HIGHLIGHTS: No. 1 Ontario Christian outlasts No. 6 Etiwanda 65-63 in thrilling Southern Section Open Division championship game

Freshman Tati Griffin poured in 29 points as No. 1 Ontario Christian (Ontario) pulled off a thrilling 65-63 back-and-forth win over No. 6 Etiwanda on Saturday in a MaxPreps Top 25 battle for California's Southern Section Open Division title.

Etiwanda had the lead and an open look with under a minute to play, but a dagger 3-pointer from Chasity Rice bounced out after looking like it was halfway through the rim.

Ontario Christian sophomore sensation Kaleena Smith then drove the floor, was fouled and calmly sank two free throws to regain the lead 64-63. Etiwanda had one final chance but an Aliyahna Morris jumper in traffic was short and all the Knights had to do was inbound the ball with under five seconds remaining. 

Smith was fouled and hit one of two free throws as Ontario Christian celebrated its first girls basketball section title. In addition to Griffin's massive night, Douglas had 14 and Smith added 13 as the Knights built a 12-point lead in the third period only to watch the reigning MaxPreps National Champions battle back with a gutsy effort from McDonald's All Americans Morris and Grace Knox.

The instant classic was a rematch of a pre-Thanksgiving matchup of the two Southern California powers when the top-ranked Knights beat preseason No. 1 Etiwanda 74-66 behind 23 from freshman Sydney Douglas and 20 from Smith.

Morris scored Etiwanda's first six points of the final quarter before the Eagles started using a clampdown defense to spark their offense. After a Rice 3-pointer, Shaena Brew converted a fast break basket off a steal and the lead was down to 57-53 midway through the period.

LSU-bound Knox hit a runner in the lane and followed it up with a clutch 3-pointer for a 60-59 Etiwanda lead, its first since the start of the second half. Another Rice triple put the Eagles up four with under two minutes to play. But Griffin showed no sign of freshman jitters, calmly stepping out for a right-wing 3-pointer with 90 seconds left to cut the deficit to 63-62.

Ontario Christian and Etiwanda are likely to meet again in the Southern California Open Division Regional. The brackets will be released Sunday. 

The section winner in three of the past four years has failed to advance to the state final with Etiwanda snapping that streak last season as the Eagles beat Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) for the section crown and SoCal title before winning their second straight state title and being crowned MaxPreps National Champions.