CHATSWORTH – It was survival of the fittest on Saturday night in the CIF Southern Section girls basketball Open Division pool play game between fourth-seeded Bishop Montgomery and top-seeded Sierra Canyon.
On the line was a berth in the Saturday, Feb. 23 Open Division final, as both Sierra Canyon and Bishop Montgomery won their first two games in pool play to set up the winner-take-all showdown.
With the score tied at 59 with 39 seconds remaining Bishop Montgomery had a chance to take the lead but a Kayla Padilla driving lay-up was off the mark.
Sierra Canyon’s Ashley Chevalier took the rebound and pushed it up the court, driving the lane and when the Knights defender came to her she dumped it off to a wide-open Amanda Olinger who laid it off the glass and in with 18 seconds left to give Sierra Canyon a two-point lead and eventually the 61-59 win to advance to the championship game against Windward.
“We just knew that this was a championship team, and we had to finish it to get to the championship game and win to prove that everybody that we are that good,” Chevalier, who scored 17 points, said. “I’m just glad she (Amanda Olinger) caught it and put it in. We are finally in an Open Division Championship game.”
Bishop Montgomery (23-6) had one final opportunity to tie or win the game, but Khylee Pepe’s driving lay-up was off the mark and Sierra Canyon (29-0) escaped with the win.
“It was a hard-fought game against the number one team in the nation, we only lost by a couple of points, came down to a couple of possessions,” Bishop Montgomery coach Noelle Quinn said. “I’m very proud of my girls. We weren’t even supposed to be here. They fought hard.
“Obviously you want to win, but what is more important to me than wins and losses is that my girls are good character individuals. That’s all I care about. Yeah it’s tough but this isn’t going to make break our team.”
Bishop Montgomery took control early behind the play of Padilla, Pepe, and Kayla Williams taking a 12-point lead, 30-18, midway through the second quarter on a three-pointer by Padilla. Sierra Canyon responded, rallying behind Chevalier who scored seven of her team-high 17 points during a 9-2 run in the final three minutes of the first half to cut the Knights lead to five.
With Sierra Canyon trailing by three late in the third quarter, Olinger hit her first big shot of the night, a three-pointer tying the game at 42 with 2:50 left in the third.
Bishop Montgomery came out firing to start the fourth as Cyan Dyke and Williams hit back-to-back three’s to take a seven point lead, but Alexis Mark scored four straight points and then Chevalier scored a lay-up to cut the Knights’ lead to one with 3:30 to play. Dyke made another basket to put Bishop back up by three, but the Knights would only score one more in the final three minutes.
“I think it was a matter of execution and I think we got tired down the stretch and didn’t make the plays when we needed to,” Padilla, who scored 15 points and grabbed 10 boards, said. “We just had a lapse after leading most of the game. I’m proud at the way we competed, but I am disappointed how things ended up. We just got to put this game behind us. We gave the No. 1 team a good run and now we have to prepare for state.”
