond Ranch (21-6). No. 15 St. Bonaventure rallied but fell short against No. 2 San Marcos 61-54.

D-V: No. 10 Mary Star of the Sea (16-15) edged No. 7 Montclair 34-31, and in the second round will play No. 2 Ramona (20-12). No. 12 Bishop Conaty-Loretto, the CIF-SS D-5A runner-up, lost to No. 5 Anaheim 52-41.

Mike Nelson is the former editor of The Tidings (predecessor of Angelus News).

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