{"id":184911,"date":"2026-02-19T18:33:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T18:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/184911\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T18:33:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T18:33:14","slug":"long-beach-wilson-girls-basketball-outmatched-by-el-dorado-in-quarterfinals-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/184911\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach Wilson girls basketball outmatched by El Dorado in quarterfinals \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wilson\u2019s<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s Jordyn Jefferson (3) shoots for two in front of El Dorado\u2019s Karis Wu (30) in the CIF SS Division 4 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Wilson\u2019s<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s Emily Alvarez Smith tries to get past El Dorado\u2019s Kennedy Wood (10) in the CIF SS Division 4 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"El<\/p>\n

El Dorado\u2019s Kennedy Wood (10) races ahead of Wilson\u2019s Emily Alvarez Smith (5) and Trinidad Zuckerman Are (33) in the CIF SS Division 4 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Wilson\u2019s<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s Tyshana Alexander (14) puts the pressure on El Dorado\u2019s Delaney Shiring (12) in the CIF SS Division 4 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"El<\/p>\n

El Dorado girls basketball celebrate their big win over Wilson in the CIF SS Division 4 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"El<\/p>\n

El Dorado\u2019s Riley Morikawa (15) and Alaina Zamora (13) try to block Wilson\u2019s Tyshana Alexander (14) in the CIF SS Division 4 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"El<\/p>\n

El Dorado\u2019s Delaney Shiring (12) tries to block Wilson\u2019s Kennedy People (2) in the CIF SS Division 4 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Wilson\u2019s<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s Trinidad Zuckerman Are (33) and Emily Alvarez Smith (5) put the pressure on El Dorado\u2019s Delaney Shiring (12) in the CIF SS Division 4 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"El<\/p>\n

El Dorado girls basketball celebrate as they take a dominant lead agains Wilson in the CIF SS Division 4 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"El<\/p>\n

El Dorado\u2019s Delaney Shiring (12) looks to get around Wilson\u2019s Kennedy People (2) in the CIF SS Division 4 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Wilson\u2019s<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s Emily Alvarez Smith (5) pushes past El Dorado\u2019s Kennedy Wood (10) and Alaina Zamora (13) in the CIF SS Division 4 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"El<\/p>\n

El Dorado\u2019s Delaney Shiring (12) tries to get around Wilson\u2019s Tyshana Alexander (14) in the CIF SS Division 4 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"El<\/p>\n

El Dorado\u2019s Alaina Zamora (13) tries to block as Wilson\u2019s Jordyn Jefferson (3) shoots for two in the CIF SS Division 4 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Wilson\u2019s<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s Jordyn Jefferson (3) grabs the rebound as the Bruins take on El Dorado in the CIF SS Division 4 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 14<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s Jordyn Jefferson (3) shoots for two in front of El Dorado\u2019s Karis Wu (30) in the CIF SS Division 4 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

LONG BEACH \u2014 If someone had told Long Beach Wilson girls basketball coach Hank Waddles that his team would make a 13-win improvement from last season and qualify for the postseason, he would have signed up immediately.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, the emotions were still raw as his players trickled out of the locker room and wiped away tears Wednesday following a 42-20 loss to El Dorado in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

Waddles was not any less proud despite the Bruins\u2019 issues handling the Golden Hawks\u2019 defensive pressure from wire to wire.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe told the girls, \u2018You can hold two different emotions,\u2019\u201d Waddles said. \u201c\u2018You can be sad and disappointed, and you can also be proud of what we\u2019ve accomplished.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you had told me a year ago that I\u2019d be disappointed with a loss in the CIF quarterfinals, I could not have imagined that. Our goal this year was to make the playoffs \u2014 we were hoping to make the playoffs \u2014 and we won two games, we got to the quarterfinals, and with a really young team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The loss ended the season for Wilson (22-9).<\/p>\n

The Bruins were paced by guard Emily Alvarez-Smith, who scored five of her 15 points in the second half.<\/p>\n

El Dorado (17-14) made sure nobody else got in an offensive rhythm, collecting 15 steals and forcing 30 turnovers.<\/p>\n

The Golden Hawks allowed just six first-half points and two made Alvarez-Smith shots from the field en route to a 35-6 lead at the break.<\/p>\n

Guard Kennedy Wood collected 11 points to go with six steals and forward Delaney Shiring scored a team-high 15 points for El Dorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew coming into this we needed to put a lot of pressure on the guards in order for them not to be able to get it into the post,\u201d Wood said.<\/p>\n

Wood had five of her steals in the first half. Teammates Riley Morikawa and Alaina Zamora each finished with three steals apiece for a defense that continually stepped into the passing lanes for deflections.<\/p>\n

El Dorado will host Marina (18-13) in the semifinals Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince we\u2019ve made the playoffs, we\u2019ve been playing great defense,\u201d Golden Hawks coach Matthew Raya said. \u201cWe stress defense first, and tonight we had a lot of ball pressure. I felt our guards were quicker than theirs. I thought we would be able to keep everybody in front and we did a very good job. We limited their easy layups and them from getting into the paint.\u201d<\/p>\n

Waddles said his team did not lack preparation nor was it caught off guard. He estimated that he watched eight to 10 games of film, but also noted his young roster featured two freshmen and two sophomores in the starting lineup.<\/p>\n

Alvarez-Smith was proud of the program\u2019s journey and improvement highlighted by playoff wins over Hesperia and Westlake.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe message was we made it this far,\u201d Alvarez-Smith said. \u201cEverybody probably thought we couldn\u2019t make it \u2014 last year we had a struggle. This year, we were a really young team and we were all just proud of each other. We worked our butts off.\u201d<\/p>\n

El Dorado set the tone from the outset, forcing five turnovers on Wilson\u2019s first seven possessions.<\/p>\n

The Bruins trailed 15-1 and did not score from the field for the game\u2019s first 5 1\/2 minutes.<\/p>\n

In the second quarter, mental miscues such as a handful of palming violations and a shot-clock violation with 10.9 left were Wilson\u2019s downfall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey applied some pressure to us and we didn\u2019t quite match that,\u201d Waddles said. \u201cWe had a hard time running our sets. We were never comfortable on the offensive end tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shiring said the El Dorado defense allowed for easy baskets in transition and a balanced scoring effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur defense helped us start with a strong lead,\u201d Shiring said. \u201cWe do really well in games where we can start strong and get energy right from the beginning. We definitely were at an advantage when our guards were getting a lot of steals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both teams struggled shooting in the third quarter, but Wilson was unable to take advantage of eight consecutive El Dorado missed shots to close the quarter and never made a serious run. The Bruins trailed 38-12 entering the fourth.<\/p>\n

Waddles was proud of a second-effort led by Alvarez-Smith, who competed through to the end despite what the scoreboard read.<\/p>\n

Waddles pulled Alvarez-Smith beside him after the game as he showered her with praise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I told Emily was in these three playoff games \u2014 when the lights are the brightest, when the pressure is the greatest \u2014 she was our best player,\u201d Waddles said. \u201cShe\u2019s only a sophomore, she\u2019s got so much more basketball in her, so much more basketball improvement. This right here, this is just the beginning for her, and she was tough tonight. She was tough and you can\u2019t teach that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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