CIF Southern Section girls basketball dynasties: Which programs have won the most section championships over the last 25 years?

We took a look back through the archives to see which CIF Southern Section teams have won the most girls basketball section titles over the past 25 years.

We took a look back through the archives to see which CIF Southern Section teams have won the most girls basketball section titles over the past 25 years.

We found 30 teams that had won at least three championships over that span (1996-2020). Here’s a look at those 30 teams.

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SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS BASKETBALL DYNASTIES

21 (tie). Gardena Serra – 3 titles

The Cavaliers three-peated from 2010-2012 under McKinsey Hadley, who is still their head coach.

21 (tie). Santa Margarita – 3 titles

The Eagles won a title in 2005 under Rich Schaaf, and have also won chips in 2010 and 2014 under Matt Houser.

21 (tie). St. Anthony – 3 titles

St. Anthony went back-to-back in 2010 and 2011, and also won a title in 2016. That all came under head coach James Anderson.

21 (tie). St. John Paul II Stem Academy (formerly Bellarmine-Jefferson) – 3 titles

Before rebranding recently as St. John II STEM Academy, Bellarmine-Jefferson won CIFSS titles in 1997, 2009, and 2017. All three came under different coaches – Jim Couch, Bryan Camacho, and Claudia Villa, respectively.

21 (tie). Valley Christian (Santa Maria) – 3 titles

Under Stan Bickley, the Lions won Southern Section championships in 1998, 2005, and 2006. They are one of only a few Santa Barbara County teams that haven't realigned to the Central Section to cut down on travel.

21 (tie). West (Torrance) – 3 titles

Over the past quarter-century, the Warriors have three titles, and all of them have come in the past several years. They went back-to-back in 2014 and 2015 under Mike Caporaso, and also won a title in 2018 under current head coach Riki Murakami.

21 (tie). Pacific Hills – 3 titles

The Bruins three-peated from 2004-2006. The first two came under head coach Ben Ramos, and then Tony Jimenez won the third in his first year as their head coach in the 2005-2006 season.

21 (tie). Morningside – 3 titles

Morningside has won three rings in the past 25 years. The first came in 1996 under Roderick Tatum. They also won it all in 1999 and 2004 under Frank Scott. The legendary Lisa Leslie also won three titles at Morningside, but that was before our 1995-1996 cutoff.

21 (tie). Peninsula – 3 titles

In the late 90s, the Panthers won three titles in four years. That came in 1996, 1998, and 1999 all under Wendell Yoshida.

21 (tie). Ventura – 3 titles

Ventura won Southern Section titles in 2002, 2014, and 2016 under Ann Larson. Larson is still the Cougars' head coach to this day.

17 (tie). Brentwood – 4 titles

The Eagles went back-to-back in 2004 and 2005 under David Smith before winning two more under Charles Solomon in 2014 and 2018.

17 (tie). Artesia – 4 titles

Artesia three-peated from 2001-03 under Scott Roczey. And now they are fresh off a 5-AA championship under Shonyta Pouncey. With a host of talented underclasswomen comprising their core, more rings might be in order over the next few years.

17 (tie). Chaminade – 4 titles

In the past decade, Chaminade has reeled off four section titles. They came in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2019 all under Kelli Di Muro.

17 (tie). Orange Lutheran – 4 titles

The Lancers have also won four titles in the past decade all under one coach. Tom Howard was at the helm for championships in 2011, 2015, 2016, and 2019.

10 (tie). Laguna Hills – 5 titles

Moving into the top 10 now (with a large tie for 10th), Laguna Hills has five titles in the past quarter-century. The first came in 1997 under Lynn Taylor. The other four came in 2000, 2007, 2008, and 2012 under Jim Martin, who is still the Hawks' coach.

10 (tie). St. Bernard – 5 titles

St. Bernard won it all in 1997 under Lori Pawinski, 1998, 2000, and 2002 under Felicia Simon, and 2010 under Bo Corona.

10 (tie). Long Beach Poly – 5 titles

Under current head coach Carl Buggs, the Jackrabbits won it all in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2017. And when we say they won it all, every single one of those titles came at the highest division – 1-AA the first four times, and the Open Division in 2017.

10 (tie). Rolling Hills Prep – 5 titles

The Huskies' five titles since 1996 feature two back-to-backs. They won in 2002 under Joe Jackson, went back-to-back under him in 2011 and 2012, and also went back-to-back under current head coach Richard Masson in 2017 and 2018. With a lot of returning top-end talent in 2020-2021, RHP will be in the hunt for a chip once again.

10 (tie). Harvard-Westlake – 5 titles

Brian Taylor led the Wolverines to a title in 1998 before leaving after the 1999-2000 season. Then they hired Melissa Hearlihy, who had already made it to the top with Alemany and has since gone on to establish herself as one of the best coaches in SoCal girls hoops history. With her at the helm, they've won in 2001, 2009, 2010, and 2020.

10 (tie). San Clemente – 5 titles

Under Mary Mulligan, the Tritons pulled off a four-peat from 2001-2004 and then won another title in 2007. They came agonizingly close in a 29-5 season this past March under Kerry Husbands, falling by five against Bishop Amat in the 2-A title game.

10 (tie). Troy – 5 titles

In the 2000's, the Warriors pulled off two rare feats – five titles in six years, and a four-peat. The rings came in 2001 and 2003-2006, all under Kevin Kiernan. Mater Dei landed Kiernan, now one of the winningest girls basketball coaches in state history, in 2007.

