Nakaji perseveres, Oilers advance to finals

ANAHEIM – Throughout time, there are playoff games that are remembered for their peculiarities.

One might remember when Boston Red Sox starter Curt Schilling pitched Game 6 of the 2004 World Series with a bloody sock.

An oddity that Huntington Beach’s girls’ basketball team will long remember is what happened to Kaylyn Nakaji prior to Saturday night’s CIF-SS Division 1A semifinal.

The Oilers’ starting shooting guard dislocated her left pinkie finger during shootaround, initially sending the team into a panic.

Just when it seemed that things had taken a dark turn, Nakaji was able to start.

Without making any significant changes to its lineup, Huntington Beach got a most helpful shot in the arm, as Nakaji’s availability boosted the team’s morale.

The Oilers used that energy to shut down second-seeded Esperanza, as Huntington Beach defeated the host Aztecs, 42-29, to advance to their first title game since 2012.

Nakaji vividly recalled the moments following the incident. She was telling her teammates, ‘It’s sideways! It’s sideways!”

She saw the trainer, who was able to pop her finger back into place.

Star forward Frankie Wade-Sanchez explained the emotions of having to flip the switch when it appeared that the team would have to play without its second-leading scorer.

“I felt like I was going to throw up a little,” Wade-Sanchez said of her initial reaction to the dislocation. “Then I just turned it into fuel. I was like, ‘If Kaylyn can’t play, it just means that everyone has to step up even more. Instead of giving 100 percent, everyone has to give 200 percent.’”

“Luckily, she came back and did her thing, so we’re good.”

Nakaji and Adrienne Dang pestered the backcourt of Esperanza (26-4). The duo combined for five steals, hitting the floor on a number of occasions for loose balls.

Dang might be five feet tall, but she is not afraid to go into the high-contact areas.

“It always starts with defense and stopping their main guards,” Dang said. “Katie Kubo, she’s really quick. It started with stopping her and not letting her get it into the post.”

Huntington Beach (22-7) proved that defense wins big games. Oilers coach Russell McClurg called Saturday night’s semifinal his team’s best defensive effort of the year.

The defensive rotation of Zoie Bailey, Xolani Hodel, April Soedel, and Rachel Harris held Esperanza center Samantha Fries to nine points and two rebounds.

A point was made to take away space from Esperanza’s shooters, and the Aztecs wound up with just one 3-pointer for the game.

The Oilers emerged from the first quarter with an 11-4 lead.

Huntington Beach went a span of 5:15 in the second quarter without scoring from the field. Wade-Sanchez finally broke the drought on a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

Dang was responsible for the open look, and the senior point guard found Nakaji on the baseline for a jumper a minute later.

The sleeping Oilers offense had awoken, and its final salvo of the half was an isolation 3-pointer from Wade-Sanchez with four seconds left.

Huntington Beach went into halftime with a 22-14 lead. That advantage remained intact, 30-23, after the third quarter.

The post was beginning to get thin for the Oilers early in the fourth quarter. Hodel had picked up her fourth foul with 12 seconds left in the third, and Fries had opportunities to cut into the lead.

The Aztecs center did not convert on three free throws in the opening minute of the final frame, and Nakaji made Esperanza pay. She drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing, extending the Oilers’ lead to 33-23 with 7:01 to go.

“You do it for your teammates,” Nakaji said of playing through the injury. “I know how bad we wanted it. No matter what happens to you body-wise, you do it for your team. That’s what we did.”

Wade-Sanchez, who has played the season with bad knees, appeared to aggravate her left knee when she landed on a defender on a shot from the left corner. She limped off the court, but she returned after a single defensive possession.

On the next out-of-bounds play, the senior sprinted the length of the floor. Nakaji’s pass hit her in stride, and she poured in the layup to make it 37-25.

Wade-Sanchez finished with a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds. Nakaji added nine points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

The Oilers had 10 steals as a team. They also won the battle of the boards, 26-21.

Huntington Beach will face Torrance Bishop Montgomery (20-9) in the championship game. The Knights upset top-seeded Riverside King, 63-47, in the other semifinal.

Amanda Williams paced the Aztecs with 10 points.

CIF-SS Division 1A Playoffs Semifinals

Huntington Beach 42, Esperanza 29

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Huntington Beach – 11 - 11 - 8 - 12 – 42

Esperanza – 4 - 10 - 9 - 6 – 29

HB – Wade-Sanchez 22, Nakaji 9, Soedel 4, Hodel 4, Dang 3.

3-pt. goals – Wade-Sanchez 3, Nakaji 1, Dang 1.

Fouled out – Hodel.

Technicals – None.

Espy – Williams 10, Fries 9, Youssouf 4, Kwong 2, Ale. Warye 2, Kubo 2.

3-pt. goals – Williams 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.