RIVERSIDE — It has been a little while since the King girls basketball program last won the Big VIII League championship. Roosevelt’s Sophie Nguyen #0 collides with King guard Izabella Chavez #22 as she tries to steal the ball in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) King center Mariah Alford #12 blocks the shot of Roosevelt’s Mylah Lewis #23 in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) King forward Sydney Sloan #34 and Roosevelt’s Ukamaka Ude #11 battle for a rebound in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) King guard Izabella Chavez #22 tries to steal the ball from Roosevelt’s Melody Dichosa #1 in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) King guard Izabella Chavez #22 reacts after being charged with a foul against Roosevelt in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) King’s Allyson Brown reacts to a foul called against a teammate against Roosevelt in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Roosevelt’s Makayla Haddock #4 pressures King’s Martha Firmo #31 in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) King head coach Jesus Martinez communicates with his players against Roosevelt in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Roosevelt’s Mylah Lewis #23 drives through King guard Izabella Chavez #22 and King’s Amya Moody #3 in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Roosevelt’s Sophie Nguyen #0 defends King’s Amya Moody #3 in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Roosevelt’s Natalie Cruz #24 tries to steal the ball from King center Mariah Alford #12 in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) King forward Gennesy Hardy #2 blocks the shot of Roosevelt’s Makayla Haddock #4 in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) King’s Martha Firmo #31 shoots over Roosevelt’s Natalie Cruz #24 in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Roosevelt’s Ukamaka Ude #11 fights for the rebound with King center Mariah Alford #12 in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Roosevelt’s Sophie Nguyen #0 pressures King guard Izabella Chavez #22 in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) King head coach Jesus Martinez calls a timeout against Roosevelt in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) King guard Jannah Soliva #0 battles for the loose ball with Roosevelt’s Mylah Lewis #23 in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) King forward Gennesy Hardy #2 is defended by Roosevelt’s Mylah Lewis #23 in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Roosevelt’s Ukamaka Ude #11 fights for the loose ball against King center Mariah Alford #12 in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) King’s Amya Moody #3 shoots against Roosevelt in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) King center Mariah Alford #12 fouls Roosevelt’s Londyn Henley #2 in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 21Roosevelt’s Sophie Nguyen #0 collides with King guard Izabella Chavez #22 as she tries to steal the ball in a Big VIII League girls basketball game in Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Expand King won or shared the league title four consecutive years (2017-2020) but have finished second or lower the past four seasons. “The last one was before the pandemic, which seems like a long time ago,” Wolves coach Jesus Martinez said. “These girls are hungry to bring a league title back here to King. And for the seniors, they realize this is their final opportunity to accomplish that.” The Wolves took the first step toward recapturing the title Thursday evening. Sophomore guard Jannah Soliva scored 20 points, and senior guard Amya Moody added 18 more points as King cruised to a 60-41 home win over Roosevelt in the league opener. “We haven’t won one (a league championship) during my time here,” Moody said. “It would an honor to win league my final year.” King (18-4 overall) never trailed in the game and held a lead for all but the first 13 seconds of the game. Moody knocked down a 3-pointer on that first possession, and Martha Firmo sank another shot from distance to spark a 10-0 opening run by the Wolves. “It was very important to get off to a strong start in the first league game,” said Moody, who has signed with Cal State Northridge. Roosevelt (16-6) answered back with a 7-0 run of its own, but three points was the closest the Mustangs got the rest of the way. King was clinging to a 19-12 lead with 3:17 remaining in the second quarter, but the Wolves pieced together a 23-6 run over the next 8 1/2 minutes to pull away. King was up 12 points at halftime and extended the lead to 45-23 by the end of the third quarter. The scoring remained balanced for the Wolves, as no player scored more than seven points in a quarter during Thursday’s game. “I wanted them to keep pushing the pace,” Martinez said. “We had some girls hits some big shots throughout the game tonight.” Soliva was King’s most reliable shooter, as the sophomore was 7 of 14 from the field, including a 4-of-7 effort from 3-point range. Roosevelt did not lack for scoring opportunities but struggled to knock down shots Thursday evening. The Mustangs made only 12 of 48 shots from the field and 3 of 19 attempts from 3-point range. Roosevelt did win the rebounding battle Thursday 49-33. The Mustangs finished the evening with 18 offensive rebounds but managed only nine second-chance points during the game. Mylah Lewis scored a game-high 22 points to lead the way for Roosevelt. Lewis drained 11 of 14 shots from the free-throw line. Natalie Cruz finished with seven points and 10 rebounds, and Ukamaka Ude also registered 10 rebounds for the Mustangs. Firmo was the third King scorer in double figures, as she finished with 11 points while handing out seven assists Thursday night. Mariah Alford had a team-high nine rebounds for the Wolves despite fouling out. Moody finished the night with seven rebounds. 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Now, there is only one round of league games, followed by a carousel tournament to determine the champion. “You want to win every game to get a top seed (for the tournament),” Martinez said. “We needed a good start, and we got that.” King returns to action next week with league games against Corona (Tuesday at home) and Norco (Thursday on the road). Roosevelt has a tougher slate ahead against Santiago (Tuesday, home) and defending champion Centennial (Thursday, road). 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