STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT : Division I Girls Playoff : Kennedy Easily Turns Back a Cold-Shooting Hanford Team, 55-34

It was Granada Hills Kennedy High Coach Craig Raub’s 35th birthday on Tuesday, but he really didn’t want to advertise it.

“I told the team I was 25,” Raub said, “Everybody thinks I’m younger anyway. See, no gray hairs.”

Kennedy’s handling of Hanford on Tuesday sure didn’t age him much, as Kennedy didn’t allow a field goal in the first quarter on its way to a 55-34 victory at Granada Hills High in the first round of the girls Division I state playoffs.

The only mystery in this game was exactly where Hanford is located.

“Never heard of ‘em,” said junior guard Tisa Rush, who finished with a game-high 23 points. “I couldn’t even pronounce the name of the school before tonight. Isn’t it located somewhere up near Fresno or Bakersfield?”

Geographically speaking, Rush was pretty close. Hanford, which won the CIF Central Section, is located between Bakersfield and Madera, near Visalia.

Rush was right on target in the third quarter. After a cool second quarter that saw Hanford get back into the game, Rush was 3-of-4 shooting in the third, putting any thought of a Hanford comeback to rest.

Kennedy (23-2), which won its 16 straight, will face Point Loma (31-0) on Thursday at Serra High in San Diego. Point Loma had a first-round bye.

Kennedy raced to a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter after Hanford was 0-for-8 shooting. Hanford didn’t score its first field goal until the seven-minute mark of the second period.

But Hanford (18-6), which rallied from a 18-point deficit in its 50-49 win over Reedley that qualified the team for the state playoffs, scored seven of the next nine points to come within 16-7. Hanford trailed, 22-14, at the half.

But Rush and senior forward Diane DeCree found their shooting touch in the second half, and Kennedy scored the first six points to open the third, building a 28-14 lead. Hanford, which shot 28.8% (13 of 45) in the game, missed on 7 of 10 attempts in the period and added 7 turnovers, falling behind 36-22 after three quarters.

DeCree, who will attend Texas A&M; next year, scored 11 of her 21 points in the final quarter as Kennedy outscored Hanford, 19-12.