St. Monica Academy’s historic boys’ basketball season ended Friday night in the CIF SS Division 5A semifinals against No. 1 seeded Duarte High School.

The Crusaders, 14-0 in league, garnered its second league title and entered the playoffs as the fourth seed overall in Div. 5A.

After defeating Westmark of Encino (71-50) in the first round of CIF, SMA played Tarbut V’Torah (73-65) in the quarterfinals on Feb. 20 and came away with the program’s first quarterfinal victory.

On Feb. 23, SMA faced Duarte High School in the CIF Southern Section Division 5A semifinals where the team lost 87-47. In nine short years in CIF, SMA’s boys’ and girls’ basketball teams have garnered many league championships and playoff appearances. This was the first time a basketball team advanced to the semifinals.

SMA’s sports program, as a whole, has achieved 22 league championships, 22 All-CIF awards, 40 playoff runs, one section title in girls’ volleyball, and 5 NCAA athletes in the last three years.

St. Monica Academy, an independent, Catholic, coeducational school for grades one through 12, is at the forefront of a renaissance in classical education, a time-

honored method of teaching that inspires students to excel academically and morally. Founded by parents in 2001, the school provides 250 students in grades 1-12 with an academically rigorous education using a classical curriculum.

For more information, visit www.stmonicaacademy.com.