Panthers Run Out of Steam at Finish

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 girls’ basketball semifinal 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.

“It just didn’t happen at the end for us,” said reserve center Erica McGuire of Newbury Park, who scored six points and had three rebounds in a rally by the Panthers that gave them a 31-24 advantage and appeared to put them in control with four minutes to go in the third quarter.

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 McGuire’s words, “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 Megan 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’ putting the Hawks ahead for good, 42-41, with 3:11 remaining.

Leets had a basket and grabbed two rebounds and Owens hit a basket to give Laguna Hills a 44-41 lead with 2:47 left.

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

Newbury Park, which was 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,” forward Cassandra Harris of Newbury Park said. “It was really frustrating.”

Not for Laguna Hills.

“The last one standing, that’s what counts,” said 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.”

Now, the Hawks will go to the division final, where they will play Pacifica, a 63-55 winner over Artesia, on Friday or Saturday at The Pyramid in Long Beach.

Owens finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, McGuire had 10 points and Harris scored nine for Newbury Park.