Nordhoff Given the Brushoff

The Bishop Montgomery High girls’ basketball team is mad.

The Knights were forced to forfeit 11 games this season for using ineligible players.

But they are also good, and that combination has produced a playoff run of destruction.

Thursday night at Bishop Montgomery, Nordhoff became the second consecutive team to lose by more than 30 points against the Knights, falling, 66-33, in the Division III semifinal of the Southern California Regional basketball tournament.

Unfortunately for the Rangers, the game was not as close as the final score.

Bishop Montgomery (16-17) took a 62-19 lead with six minutes remaining before clearing its bench. Nordhoff (21-10) closed the game with a 14-4 run, even though Ranger Coach Jack Smith also used reserves.

The Rangers, whose tallest player is 5 feet 10, were outrebounded, 37-20. The Knights, who feature four 6-footers, shot 47% through three quarters and had 18 points on 20 offensive rebounds.

“Their height overwhelmed us,” Smith said. “It was pretty much one shot and out for us.”

The Rangers cut their deficit to 25-17 when Christen Roper grabbed a rare Ranger offensive rebound and put in a three-foot jump shot with 2 minutes 17 seconds left in the second quarter.

But the Rangers did not score another field goal until Nell Becker hit a 16-foot jump shot with 5:51 remaining in the game--a span of 12 minutes 26 seconds.

Becker’s basket gave Nordhoff its first point since Erin Barker’s free throws 10 seconds into the third quarter.