Girls’ basketball: In a jam, Narbonne doesn’t go to jelly

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They had five seniors on the floor, and with the score tied at 48-48 with less than four minutes to play in their Southern California Regionals Division I quarterfinal, Narbonne’s players finished like champions. They scored 12 in a row to defeat Cajon, 60-51, Tuesday at Narbonne High.

Narbonne made seven of 10 free throws down the stretch.

Gabrielle Clark scored 23 for City champion Narbonne (30-4), including nine in the fourth quarter. Reiko Thomas scored 16 and Tipesa Moorer 11.

Layshia Clarendon had 23 points and eight rebounds for Cajon (30-4), but was the focus of a box-and-one defense that ignited the Narbonne comeback. In the third quarter, Cajon held a 39-31 advantage before Lauren Payton and Danielle LeNoir locked in on Clarendon the rest of the way.

‘We stopped her penetration,’ Thomas said. ‘You slow her down, you slow them down.’

Cajon, the Southern Section Division II-A champion with only one senior on the floor, made only one field goal over the final 5:18 -- Clarendon’s meaningless three-pointer with three seconds to go.

‘They’re just more experienced,’ Cajon Coach Mark Lehman said of Narbonnne. ‘We had them 39-31 in the third and they never panicked. They just turned it up a notch.’

-- Martin Henderson