Division II : Gannon Comes Off Bench to Spark San Pasqual, 38-32

The San Pasqual High girls’ basketball team needed help, but it seemed unlikely that Nikki Gannon would provide it.

Gannon, a 5-foot 6-inch sophomore, splits her time between the soccer team and the basketball team. Lately, she had skipped a few basketball practices because she was helping the soccer team win the San Diego Section 2-A title.

Gannon did not start Tuesday night, but she was there when her basketball team needed her.

Gannon scored only nine points, but they were all key ones as second-seeded San Pasqual defeated seventh-seeded Helix, 38-32, in a Southern California Division II Regional first-round game at San Pasqual. San Pasqual (26-2) will play host to Fresno Sanger in the semifinals Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Gannon had her chance to be a basketball star because two of San Pasqual’s key weapons were missing.

San Pasqual Coach Lori Becker knew forward Nicole Rothey would not be much help. Rothey came down with the flu and missed practice Monday. Normally a strong inside player, Rothey scored only six points, nine below her average, and grabbed only four rebounds.

What Becker did not expect, however, was that star guard Julie Doria would be taken out of the offense by Helix’s 1-3-1 zone. That worked especially well in the second half. Doria, who averages 17 points, did not score after getting 9 in the first half.

That meant San Pasqual needed someone to pick up the slack. Becker looked down the bench and saw Gannon.

“They needed a ballhandler,” said Gannon, who played sparingly and scored only two points in San Pasqual’s 45-40 win over Fallbrook in the section final last Friday. “They were covering Julie and I was left.”

Gannon hit a 21-foot three-pointer--her second of the year--from straightaway just before the first half ended to give San Pasqual a 22-20 lead. That was a boost, because San Pasqual had trailed most of the half.

The second half was when Gannon really became important. She took a pass from Doria on the run, made a little head-and-shoulders fake that got Helix’s Chris Usquiano back on her heels, and sank a 15-foot jumper to give San Pasqual a 30-26 lead with less than a minute to go in the third quarter.

Helix (18-7) came back in the fourth quarter. Kim Hendee made two 17-footers in a row to tie the score at 30-30. But San Pasqual got the lead back when Rothey scored inside with 3:48 to play.