HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL / STATE FINALS : Moreau Works Overtimes to Beat Bishop Montgomery

After finishing third in the Southern Section’s Mission League, the Torrance Bishop Montgomery girls’ basketball team was happy to be playing for the State Division II title Friday.

Happiness was fleeting. Hayward Moreau pulled out a 73-66 victory in two overtimes at Arco Arena.

“Being here was one of our goals,” said Cedric Hurt, Bishop Montgomery’s coach. “But we sure would have liked to win.”

Seven of Bishop Montgomery’s players and Hurt spent most of the week nursing colds, and that may have caught up with them in the second overtime in which the Knights were outscored, 9-2.

Moreau (31-2) tied the game, 60-60, in regulation when Kim Manifesto hit a three-pointer with six seconds remaining.

Bishop Montgomery (27-8) sent the game into a second overtime when sophomore guard Shelley Dungo scored on a driving layup with two seconds left to tie the score, 64-64.

Manifesto took control in the second overtime, scoring five points. She finished with 18.

Junior guard Jennifer Kennedy led Moreau with 19 points. Keisha Smith’s 20 points led the Knights.

Santa Rosa Ursuline 61, Santa Ynez 59--Michaela Canova scored her only points on a seven-foot jump shot with two seconds remaining to lift Ursuline to the State Division IV championship.

Canova, a 5-foot-10 junior, missed six shots before hitting the winner.

Santa Ynez, the Southern Regional champion, trailed by 13 points in the third quarter but outscored Ursuline, 21-12, in the fourth.

Jennifer Ellis of Santa Ynez (26-4) made two free throws with 21 seconds to play to tie, 59-59.

Ursuline (30-5) was led by Shannon Crouse’s 28 points.

BOYS

Salinas Palma 55, San Diego Lincoln Prep 54--Center Brandon Peterson tipped in the winning basket with 10 seconds remaining as Palma won its first championship in Division IV.

Palma (29-2) led by as many as 16 points in the first half before Lincoln Prep (24-9) started chipping at the margin.

The Chieftains scored only 20 points in the second half but came up with the big shots down the stretch. Peterson finished with 16 points.