Girls’ basketball: Clarendon stamps Cajon superior in II-A showdown

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Layshia Clarendon scored 27 points, but it was the final two that will send second-seeded Cajon to the Southern Section Division II-A finals.

Clarendon, a junior guard, had a steal and layup with 44 seconds remaining to give Cajon a one-point advantage in its 57-55 victory Saturday over third-seeded Perris.

Darshae Burnside, who scored 17, added a free throw with 24 seconds left for the final margin. Still, the Cowgirls had to survive those final seconds. They played good defense, and Perris failed to get off much of a shot. Finally, with three seconds remaining, Kiyana Stamps drove to the basket and put up a rushed layup that bounded hard off the glass as the final second ticked off.

Clarendon score seven in the fourth quarter, and nine of her team’s final 15 points. Her off-balance, off-the-glass 15-footer at the buzzer to end the third quarter gave Cajon a 44-41 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

It was a terrible night for Perris’ two leading scorers. Stamps scored five and Aisha Sutherland scored six. The Panthers got a career night from Natasha Hadley, who had 20 points.

There were five lead changes in the final three minutes, but Cajon capitalized on a couple of Perris turnovers, one that yielded a layup to freshman Kori Walker for her only points of the game.

Perris’ Destini Mason was the only other player to reach double-digit scoring. She had 14.

-- Martin Henderson