In the preliminary round of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) girls basketball playoffs, held on Feb. 12, 2026, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) girls basketball team crushed Lucerne Valley High School (Mustangs) 50-24 in their first postseason appearance of the year.
The Dragons and Mustangs were evenly matched in the first half, but Foothill Tech’s defense eventually took control, opening the door for strong offensive stretches that secured the blowout victory.
“I feel like the girls are playing some of their best basketball right now … They were patient tonight, and to be playing some of our better basketball right now is very important,” Head Coach Chuck Ferris said.
Bella Baum ‘26 won the tipoff, giving the Dragons the first possession of the game. Jocelyn Morales ‘28 lofted a pass over the Mustangs’ defenders to Clara Smith ‘26 for the opening basket. Morales quickly assisted a second score, this time to Sofia Vega ‘26, putting Foothill Tech ahead 4-0.
The Mustangs tried to respond, but Baum’s aggressive defense forced a traveling call. Morales received the inbound and drained a three-pointer to extend the lead to 7-0.
Lucerne Valley called a timeout to regroup and answered with a three-pointer once play resumed.
Foothill Tech responded with six unanswered points from Smith, Baum and Morales to build a 13-3 lead, but the Mustangs closed the gap to 13-7 by the end of the first quarter.
“I feel like we had this game sealed tonight, we played with really high energy, we went in strong, and the results showed that,” said Smith.
The Mustangs opened the second quarter with possession and immediately capitalized, scoring three straight baskets to tie the game.
After a run of ten unanswered points by Lucerne Valley, Coach Ferris called a timeout to settle his team.
Coming out of the timeout, the Dragons regained momentum. Smith knocked down a jumper, and Morales sank both free throws after being fouled, pushing Foothill Tech ahead 17-13. The Mustangs answered with a layup to make it 17-15. Lucerne Valley then scored two baskets in a row to take their first and only lead of the game, 17-19.
Foothill Tech struck back at the Mustangs with an eight-point surge after baskets from Baum, Morales and Vega, reclaiming a 25-19 lead heading into halftime.
After the break, Foothill Tech started with the ball. Morales immediately attacked the key for the first points of the half, setting the score at 27-19. Seconds later, Baum intercepted the inbound pass and scored a layup to extend the lead to double digits.
The Dragons’ defense stayed consistent, holding the Mustangs scoreless for the next five minutes. Smith, Morales, Baum and Vega all contributed to an eight-point run that pushed the score to 39-19.
A foul on Makenzie Gamble ‘26 with under a minute left led to the Mustangs’ only point of the third quarter, a free throw.
Entering the fourth quarter with a 19-point lead, Morales quickly added two layups, putting the Dragons up 41-19. Gamble followed with another basket before Coach Ferris began substituting his starters.
As the clock wound down, the Mustangs scored two more baskets, and the Dragons answered with three more shots and a free throw. The buzzer sounded on a dominant 50-24 victory and a berth in the second round of the CIF playoffs.
“Energy is key to our playing, we have to make sure to keep that up when we play Fillmore…we had good energy tonight but especially playing away, it can be hard to keep that energy up,” said Baum.
The Dragons will face Fillmore High School (Fillmore) on Feb. 14 in the second round of the CIF playoffs.
