Preps SOUTHERN SECTION 3-A GIRLS : Louisville Rallies, but Can’t Catch Esperanza

Esperanza High of Anaheim jumped out to an 11-point lead in the second quarter, then held off a furious Louisville rally to defeat the Royals, 49-46, Wednesday at Crespi High School.

Louisville scored the first basket of the game then watched the Aztecs score six straight points en route to a 16-9 first-period lead.

“Boy, it takes a lot out of you, to get behind and then have to try and catch up,” Louisville Coach Brian O’Hara said. “It takes a lot out of you, if you’re not in the game from the start.”

Louisville, down by 11 points twice in the second quarter, rallied behind center Andrea Knapp to cut the Aztec lead to 28-22 at the halftime buzzer.

The Royals cut Esperanza’s to 45-44 with almost a minute and a half left in the game when Knapp, who finished the contest with 18 points, hit a layup after a fast break. Louisville would never get closer, however, as it was forced to send the Aztecs to the free-throw line throughout the fourth quarter.

Esperanza converted 11 of 15 free-throw attempts in the quarter while getting only one basket from the field.

“The free throws won it for us down the stretch,” Esperanza Coach Marc Hill said. “It’s a good thing too, because we couldn’t buy a field goal.”

Esperanza was led by Heidi Olson’s 18 points, 10 of them coming in the first quarter, and by Jennifer LaPagalia’s 8 points, including 5 of 7 free throws in the fourth quarter, 2 with 11 seconds left on the clock.

“I felt pressured standing there and I knew I had to hit them,” LaPagalia said. “I just went up thinking all net, just the net.”

Louisville, which finished its season with a 21-5 record, had a chance to send the game into overtime but Lynn Flanagan missed a layup with seven seconds left in the game and the Aztecs grabbed the rebound.