Wilson Lifts Hart Girls Into Semifinals, 76-70

West Covina High girls’ basketball Coach Mike Lassalette is not a mean man. He knew center Ingrid Dixon was tired midway through the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s game at Hart.

But with his team trailing by seven points, and Dixon faced with the unenviable task of trying to guard 6-foot-3 center Sara Wilson of Hart, he could not afford to give Dixon a breather. All he could do was watch.

And what he saw was Dixon picking up her fifth foul with 5:02 remaining, sending her to the bench with whatever hope West Covina had of winning the game.

Hart, behind Wilson’s 26 points, beat the Bulldogs, 76-70, in a Southern Section 5-A Division quarterfinal game. The Indians will play Buena, a winner over Thousand Oaks, on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at a site to be determined today.

Wilson, a junior, locked elbows with Dixon, who is an inch shorter. But Wilson got free often enough to score 16 second-half points, including 11 in the fourth quarter. She also teamed with 6-foot senior center Nicole Anthony to limit Dixon to two points and two rebounds in the second half as Hart turned a nine-point, second-quarter deficit into a 55-51 third-quarter lead.

“All season long our second halves have been our best halves,” Hart Coach Pam Walker said.

Trailing, 34-31, Hart opened the third quarter with five consecutive points to take a lead it would never relinquish. The Bulldogs narrowed the margin to 45-44, but Desa Pecel made a short jump shot and then scored on a fast-break layin to give Hart a 49-44 lead.

Pecel scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half.

The Indians (23-2), who have won 13 consecutive games, built an 11-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter by outscoring West Covina, 12-5.

Wilson had seven of the Indians’ points during the run, including a back-door layup that Dixon attempted to block. Instead, Dixon picked up her fifth foul.

Dixon scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds in the first half for West Covina, which led by as many as nine points midway through the second quarter.

Nikki Brodowy scored 12 points for Hart. Lisa Sloan finished with a 22 points and guard Chris Mendoza added 19 points for the Bulldogs.