Laguna Hills Stuns Newbury Park

Both teams were left wondering what happened.

But only Laguna Hills High was left standing after the Hawks rallied from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Newbury Park, 54-43, in a Southern Section Division II-A semifinal girls’ basketball playoff game Saturday night at Thousand Oaks High.

The victory over No. 3-seeded Newbury Park was Laguna Hills’ second upset in as many games.

Laguna Hills (17-13), third-place finisher in the Sea View League, pulled off its second upset in as many games. The Hawks knocked off second-seeded Bishop Amat on Wednesday.

“The last one standing, that’s what counts,” said Laguna Hills’ Megan Aaker, who finished with 23 points. “It was just a game of runs, and we finally stepped it up. Right now, we’re playing so well, we feel like we can go anywhere.”

The Panthers (24-5), who entered the game riding a 19-game winning streak, still led, 41-34, with 5 1/2 minutes to play.

But then, to use the words of Newbury Park’s Erica McGuire, “We lost it somewhere in the middle of the fourth quarter. We had ‘em for a while, but then we lost it.”

Laguna Hills began a 10-0 run with 5:05 to play behind the play of Aaker, Shannon Owens and Christina Leets after the Hawks’ Courtney D’Alessandro and Lara Beebe fouled out.

Newbury Park made only two free throws the rest of the way.

Aaker and Owens each hit a three-point basket in the decisive spurt, Owens’ shot putting the Hawks ahead for good, 42-41, with 3:11 remaining. Another Owens basket capped the run, making it 44-41 with 2:47 left.

Leets had a basket and grabbed two rebounds during the 10-0 run.

The Hawks were helped by the Panthers’ seven turnovers and one-for-eight shooting in the fourth quarter.

Newbury Park, making its third semifinal appearance in seven seasons, was forced to foul down the stretch, and Aaker and Owens combined to make eight of 12 free throws in the last two minutes.

“We weren’t hitting our shots,” Newbury Park forward Cassandra Harris said. “It was really frustrating.”

Now, the Hawks will go to the division final, where they will play Pacifica on Friday or Saturday at the Pyramid in Long Beach.

“I’m exhausted,” Laguna Hills Coach Jim Martin said. “That game had more twists and turns in it. But it’s one of the greatest, most improbable wins in school history.”