Eagles Hang On to Win First Title

The look on the faces of the Calvary Chapel girls’ basketball players revealed no signs of the situation.

The looks afterward said it all.

After watching top-seeded Santa Monica Crossroads nearly erase an 11-point, fourth-quarter Calvary Chapel lead, the Eagles showed the poise of the champions they became, holding on to defeat the Roadrunners, 45-43, to win the Southern Section Division IV-A title at the Pyramid in Long Beach.

It is the first Southern Section title in girls’ basketball for third-seeded Calvary Chapel, though it nearly got away.

It wasn’t until Crossroads center Michelle More fumbled an inbounds pass out of bounds at the buzzer that a 10-1 rally by the top-seeded Roadrunners came to an end and grins came to the faces of the Calvary Chapel players.

Calvary Chapel (25-5) took a 44-33 lead on a three-point basket by Cathy Joens with 5 minutes 30 seconds to play, but went the next 4:49 without scoring.

“I was about to have a heart attack,” said Calvary Chapel Coach Russ McClurg, who watched his team blow a 14-point, fourth-quarter lead in a 62-61 semifinal victory last week. “I just turned to the bench and told everyone to pray. That’s all I could do. I was scared.”

Crossroads (28-3) chipped away at the free-throw line, making eight of eight during the Eagles’ scoreless span and pulled to within 44-43 with 56 seconds left.

Marcene Guerrero went to the line for the Eagles with 41 seconds to play and made one of two free throws for a 45-43 Calvary Chapel lead. Joens blocked a shot and stole the ball on the ensuing Crossroads possession, but an immediate Crossroads foul sent Michelle Pitts to the line. She missed the first of a one-and-one, giving Crossroads the ball with a chance to tie with 1.7 seconds left.

Tough defense on More by Lindsey Richelli under the Calvary Chapel basket forced the Crossroads center to fumble the pass.

Joens, who led Calvary Chapel with 18 points and 14 rebounds despite constant double- and triple-teaming, said that the near collapse in the semifinals was a key in the Eagles’ refusal to panic Saturday.

“It’s actually happened a few times where we kind of let up a little bit at the end,” Joens said. “We had been in that situation before and that totally helped us out.”

The Eagles used a double-team on Crossroads’ leading scorer Courtney Young and held the 5-10 sophomore to two of 11 shooting. Young, who averages 22 points, finished with 11.

More led Crossroads with 16 points and 13 rebounds, but made only six off 22 shots for the Roadrunners, who shot 20.8% (5-24) in the second half.