DIVISION II GIRLS : Jalewalia Relieves Pressure as La Quinta Wins, 44-38

The La Quinta and Sanger high school girls’ basketball teams were feeling the pressure Tuesday night in the opening round of the Southern California Division II regional girls’ basketball playoffs.

Sanger felt the crush of a full-court press and a half-court trap that forced the Apaches into 30 turnovers. La Quinta felt the pressure that comes with continually missing open shots and turning in a 12-of-60 shooting performance.

Finally, Amy Jalewalia stepped forward and ignored the pressure, hitting 10 of 10 free throws and a three-point basket in the fourth quarter to give La Quinta a 44-38 victory at La Quinta. The Aztecs (28-2) will play San Diego Point Loma on Thursday.

Sanger (20-12) started the game in a man defense but quickly switched to a box-and-one after Jalewalia scored the Aztecs’ 10 first-quarter points.

“We worked on the box-and-one all week because we knew she was a tremendous player,” Sanger Coach Roy Tanimoto said.

Until the fourth quarter, Jalewalia struggled with Erika Rodriguez or Renee DeCanio shadowing her at all times. The rest of the Apaches formed a four-man zone around the key, inviting the Aztecs to shoot from the perimeter.

The Aztecs obliged, taking the shots. Making them was a different story, however. Excluding Jalewalia, the Aztec starters finished with a combined 13 points.

“In the CIF playoffs we were getting good performances from the (perimeter),” La Quinta Coach Kevin Kiernan said. “They were knocking it down and getting teams out of gimmick defenses. Tonight I thought we would do it again because we were at home, but we didn’t.”

La Quinta disrupted Sanger’s offensive rhythm with defensive pressure, holding Sanger to five-of-26 shooting in the second half. “We just couldn’t stop the number of turnovers they forced us into,” Tanimoto said. “A very fine ballclub beat us.”

Or a better ball player. Team Jalewalia scored 31 points, 16 from the free throw line, and had 14 rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots.

The Aztecs trailed, 22-20, at halftime, but outscored the Apaches, 8-0, at the start of the third quarter to take a 28-22 lead with 3:48 to play in the quarter. Sanger took the lead again, 30-29, on center Cathy Isom’s three-point play a minute into the final quarter.

But Jalewalia made a three-point basket to give La Quinta the lead for good. Isom, Sanger’s leading scorer with 16 points, fouled out with Sanger down, 38-35, and 1 1/2 minutes to play.

Jalewalia made it to the free throw line five times in the final quarter. She scored 13 of La Quinta’s 15 points as the Aztecs outscored Sanger, 15-11.