4 (tie). Mater Dei – 6 titles

Mater Dei won a title in 2003 under Geri Campeau, and has now won five rings since hiring Kevin Kiernan in 2007. They four-peated from 2009-2012, giving Kiernan his second four-peat in one decade.

In March, they broke an eight-year drought and broke through again for an Open Division title with Kiernan still at the helm. The Monarchs will be the heavy favorite to win another Open Division title and perhaps state title in 2020-2021.

4 (tie). Bishop Amat – 6 titles

Under Richard Wiard, the Lancers won a total of five titles. They came in 1999, via a three-peat from 2004-06, and in 2012. And earlier this year, they won their first title of the Camille Buckley era at the 2-A level.

4 (tie). Windward – 6 titles

The Wildcats won titles in 2006 and 2011 under Steve Smith, and three-peated under Vanessa Nygaard from 2013-15. Windward won another championship with Nygaard as head coach in 2018, and she might only be getting started collecting hardware with the Wildcats.

4 (tie). Pilgrim – 6 titles

The Patriots went back-to-back in 1996 and 1997 under Gene Hicks, and four-peated from 1999-2002 under Kevin Blue.

4 (tie). Marlborough – 6 titles

From 2003-2008, the Mustangs pulled off the ultra rare six-peat – the only six-peat in Southern Section girls basketball from 1996-2020 (although as you will see further down the list, there were other stretches during that time that were part of six-peats starting before 1996).

Making it even more crazy is that the first three seasons all came under different coaches: George Quintero in 2003, Steve Burnett in 2004, and Trenton Jackson the last four times. Marlborough basketball lost some of its shine shortly thereafter when Jackson left, but now under Chris Rodgers the Mustangs are back competing at a premier level.

4 (tie). Redondo Union – 6 titles

All six of the Seahawks' titles since 1996 have come under Marcelo Enriquez. They won in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2015, and 2018. Enriquez is still at the reins for Redondo, and past trends say they are due for another championship in the next few years.

3. Lynwood – 7 titles

With seven titles to his name, Ellis Barfield is one of the top coaches in Southern Section girls basketball history. The Knights four-peated from 2001-2004 and won again in 2006, with only one loss in the finals in 2005 keeping them from a six-peat. Lynwood also went back-to-back in 2012 and 2013. With 5-star G/F Rayah Marshall leading a strong core of upperclasswomen, don't be surprised to see Barfield and Lynwood add title number eight in 2020-2021.

2. Bishop Montgomery – 8 titles

Clocking in at number two is Bishop Montgomery with eight titles since 1996. They went back-to-back in 1996 and 1997 under Yvette Angel, won again in 2000 under Lisa Corona, repeated in 2002 and 2003 under Lisa Cooper, were repeat champs again in 2014 and 2015 under Bridgette Reyes, and won Division 1-A in 2017 under current head coach Noelle Quinn. It's safe to say that the Knights consistently contend for upper-division titles as regularly as anyone in the Southern Section.

1. Brea Olinda – 9 titles

It's been a decade since their last title so their legacy goes under the radar, but Brea Olinda stands alone with the most titles in the past quarter-century. The Ladycats four-peated from 1996-1999, won again in 2001 after losing by single-digits in the 2000 finals, and picked up more rings in 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2010. And all came under one coach – Jeff Sink.

Making what they did all the more impressive is that Brea Olinda wona title all seven years in a row before our time range of 25 years (the 1995-1996 season) began. So they didn't just four-peat – they eleven-peated from 1989-1999 to make 17 titles in the 25-season span of 1986-2010.

If you want to find out where that ranks all time in Southern Section history, make sure to stay tuned for our upcoming list of the winningest CIFSS girls basketball programs of all time.

Other schools that have won section titles in the past 25 years:

A.B. Miller

Agoura

Alemany

Antelope Valley

Arroyo Grande

Ayala

Beverly Hills

Brethren Christian

Bishop Diego

Bloomington Christian

Buena

Cajon

Calvary Chapel (Santa Ana)

Campbell Hall

Cantwell-Sacred Heart

Canyon (Anaheim)

Canyon Springs

Chadwick

Colony

Crescenta Valley

Crossroads

Culver City

Cuyama Valley

Desert

Diamond Ranch

Dominguez

Edison

Fairmont Prep

Flintridge Prep

Foothill

Ganesha

Glendora

Grace Brethren

Heritage Christian

Hesperia Christian

Holy Martyrs

Hueneme

Inglewood

J.W. North

Lakeside

Leuzinger

Liberty Christian

Linfield Christian

Long Beach Wilson

Los Osos

Marina

Mesa Grande Academy

Millikan

Mission Prep

Montclair Prep

Moreno Valley

Morro Bay

Muir

Murrieta Valley

Newbury Park

North (Torrance)

North County Christian

Northview

Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks)

Oak Park

Oaks Christian

Oakwood

Orangewood Academy

Oxnard

Paloma Valley

Pasadena Poly

Price

Providence Hall

Rialto

Ribet Academy

Rio Hondo Prep

Rosary Academy

Santa Barbara

Santa Clara

Santa Fe

Santa Monica

Santa Ynez

Santiago (Corona)

Sierra Canyon

South (Torrance)

St. Joseph (Santa Maria)

St. Mary's Academy

St. Monica

St. Paul

Summit

Thacher

Thousand Oaks

Valencia (Valencia)

Valley Christian (Cerritos)

Village Christian

Warren

Western Christian

Whittier Christian

Woodbridge