SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS’ BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : DIVISION II-A ROUNDUP

In another II-A game:

Cypress 54, El Modena 48--Frances Oda scored 19 points and Lupe Nava added 12 as the Centurions advanced to the third round with a victory at home.

Cypress (21-6) was forced to play without Nava for two quarters after the 5-foot-11 junior was whistled for her fourth foul with 41 seconds left in the first quarter.

Following a 10-2 run, El Modena (17-5) led, 18-17, after one quarter, but Cypress responded with a 12-0 streak to start the second quarter. Oda scored back-to-back three-point baskets and two free throws to spark the run.

“I was surprised at how well we played without Lupe,” Cypress Coach John Selbe said. “We tell the girls every day that they have to play through adversity and they did tonight.”

After outscoring the Vanguards, 18-6, in the second quarter Cypress led, 35-24, at halftime. The Centurions then withstood a 7-0 El Modena run at the start of the second half that cut the lead to 37-31. El Modena’s Kathy Farina, who led the Vanguards with 11 points, had two baskets and a pair of free throws during the streak.

Without Nava, the Centurions, the Empire League Champions, went to 6-4 senior center Joanna Humphrey and freshman forward Jessive Eggleston. Humphrey finished with 10 points, two blocked shots and a steal. Eggleston added four points, and the two combined for 22 rebounds.

“Both of them did exactly what we needed,” Selbe said. “They aren’t supposed to score a lot of points. Their role is to contribute in other ways.”

Nava, who sat out the second and third quarters, returned to the game at the start of the fourth quarter and scored three consecutive baskets to give the Centurions a 48-37 lead with 4:50 to play.

Trailing throughout the second half, El Modena, the Century League Champions, cut the the lead to nine, 48-39, with 3:25 to play on Myhanh Nguyen’s layup, but could get no closer.

Collette Williams added 10 points and Melizza Benitez nine for El Modena.

--SCOTT JONES