Poly Presses Issue, Tops Eisenhower

Fifth-ranked Long Beach Poly walked away with a 48-38 victory Thursday over Eisenhower in the quarterfinals of the Chino Hills Ayala Best of the West girls’ basketball tournament.

Poly’s press helped open up a 16-4 lead in the first quarter, and the Jackrabbits held off Eisenhower comeback attempts in a game between two unbeaten teams.

Despite both teams having similar styles, Eisenhower didn’t press Poly, which got 19 points from junior Kameca Simmons.

“That’s our style,” said Poly Coach Carl Buggs. “We go pressure. Eisenhower was fighting uphill the whole time, and when it was time to make a stand, our defense stepped up.”

Eisenhower, 11-1 and No. 24 in The Times’ rankings, got within 29-28 with 2:09 left in the third quarter, but Simmons scored on consecutive possessions and Poly (13-0) took a 35-28 lead into the fourth quarter.

Eisenhower again got to within striking distance at 41-38, but Poly went on a 7-0 run in the final 2:30.