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San Clemente Eliminates Woodbridge

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The final score of Wednesday’s Southern Section girls’ basketball playoff game won’t stick in the mind of Woodbridge Coach Eric Bangs. But the score with 5:25 left in the game certainly will.

“Forty-four to 40 is all I’m going to remember for the next 10 years,” he said.

Bangs’ Warriors trailed San Clemente by only four points, but a series of big plays by Kalena Jackson helped the host Tritons to a 53-46 victory in a third-round Division I-A game.

With Triton starters Kimberly Noble and Cassie Kruger in second-half foul trouble, Jackson came up big for the Tritons (25-3), who will face Cerritos in the quarterfinals.

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The Warriors (18-10) fell behind, 13-2, but clawed back to within four, at 44-40, on a steal and layup by Kathryn Geneau. Woodbridge got the ball back on a turnover, but Kruger stole the ball and set up Jackson for a three-pointer. Jackson then stole the ball and made another jumper to make it 49-40.

“We were stuck in a slump, no one else was taking the shots so I decided to do it myself,” Jackson said. “I was just doing what my instincts told me.”

After Jackson’s 21-second burst, the Triton defense took control.

“We felt we had a run left in us, but all of the sudden it’s 49-40,” said Bangs. “It was asking too much.”

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The Warriors held Noble to no points and four rebounds, but the Tritons got major help from reserves Megan Blackshire (11 points) and Kim Buffum.

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