Bit Players Do the Job for Bell-Jeff

Swish!

Laura Lunsford hits a crucial three-point basket for Bell-Jeff High in the third quarter of its 71-59 victory over Santa Ynez in the Southern California Regional Division IV semifinal Thursday night at Bell-Jeff.

Swish!

Another crucial moment, this time in the fourth quarter. Cindy Contero drills a 15-foot jump shot.

Fans rummage through their programs.

“Who are those girls scoring out there?” one of them asks.

The three-pointer by Lunsford, a 5-foot-3 junior role player for the Guards, gave Bell-Jeff its first lead of the second half, 39-36, with 3:03 to play in the third quarter.

Another three-point basket by Lunsford one minute later brought the home crowd to its feet in a frenzied celebration and gave the Guards a 45-40 lead and the momentum to finish off an opponent that seemingly would not go away.

The Guards (31-1) will play St. Bernard Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Pond for the right to advance to the State Division IV final.

“That’s what the team expects of me, “ Lunsford said of her shots. “Like we’ve been saying all year, we have weapons all over the place. We are a well-balanced team.”

The Pirates (25-4) seemed to have all the momentum, taking a 31-23 halftime lead against a Bell-Jeff team that was clearly weary.

But the momentum swung back Bell-Jeff’s way when Pirate forward Renee Riemer was called for a foul, then for a technical foul for arguing, with her team leading, 36-33, and 3:35 left in the third quarter.

Cheryl Flores made three of the four free throws to tie the score, 36-36. Lunsford hit the shots that put the Guards in control, all part of a 20-5 Guard run to end the third quarter and give Bell-Jeff a 49-43 lead going into the fourth.

Still, the Pirates would not fold.

They pulled to within 55-54 with 3:35 to play, but a back-door layup by Felicia Flores and Contero’s jump shot put Bell-Jeff ahead, 59-55, and began a 16-4 run to end the game.

“We got the shots when we needed them,” Coach Jim Couch said. “The kids refused to lose. Nobody likes to lose and it gets harder and harder. We were physically tired. It’s been a long road, let me tell you.”

The Guards, who have won 30 in a row, played much of the game without leading scorer Jaclyn Johnson, who sat out nearly half of the game after picking up her third foul early in the second quarter and her fourth early in the third.

Johnson, who averages more than 22 points, scored just eight--none in the second and third quarters.

But the bench players came up big during her absence. “They’ve been there all along,” Couch said. “Everybody says Jackie, Jackie, but it has been our premise since day one that this is a team.”