Foothill Ends Louisville’s Season With Big Defense

Louisville High School received an early lesson in patience Tuesday night, and it cost the school a chance to advance to the 3-A girls Southern Section basketball championship game.

The teacher was Foothill High and the lesson was defense--specifically, how to surround an opponent’s key player with a swarming 2-3 zone and shut off its inside game.

The result, a 63-53 Foothill win at Tustin High, ended Louisville’s 21-game winning streak and its season at 25-5. Foothill advances to the finals Friday night at Cal Poly Pomona.

In extending its winning streak to 27 games, Foothill went to work early on Louisville center Andrea Knapp. Knapp, a 6-3 junior, led all scorers in the game with 27 points, but she was ineffective early, hitting just 5 of her first 13 field goal tries.

But she had company on each shot and when her teammates could get the ball to her she was surrounded by the collapsing 2-3 zone of the Knights. Foothill forward Becky Sullivan swatted away four pass attempts alone in the first quarter.

Knapp moved outside and scored most of her 14 second-half points from beyond 15 feet, but that left the Royals’ midsection without a key player.

“We tried to go inside in the first half and it didn’t work,” said Royals Coach Brian O’Hara. “But when we moved Andrea outside on the wing and told her to shoot from there, we had no rebounding.

“They would not let her inside. They played a great game defensively.”

Knight center Chris McFeron dominated the middle in the second half. She finished with 13 points, but had a game-high 16 rebounds. Knapp managed 11.

O’Hara admitted Foothill’s early work inside set the tempo. When asked if the zone shut down his game plan early, he responded, “Very much so.”

Still, Louisville clawed back. Down 26-21 at the half, the team rallied to within four points several times in the final two quarters.

But when Knapp got in foul trouble, collecting her fourth with 1:55 to go in the third period, O’Hara was forced to bench her. For the next two and a half minutes the Knights, led by McFeron, outrebounded the Royals, 11-2. When Knapp returned with 7:13 to go in the game, Foothill had a 40-33 lead.

In the final 6:30 Louisville was forced to foul to get the ball, but Foothill hit 12 of 14 free throws to ice the game.

“We were trying to be aware of 44,” said Foothill Coach Sheila Adams of Knapp. “She’s a good player. I thought our defense was really good.”

Four players scored in double figures for Foothill.