Windward girls basketball edges out rival Sierra Canyon in Section 7 ABCA bracket finals

There was a time several years ago when both the Gold Coast League race and entire CIF-Southern Section pecking order came down to girls basketball rivals Windward and Sierra Canyon.

Last weekend (June 13-14) out in Arizona, Windward and Sierra Canyon once again found themselves neck-and-neck going for a title in the Section 7 ABCA bracket finals.

Key returners Amel Cook, Charis Rainey, and Alexie Wehrle (20 points) led the way along with Chaminade transfer and Princeton commit Angelina Habis as Windward won 63-60 for the crown.

Presenting your Section 7 @AZBballCoaches Bracket Champions. Congratulations Windward. 🏆 #Section7 | #WhereTalentMeetsOpportunity pic.twitter.com/9w6OoRPssp

The Trailblazers were without 5-star senior guard/forward Jerzy Robinson and 4-star post Emilia Krstevski, who were playing international ball for Team USA and Team Canada, respectively. However, Sierra Canyon still had a host of talented players including seniors Delaney White and Payton Montgomery. And even with Sierra Canyon no longer in the Gold Coast League, Windward still got a big win over its traditional arch rival.

This was a tremendous sign for the Wildcats, who graduated key seniors Samari Bankhead (UCF), Olivia Lagao (NYU), and Samara Durham but have the aforementioned four foundational underclassmen and a host of rising sophomores who constitute breakout candidates. Windward projects as a clear-cut CIF-SS Open Division team yet again this season, and the team could be scary at a national level in 2026-27.

The ABCA bracket was jam-packed with big-name programs. Its other teams were Moreno Valley (CA), Valley Vista (AZ), La Jolla Country Day (CA), Mater Dei (CA), West (UT), Denver East (CO), Rancho Christian (CA), St. Joseph Santa Maria (CA), O'Connor (AZ), Las Vegas Centennial (NV), Middleton (ID), Windsor (CO), Hamilton (AZ), and Marlborough (CA).