Poway Proves to Be a Little Too Much for the Buena Girls

Buena High School from Ventura brought its Southern Section runners-up to Poway for a Division I girls’ basketball game Tuesday night.

Nine of the top 10 players for Buena (25-4) were underclassmen.

Look out next year.

This year, Poway went a step further than it did in 1991 and scored a 46-42 first-round victory in the Southern California Championships.

That sets up a meeting Thursday with Rolling Hills Peninsula in the semifinals. Peninsula scored a 67-39 victory over the Titans in December.

Poway got 16 points from junior Jamie Shadian, whose three-point basket at the end of the first half cut the deficit to four points. Her three-pointer with 1:47 left in the third quarter gave Poway, 27-3, the lead for good, 42-39. She finished with four three-pointers.

In the fourth quarter, the Titans outscored Buena, 4-3.

“We can’t play like that against Peninsula,” Shadian said. “We’ve got to play a great four quarters. Tonight, I don’t know that we played one great quarter.”

The key to the second half for Poway, aside from Shadian’s two three-pointers, was rebounding. The Titans held a 19-7 edge with Allison Brady getting seven and junior Kara Milling six. Brady (seven points) finished with eight rebounds; Milling (four points) finished with nine.

Stephanie Guerena had 11 points for the Titans.

Poway’s defense limited Buena to one basket and one free throw over the final 12 minutes 20 seconds of the game.

Buena committed 24 turnovers, Poway 23.