Girls’ basketball: Murrieta Valley wins 2A title, 49-37

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DeShea Wilkes had 10 points and 12 rebounds, Ariana Hernandez had 10 points and Karen Wolf added eight points and 10 rebounds as Murrieta Valley pulled away from Culver City in the fourth quarter to win the Southern Section Division 2A championship Friday afternoon at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The second-seeded Nighthawks (26-5), who finished second behind Vista Murrieta in the Southwestern League this season, outscored Culver City 18-10 in the final eight minutes and shot 40.5% from the field. Both teams move on to next week’s CIF Division II state playoffs. The Nighthawks have won seven straight games.

Taylor Tanita had 12 points and five assists and Kelsey Ueda added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Centaurs (24-6), who stunned top-seeed Orange Lutheran 42-40 in the semifinals. Culver City scored 24 second-chance points to the Nighthawks’ two but were outrebounded 44-30.

-- Steve Galluzzo