GIRLS’ BASKETBALL / LADY MATADOR TOURNAMENT : Westminster Escapes a Close Call

Earlier this week, Westminster lost to Laguna Hills and 6-foot-5 Tayyiba Haneef.

Friday at the Lady Matador Classic, the Lions were nearly done in by 5-5 Phouangmaly Pravongviengkham.

Only Tanzenika Holmes’ rebound and put-back with one second left prevented ninth-ranked Westminster from losing its second consecutive game to a team on the cusp of the county’s top 10. Instead, the Lions escaped with a 57-55 victory over Huntington Beach at Bolsa Grande High.

Not that it made Coach Dick Katz feel any better.

“The bottom line is that losses get their attention more than wins,” said Katz, whose team improved to 5-1. “If they win, they might think they can get by.”

The Lions nearly didn’t get by against Huntington Beach, which held a seven-point lead going into the fourth quarter and stretched it to 47-38 on Pravongviengkham’s twisting layup.

But the Oilers (6-3), who lost in the final minute for the second night in a row, didn’t score another basket until Pravongviengkham’s left-handed layup with 2 minutes 7 seconds left. They made only three of their final 12 shots.

In the interim, Westminster’s Erin Moore scored her only five points, Kristin Schult scored six of her 18 points, Huntington Beach’s Renee Kimoto fouled out and Holmes scored six of her 23 to give the Lions a 55-50 lead.

With Kimoto (13 points) on the bench, the Oilers were left with Pravongviengkham (23 points) to take charge of the offense. She tied the score with her third three-pointer, a 22-footer, with 26 seconds left.

“I told them during the timeout to not let Pravongviengkham shoot the three, and we did, and that’s what bothers me,” Katz said. “We weren’t mentally intense enough to play defense.

“We’re not the same team we were at the beginning of the season . . . [when] we won with our defense. I can’t get them to understand that we’re going to win with defensive effort.”

In other tournament games:

Trabuco Hills 60, Santa Ana 39--Sarah Warnick scored a school-record 34 points and had 13 rebounds as Trabuco Hills (4-4) earned a spot in the consolation championship against San Clemente at 4:30 p.m.

Tustin 59, Santa Ana Valley 40--Shamekia Perkins scored 28 points to lead Tustin (4-4) in consolation play.