GIRLS’ BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : West Hills Advances; Todd Hurt

West Hills advanced to its first girls’ basketball championship with a 45-38 victory over USDHS Tuesday in a Division II San Diego Section semifinal at Mira Mesa.

Of a larger concern, however, to USDHS and Coach Chris McCormick was the health of his leading scorer and rebounder, Danielle Todd, who was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital after sustaining a neck injury five minutes into the third quarter.

“She thought she heard a crack in there,” McCormick said. “I know she was in a lot of pain when they took her out on the stretcher.”

According to a Scripps spokesman, Todd was treated and released.

West Hills (8-14) led just 23-20 when Todd, the Dons’ only senior, fell and was trampled by at least two other players.

After a 20-minute break while paramedics and trainers attended to Todd, USDHS did not score for the remainder of the quarter, which ended with West Hills leading, 33-23.

The Wolf Pack then made 10 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter to advance to Thursday’s championship against Our Lady of Peace at the Sports Arena.

Erin Tarver led West Hills with 15 points, including five of six free throws in the final quarter. Trisha Montgomery added 12 points and Candi Beacom 10, including four of four foul shots down the stretch.

“I don’t know how much (Todd’s injury) affected them,” West Hills Coach LuAnn Gores said, “but it helped us. It gave us time to settle down a little. We were real tight and nervous before the game.”

Said McCormick: “You lose your top scorer and your top rebounder, it means all the difference in the world. She’s our leader, our only senior, a three-year starter, and we’ve got 15 girls on the sidelines worrying about her. You bet it affected us.”

Todd, who averaged 10 points during the regular season, finished with three points, a three-pointer in the first quarter. Sue Robertson led the Dons (9-16) with 10 points.

West Hills, seeded third and the recipient of a first-round bye, was playing its first game in 12 days. The layoff, Gores said, allowed Tarver, Montgomery and Beacom time to nurse their nagging injuries.

“The time off helped us because we had a lot of injuries. It also helped us prepare. We had a real good game plan going in. You wouldn’t know it by the way we played early on, but we were prepared for this game.”