GIRLS’ BASKETBALL SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION II-A : No Storybook Finish for Ventura, 49-29

There will be other dances, but not other senior seasons.

That was the rationale of Tina Eckberg, a Ventura High basketball player who chose not to attend the school’s senior ball Feb. 20, the same night the Cougars opened the Division II-A playoffs against Mira Costa.

Four other players, including a starter, went to the dance. They were dismissed from the team. Jennifer Dietz and Leighann Nisky, sophomores playing on the junior varsity, were promoted to the varsity and Ventura advanced to the championship game.

But the clock struck midnight on the team’s waltz through the playoffs and their Cinderella postseason run ended Saturday with a 49-29 loss to Hacienda Heights Wilson at Loyola Marymount’s Gersten Pavilion.

Ventura (23-5) led, 8-4, in the first quarter behind sophomore Ember Brown’s three-point shooting. But the Cougars were outscored, 14-5, the remainder of the quarter as Wilson’s defense and experience took control.

“This was a big, new experience for some of these players,” Cougar Coach Glenn Gray Sr. said. “Just coming into this gym, they were in awe of the whole situation.

“The only thing is, we feel bad about losing because Tina is a senior,” Gray said. “We wanted to do it for her.”

Eckberg had six points, four rebounds, three assists and a teary, pained expression after the game.

But she didn’t blame the other seniors for their choice.

“I was (disappointed) at first,” she said. “This was a commitment and my number one priority. There’ll be other dances. But don’t get me wrong, I do respect their decision.

“A lot of people stepped up during the playoffs. We couldn’t have done it without them. But I think the pressure got to them.”

Brown, who averaged 30 points in the Cougars’ first four playoff games, made her first three three-point shots. After that, Wilson (26-1) focused its defense on Brown, holding her to only two more points in the final three quarters.

“(Brown) was hitting (three-pointers) from the pro line,” said Wildcat forward Katie Miner, who had a game-high 17 points and seven steals. “After that first quarter, I was like, ‘We’ve just got to shut her down.’ She’s a good player, but our defense was better.”