There’s one word to describe last year: disappointing.
The Valencia High girls basketball team was rolling into the 2025 postseason after an 11-1 Foothill League campaign. The team was determined to make a deep playoff run. That energy ran out early when the Vikings lost in the opening round to San Clemente on the road.
In the blink of an eye, a 24-win season was over. Gone and with nothing to show for it.
“I think that was very motivating for us,” coach Jared Honig said.
Fast forward one year and look at the Vikings (28-4) now. They’re one win away from the program’s third CIF Southern Section title if it can knock off La Salle (28-4) in Friday’s Division 1 final at the Toyota Arena in Ontario at 8 p.m.
“You usually have to go through some sort of disappointment or adversity like that to find a way to break through,” said Honig in reference to the dramatic postseason turnaround.
Honig, who was a successful coach at Granada Hills Charter in the LA City Section for years, has continued his winning ways in the Southern Section after taking over the Valencia program in 2023. In his third season at the helm, his Vikings are playing for a chance to lift the iconic CIF championship plaque.
Our team has incredibly hard workers. They all care about each other and have really come together as a group throughout the season,” Honig said. “Many of the girls grew up playing together when they were younger on local teams/leagues, so it’s cool to see them make this run in high school with one another.”
This team is led by a standout duo in sophomore Kamilla Basyrova and senior Cara McKell, who average 19.8 and 17.4 points per game, respectively. McKell became the program’s all-time leading scorer this season. Basyrova also pulls down 8.6 rebounds per game.
“Our four returning starters from last year’s team have all made great strides, improved tremendously, and contributed at a very high level again this season,” said Honig.
Then there’s freshman Sophia Sarkar (9.6 ppg), junior Keira McLaughlin (8.3 ppg) and sophomore Alexis Epie (7.1 ppg) to round out the team’s top five players. Sarkar has provided the biggest spark, according to Honig.
“She’s been really impressive,” he said. “She can organize the offense, is the team’s third leading scorer (second leading 3-point shooter), and always plays tough defense on the opponents’ top guards.”
If Valencia wants to win, one of the game’s biggest challenges will be containing La Salle forward Casey Higgins, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and averages 13.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Sophomore Aislin Tamez-Torres is a 5-foot-11 forward averaging 12.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. This La Salle team poses a big threat inside.
“They have good size, so being ready to play physical and rebound will be important,” Honig said of the Lancers.
Friday night will mark Valencia’s third CIF final in program history. The first came in 1989 under coach Debi Woelke when the Vikings beat Canyon of Anaheim 56-45 in the Division 4AA final. It took nearly 30 years for the program to get back to a CIF championship game, but the Vikings won the Division 1AA final over Foothill League foe Canyon of Canyon Country in 2017, 50-45, under coach Jerry Mike.
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