Girls’ basketball: Santa Cruz co-champs won’t be sharing this prize

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Bell-Jeff and St. Mary’s Academy shared the Santa Cruz League championship this season. But when they meet for the Division IV-AA title Friday or Saturday (date to be determined) at the Pyramid in Long Beach, one of the teams will leave empty-handed.

Top-seeded St. Mary’s Academy (24-7) is riding a six-game winning streak and has defeated its four playoff opponents by an average of 44.5 points, including a 28-point trouncing of league rival St. Matthias in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, second-seeded Bell-Jeff (25-5) has won nine in a row and has outscored its playoff opponents by an average of 28.5 points.

Both teams were 7-1 in the Santa Cruz League, losing only to each other. The Belles defeated Bell-Jeff, 59-54, in their first meeting in Inglewood. The Guards turned the tables on St. Mary’s Academy in the rematch with a 63-57 victory in Burbank. So after 64 minutes of basketball, the difference between the teams was ... one point.

This weekend’s final likely will be won by the team best able to dicate tempo. St. Mary’s Academy led the league in points scored while Bell-Jeff led in fewest points allowed, so a low-scoring game figures to favor the Guards.

Regardless of the outcome, this is one of the section’s most intriguing finals matchups between teams that have been on a collision course ever since the brackets were drawn up. And the best part is that there’s no ‘co’ attached to this championship.

-- Steve Galluzzo