Lynwood Sets Pace, Defeats Esperanza

A year ago, Lynwood seemingly had the Southern Section title sewn up, only to fritter it away in the fourth quarter.

Saturday, playing for the Division I-AAA championship, the top-seeded Knights didn’t make the same mistake.

The result was a runaway victory, a 59-39 decision over second-seeded Esperanza for the Knights’ first girls’ basketball title since 1994.

“We had an opportunity in ’94 and lost by two, and last year, we lost by two,” said Lynwood Coach Ellis Barfield. “This takes a lot of monkeys off our back.”

Last season, in a stunning loss to Long Beach Wilson, Lynwood lost a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.

There was no such letdown against Esperanza (26-5), and with Lynwood’s ferocious intensity from start to finish came redemption.

“The players,” Barfield said, “did everything we asked them to do.”

Barfield watched previously undefeated Ventura Buena lose to Troy in the I-A final, and that almost assuredly meant Lynwood (26-2) had to win to advance to the Southern California Regional playoffs that begin on Tuesday.

But the attitude of Barfield’s players didn’t change with Buena’s surprising loss to Troy.

“I felt we were going to win tonight, period,” Barfield said. “As long as we were ahead and the kids were playing hard, that’s all I was looking for.”

They bolted to a 14-4 lead before Esperanza mounted its only serious rally. The Aztecs pulled to within three points, 18-15, midway through the second quarter.

But Lynwood quickly ran away from Esperanza. The Knights reeled off eight successive points for a 26-15 lead.

“At that time, [Aztec players] realized they’re better than we thought they were and got discouraged,” said Esperanza Coach Marc Hill. “When we did stop them, they hit a couple of three-point baskets, and that’s even more demoralizing.”

Sade Gatewood led Lynwood with 18 points. Hazel Woods scored 14 and Janice Bright 11.

The only player for Esperanza who broke into double digits was Bethany Blair. She scored 10, one more than Lindsay Helvey and Ashley Van Kurin.

“I think we came out intimidated,” said Blair, a senior center. “It’s a tough loss. We really thought we could’ve played better.

“They’re obviously a better team . . . They’re very quick, and we didn’t execute our defense very well.”

Esperanza shot only 33% from the field (12 of 36) and Lynwood shot 52.3% (23-44).

“We got some tough breaks, some shots didn’t fall,” said Blair, who was three of 13 for the field.

That even extended to the free-throw line. Esperanza shot 72% from the line on the season, but the Aztecs made only 14 of 22 (63.6%).

Blair tried to put things in perspective for Esperanza, which won 18 in a row and finished the season ranked No. 1 in Orange County.

“We had a great year,” Blair said. “You’ve got to be happy with that.