Taft Chances Slip Away Late in 66-62 Setback

How close was it?

As close as Taft center Tynisha Howze was to the basket when she was stripped of the ball twice in the last 30 seconds.

And much too close for comfort for El Camino Real High, which escaped with a 66-62 victory over the Toreadors in a key Northwest Valley Conference game Wednesday at Taft.

“We got away with it,” El Camino Real Coach Lori Chandler said. “But I’m proud of my girls. They came through when they needed to, and that’s a sign of a good team.”

Taft (11-6, 5-2 in league play) entered the game with a five-game winning streak and a chance to move into a tie with El Camino Real (17-0, 7-0) for first place in the West Valley League.

The Toreadors came so close to upsetting the Conquistadores that it hurt--Howze, especially.

Despite collecting 17 points and 13 rebounds, she sat alone in tearful dejection once the final buzzer sounded.

“We played hard, as hard as we could,” she said. “We just had too many turnovers.”

Actually, both teams struggled to hang on to the ball. El Camino Real had 30 turnovers, including 10 in the third quarter, and Taft committed 21.

Howze had two key ones at the end of the game.

With 30 seconds to play and Taft trailing, 63-62, Howze lost the handle on the ball as she prepared to shoot while surrounded underneath the Taft basket.

With 10 seconds to play and Taft behind, 65-62, after two free throws by Cara Blumfield, Howze again had the ball down low but lost it to El Camino Real’s Cherisse Meichtry. Meichtry passed upcourt to teammate Karen Shun, who was fouled and hit one of two free throws with three seconds left.

“We had the game in our hands,” said Taft guard Ava Mozafari, who scored just six points but had two crucial steals that led to consecutive baskets to put the Toreadors within 63-62 with two minutes left.

“It’s disappointing to get so close. But all in all, I think we gave it our best. We came out and showed them that we’re competition for them,” she said.

Taft’s Quisha Manning scored 15 points, including seven in the third quarter when the Toreadors took their only leads. Lisa Hawkins added 10 points and 10 rebounds, scoring six points when the Toreadors tried to catch the Conquistadores in the fourth quarter.

Taft contained Blumfield, the El Camino Real guard who is averaging 24.4 points per game, with a combination of diamond-and-one and man-to-man defenses, limiting her to 16 points.

The Toreadors did not factor in a clutch performance by Karen Shun.

The Conquistadores’ freshman forward scored 26 points, coming up with timely three-point shots and free throws each time the Toreadors rallied to close a one-time nine-point deficit or take a lead.

“When someone’s shots aren’t falling, that’s when somebody else has to come through,” Shun said.

“Even though it was a close game, we kept our composure, and we were able to pull it out. That’s what’s important.”

Most poised under pressure was Shun.

El Camino Real had its biggest lead at 21-12 in the second quarter. Taft scored 10 of the next 12 points and pulled to within 23-22 before Shun hit a three-point shot to extend the Conquistadores’ lead with four minutes to go in the half.

The Toreadors closed a 37-30 halftime deficit to 37-33 early in the third quarter, and Shun hit another three-pointer.

Taft twice took one-point leads in the third quarter, but El Camino Real quickly reclaimed the lead both times.

“I thought we worked very hard, and you couldn’t ask for any more effort from our girls,” Taft Coach Elliot Turret said. “It’s always disappointing to come this close and not win. But we play in spurts, that’s just the nature of our game.”

El Camino Real benefited down the stretch from free throws, making 18 of 22, including seven of nine in the fourth quarter. Taft made three of six free throws in the game.

Still, the Toreadors were within 50-49 going into the final quarter, and tied the game, 58-58, on Mozafari’s three-pointer with 3:30 to play.

But Shun hit a three-pointer to give the Conquistadores the lead for good.

“She was just nails,” Turret said of Shun, who also grabbed nine rebounds.

With the help of Shun and forward Chrissy McClain, who had 14 points and nine rebounds, the Conquistadores hammered home a point.

“We’re not a one-dimensional team,” Chandler said. “Teams are keying on Cara (Blumfield), but we’re still winning, so something’s not working.”

Not quite, anyway.