SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Girls’ Semifinals : Division III : San Pasqual Wins; Lincoln Beaten : Late Basket Puts Eagles Into the Girls’ Division II Final

Nicole Rothey banked in an eight-footer with eight seconds to play to lift San Pasqual to a 39-37 victory over Fresno Sanger Thursday night in the semifinal of the Division II Southern California Regional girls’ basketball playoffs at San Pasqual.

San Pasqual advances to the Southern California championship against Palos Verdes Saturday at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

With 20 seconds to play, San Pasqual point guard Julie Doria attempted a drive but was trapped by two defenders. Doria passed to Rothey at the top of the key.

“The plan was for Julie to take the shot,” said Rothey, a senior who scored 17 points. “Then I had the opportunity. I thought it was going to roll of the rim, but it just hung in there and went in.

“That was the biggest shot I ever made.”

Rothey, a 5-foot 7-inch forward, used a head fake to get by two defenders before shooting. The shot culminated a 13-6 comeback by San Pasqual in the fourth period. Sanger was unable to get off a shot in the remaining eight seconds. Rothey scored seven consecutive points in the final minutes to tie it, 37-37.

San Pasqual trailed, 31-26, entering the fourth period but outscored Sanger. Sanger led through most of the game, opening a 22-16 advantage at the half.

“(Coach) Lori Becker yelled a little bit at halftime,” said Doria, who finished with 12 points. “It was surprising, she doesn’t usually yell. She said we really had to start moving and playing right. That helped us, we started pressing and that got us more into it.”

Becker had plenty to scream about. In the first period, San Pasqual was outscored, 10-2.

“Our shots were really cold,” Doria said. “We couldn’t get anything going. We were trying to fastbreak the whole time, but they were getting (on defense).”

Rothey attributed San Pasqual’s slow start to Sanger’s man-to-man defense in the opening half.

Rothey had the flu and scored only six points in San Pasqual’s 38-32 victory over Helix in the quarterfinals Tuesday.

“Nicole really came through for us tonight,” Doria said. “And I’m glad she did, we really needed her.”

San Pasqual’s 1-3-1 press in the fourth period helped shutdown Sanger’s offense. Sanger finished at 27-7. Sanger won the Central Section title after finishing second in the North Yosemite League.

The Lemoore High School girls’ basketball team outscored Lincoln, 18-8, in the third quarter and went on to win, 54-37, in a Southern California Regional Division III semifinal game at Lemoore Thursday night.

Lemoore is about 20 miles south of Fresno.

Center Alison Hedge scored 12 points and forward Rachel Rossiter 10 for Lemoore (20-7), the top-seeded team.