Katella Falls Far Short in Final

It didn’t take long for Joni Easterly of Katella High School to come up with the reasons why the Knights lost, 59-43, to Sacramento Grant in the State Division II girls’ championship game Saturday at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

“We could have run our press break better,” said Easterly. “We could have made some layups and blocked out a lot better on the boards.”

And that was just for starters.

Grant outplayed Katella in virtually every category to win its second consecutive Division II title. Grant was making its fifth state championship game appearance in a row.

The Pacers finished the season with a 32-3 record. Katella, playing in its first state final, ended its season 29-4.

“We can play better,” Easterly, a guard, said. “That’s what hurts. We definitely could have given them a better game.”

Easterly certainly did her part, scoring a game-high 22 points and grabbing a team-high seven rebounds.

She played so hard that several times late in the game she was doubled over, gasping for breath during stops in play.

Margaret Harker, a forward, and Angie Gomez, a guard, added eight and seven points, respectively.

But it wasn’t enough to contend with a balanced, relentless Grant team.

Tina Green was one of four Grant players who scored in double figures. Green, a senior forward, had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Shawyna Robertson had 15, Kimyatta Horton 12 and Tesia Green 10.

“They were the quickest, best-shooting team we’ve faced,” Katella Coach Barb Bausch said. “We can’t hold our heads down. We got beat by the best team I’ve seen this season. We did everything we could do, I thought.”

After a slow start--Grant trailed, 16-12, at the end of the first quarter--the Pacers jump-started their game.

Tina Green and Robertson led Grant’s second-quarter spurt that effectively broke Katella’s momentum. The Pacers outscored the Knights, 14-7, to take a 26-23 lead.

After three straight baskets by Robertson to open the third quarter, Grant led, 32-23, and the game seemed to be firmly in the Pacers’ control.

Katella made a couple of charges to get close, but Grant pulled away each time.

The Knights’ best streak got them within four late in the third quarter. A three-pointer and a fast break layup by Gomez cut Grant’s lead to 34-30.

But Tina Green scored on a follow shot and hit a jumper to push the lead back to 38-30.

Grant then outscored Katella, 14-4, in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter.

Easterly fouled out with three minutes left, but it made little difference at that point.

“We didn’t board,” Bausch said. “(And) what do you do when you can’t score for five minutes straight? (The Knights went scoreless for 5:51 in the second quarter.) You can’t have those breakdowns.”

Everything seemed to go as planned for Grant, particularly after the first quarter.

Rebounding and holding Easterly to her average of 22 points per game were key factors, said Grant Coach Connie Zuercher.

“If we stopped her from scoring 30 points and outrebounded them, I thought we would win,” said Zuercher.

Grant outrebounded Katella by a 48-25 margin.

Even more telling was the fact that the Knights got just four offensive rebounds. Grant had 22 and that contributed greatly to its victory. Many of its points came on second- and third-shot opportunities.

“We had to screen off as best we could and we didn’t do it from what I saw,” Bausch said.

Said Zuercher: “We worked in practice on allowing them one shot and that’s it.”

Zuercher coached her final game Saturday. She is retiring to spend more time with her newborn son, Max, and pursue a master’s degree.