Redondo Comes Up Short, 51-47

It was the cruelest of endings for Ofa Tulikihihifo and Redondo Union High.

One moment, Tulikihihifo was barreling down the lane, scoring a basket that appeared to give the Sea Hawks a five-point lead late in the game. The next, she was walking back up the court in disbelief after a charging call wiped out the points.

Undaunted, Tulikihihifo attacked the basket again, moving briskly through the lane to attempt a go-ahead basket with 40 seconds left. Then a whistle blew--another charging violation.

That was the way it went for Redondo down the stretch of a 51-47 loss to Stockton St. Mary’s on Friday in the state Division II girls’ basketball championship before about 3,000 at Arco Arena.

“The first [call] could have went both ways, but the second ... I don’t know,” Tulikihihifo said. “It was really hard, but you can’t argue with the refs. You just have to keep your composure and get on with the game.”

Getting on with the game was exactly the problem for Redondo, making its first appearance in a state championship game. After Tulikihihifo was called for the second charge, with the score tied, 47-47, the Sea Hawks failed to score again.

St. Mary’s guard Dominique Banks made a short baseline jumper to put the Rams ahead, 49-47.

After Redondo’s Tyler Martinook missed the front end of a one and one with 10 seconds left, Renee Roberts made two free throws for St. Mary’s with five seconds to go for the final margin.

Banks, a junior, scored 19 of her game-high 24 points in the second half for the Rams (33-3), who won their second state title and first since 2000.

Allison Bretana and Krisztina Fuleki scored 11 points each and Tulikihihifo had 10 for Redondo (26-8).