SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Protection Racket Helps Blackburn at Line

Tammy Blackburn sat on the Brea-Olinda High School bench and was as relaxed as she could be. She knew she was protected.

With 1.3 seconds left and the score tied at 46, Blackburn was waiting to shoot the front end of a one-and-one. There wasn’t much on the line, just Brea-Olinda’s 54-game winning streak and a trip to the Oakland Coliseum for the Division III state championship game.

Palos Verdes had called timeout in an attempt to “ice” Blackburn. But it wasn’t going to work.

Blackburn was protected.

As she came to the bench, Brea-Olinda Coach Mark Trakh handed her a basketball. She had clutched the ball through the entire timeout and still had it when she walked onto the court to shoot the free throws.

Finally, Blackburn tossed the ball to the sideline, took the game ball from the official and made the first free throw to give Brea-Olinda a 47-46 victory in the Southern California Regional Division III girls’ basketball final.

“During the timeout, coach gave me the ball and said, ‘You’re protected, the ball will go in,’ ” Blackburn said. “He also told me it was my senior year and I wasn’t going to miss.”

Of course, Blackburn already had missed as a senior. In the finals of the Tournament of Champions, Blackburn missed two free throws with no time left against Los Angeles Washington.

Although the Lady Cats won that game in double overtime, Blackburn could not forget the failure. “Tammy told me after the Washington game that if she was ever in that situation again, the shot was going down,” Trakh said. “She got her chance today.”

She not only got it, but she also created it.

The Lady Cats had routed the Sea Kings, 50-33, in the Southern Section 3-AA championship game. However, Palos Verdes controlled much of Saturday’s game and led through most of the fourth quarter.

Brea-Olinda finally tied the score, 46-46, on two free throws by Allison Bickel with 26.4 seconds left.

The Sea Kings then attempted to get the ball to Lisa Humphreys, who had scored 15 of Palos Verdes’ 19 second-half points. They succeeded, but only briefly.

Once Humphreys touched the ball, Blackburn applied pressure and appeared to knock the ball out of her hands. In the scramble for the loose ball, Blackburn was fouled.

“I really don’t remember knocking the ball free,” Blackburn said. “Maybe I did. I just saw the ball on the ground and went for it. I was surprised that the ref called the foul. It had been such a physical game. I guess the ref was just in good position to see the foul.”

Blackburn’s free throws made up for a rather dismal performance in the second half. She had eight points in the first half, but made only one of eight shots in the second half.

Part of the problem was the Sea Kings’ two-three zone, which had been extended to take away the outside shooting of Blackburn and Aimee McDaniel.

“I’m glad I had a chance to win the game after those bricks I was throwing up in the second half,” Blackburn said. “The Washington game was in the back of my mind. When I made the first free throw, I felt like I was going to cry.”