Culver Nips Cougars

Hawthorne High rallied from a 17-point deficit to pull within one late in the game, but the Cougars fell short and suffered a 47-44 loss at Culver City in an Ocean League girls basketball game Thursday.

Hawthorne, which trailed 35-18 late in the third quarter, had the ball and was down by one point, 45-44, with two minutes left when Culver City’s defense stiffened.

“In the last two minutes we never got a good shot,” said Hawthorne Coach John Wheeler, whose team dropped into a second-place tie with Inglewood at 5-3. Guard Kim Bly paced the Cougars with 18 points.

Center Kathy McGriff scored a game-high 25 points for Culver City (7-1), which clinched a tie for the Ocean title with two games left.