IRVINE – Sage Hill’s girls basketball team might be the class of the Pacific Coast League, but the Lightning doesn’t own the market on excitement – or drama.
The early leaders in that department are Rosary and Portola, which battled Tuesday as they tipped off play in the PCL in playoff-atmosphere fashion.
Portola, ranked No. 12 in the Orange County Top 25, led by seven points at halftime and three points with less than two minutes remaining. But Rosary, ranked No. 13, scored 10 of the final 12 points for a 56-52 victory.
The Royals reacted like they won a championship when the buzzer sounded. And for all intents and purposes, the victory was probably necessary if they are to challenge No. 4 Sage Hill for the league title.
Even if everyone else is playing for second place, Rosary’s win initially positions the Royals in an early prime position for one of the league’s three automatic playoff berths.
Back-to-back 3-point baskets by Kara Niho and Amelia Booth gave Portola a 50-46 lead with 2 minutes, 8 seconds remaining. But Rosary rose to the occasion in the final moments.
Emalynn Vong’s 3-pointer cut the deficit to 50-49 with 1:50 left. Then Kate Duarte – who started on the bench because she was coming off an injury suffered over Christmas break – made it 51-50 with 1:27 to go.
Booth, who finished with a game-high 23 points, gave Portola the lead again, 52-51, with a minute remaining. Then Vong drove the lane and made a three-point play to give Rosary a 53-52 lead with 49 seconds left.
Portola continued to come up empty on its end of the court, while Duarte scored for Rosary with 25 seconds remaining to set the final margin.
The Bulldogs missed their chances at the end.
“They were super tough for how small they were,” Vong said of the size matchup that favored Rosary.
Booth was outstanding. Rosary coach Leslie Aragon praised her play, saying it caught his team off guard.
If there was a difference in the game, it might have been that Booth was held scoreless in the third quarter, when Rosary came back from a 32-25 halftime deficit to tie the score, 37-37, going into the fourth.
Madison Nguyen added 12 points for Portola (13-6, 0-1). No other player for the Bulldogs scored more than five points.
Rosary (12-4, 1-0) plays Sage Hill on Tuesday, Jan. 13.
Rosary’s balance might have been the difference in the end. Four players scored in double figures.
In the fourth quarter, Vong scored 10 of her 14 points and Duarte scored six of her 14.
Riyanna Meaders and Sophie Lickl scored 11 apiece.
The fact that Portola beat Rosary twice last season wasn’t lost on Meaders, whose 3-pointer tied the score at 42-42 with 5:01 left. She said the victory was important because it helped the Royals learn how to win.
“We proved our mettle,” she said. “We showed what we can do, that we can do it. We really did.”
Indeed they did. And for the moment, they’re in first place to prove it.
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