Girls’ Basketball: Sage Hill grabs key league win
DOWNEY — At this rate, Sage Hill School girls’ basketball coach Kerwin Walters is certain that his heart is racing at unhealthy levels.
Nothing has come easy for the Lightning since the start of the Academy League.
It’s not that the losses that they had suffered had been bad, but they were tight. Close enough that each seemed to take a piece of the team with it.
Some might have wondered if a third home loss, this time to Crean Lutheran on Tuesday, would be the undoing for Sage Hill.
The Lightning have heart, though, and Walters’ is still intact after his team pulled out a 50-47 nail-biter over host Downey Calvary Chapel on Friday.
“A ruptured aorta will probably be it,” Walters said after another heart-stopping finish. “It was an exciting game. We finally got the close victory.”
“The girls dug in and wanted it. At the end of it, we just couldn’t let it happen again.”
Sage Hill (12-9, 5-3) had two one-point losses among its three defeats in league, one of which came against the Grizzlies (15-5, 5-3).
A transition layup by Nataly Shayan-Smith from Kenna Knollenberg took the Lightning’s lead to 42-34 just 10 seconds into the fourth quarter.
From there, Sage Hill watched its lead slowly evaporate, although the pace was fast and furious.
The Lightning were in the penalty, and Sarah Welch, the Grizzlies’ last-second hero in the first meeting, went to the line for a one-and-one opportunity.
When Welch (16 points, 10 rebounds) stepped to the line, Sage Hill held a 46-44 lead with 1:57 remaining. The senior forward hit the first free throw, but the second was long.
Minds raced. The next basket would be a critical one.
Heather Park drove hard to the basket, heard the whistle, and threw up a wild-looking layup attempt high off the backboard. It fell through to give the Lightning a 48-45 advantage with 1:43 to go.
On her chance to make it a two-possession game, Park missed the mark. The rebound came off to Shayan-Smith, who powered up and scored the last of her three baskets to extend the lead to 50-45.
“Nataly made some big layups towards the end of the game,” Park said. “Those layups lifted our team up for us to come out with the win tonight.”
Park, a sophomore guard, had a team-high 17 points.
Alma Campos (19 points) scored off an offensive rebound on the Grizzlies’ next possession to ensure that the Lightning did not get too comfortable.
Not that they were for a second. Sage Hill had seen this movie enough times.
“I think it can be really scary at times when it’s so close and you think that you might lose the game, but I think that can also be the most fun,” freshman point guard Trinity Cha said.
“That’s all you’re playing for is that close game, like that last-second shot, leaving it all out there. That’s what makes basketball fun.”
Cha, who scored 13 points, had a chance to close out the game. One made free throw would have done that with her team leading, 50-47, with 9.5 seconds left.
She missed the front end of the one-and-one, leaving the door open for Downey Calvary Chapel to tie it. A three-point attempt did not fall for the Grizzlies in the final seconds, and Sage Hill held on.
The Lightning were just 5 of 18 (27.8%) from the free-throw line, something that Walters says the team will have to improve if it wants to be a consistent competitor against quality opponents.
“Ouch, that is tough,” said Walters when he heard the statistic. “We’ve got to do a better job of doing that. You have to shoot 72% to beat really good teams.”
Up next for the Lightning is a big road rematch against Oxford Academy on Feb. 2. The second of two one-point losses at home came against the Patriots (14-5, 6-1).
Oxford Academy beat Crean Lutheran, 47-44, on Friday night. By virtue of the victory, the Patriots opened up a two-game lead in the Academy League.
Sage Hill, Calvary Chapel, and Crean Lutheran (12-9, 5-3) are in a three-way tie for second. Whitney is 11-8, 4-3 in league.
The Academy League gets four automatic bids into the CIF playoffs, meaning one of those teams is going to have to leave its fate up to a postseason committee.
“This year is really crazy,” Walters said. “It’s exciting because you never know who is going to win a game at this point. You just want to have a chance at it.”
The Lightning hope to get shooting guard Kate Knollenberg back next week. She has been battling flu-like symptoms.
Academy League
Sage Hill 50, Downey Calvary Chapel 47
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Sage Hill – 19 - 7 - 14 - 10 – 50
Calvary – 11 - 13 - 10 - 13 – 47
SH – Park 17, Cha 13, Akbari 7, Shayan-Smith 6, Ke. Knollenberg 5, Hublitz 2.
3-pt. goals – Cha 3, Ke. Knollenberg 1, Park 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
CCD – Campos 19, Welch 16, Consuegra 6, Zipperian 4, Esparza 2.
3-pt. goals – Campos 4, Consuegra 2.
Fouled out – Zipperian.
Technicals – None.
