Bell-Jeff caught off guard
Erik Boal
Of all the possible scenarios that played out in Bryan Camacho’s mind
the night before, it was probably the most unlikely one.
After six long years in between appearances in the CIF Southern
Section girls’ basketball final, and after surviving a grueling
27-game schedule just to get there, the Bellarmine-Jefferson coach
could’ve never fathomed it would unfold like it did.
That’s because the Guards’ third-year coach knew his team -- the
division’s No. 2 seed -- could play with fourth-seeded Westlake
Village Oaks Christian in Saturday’s Division IVA final at the Long
Beach Pyramid.
And for the final three quarters, Bell-Jeff did.
But the Guards made only two of their first 13 shots to spot the
Lions a 14-point lead after one quarter, and despite a valiant effort
in the second half -- trimming the deficit to four in the third
quarter and five in the fourth -- their comeback fell short, as Oaks
Christian held on to win the program’s first title, 53-44.
After falling in the Division VA semifinals in 2001 and the
Division IVA semifinals last year, Oaks Christian (22-6) won a
championship in only the school’s third year of existence. Bell-Jeff
(23-5) -- which was bidding to win the program’s second title after
defeating Cerritos Valley Christian, 47-45, in the Division IVA final
in 1997 -- fell to 1-2 in championship games, including a 66-52 loss
to Cerritos Valley Christian in the Division IVA title contest in
1993.
“We couldn’t hit any shots and we just came up short,” said
Camacho, whose squad made only 18 of 62 (29%) field-goal attempts,
including a stretch of 10 straight misses in the first quarter.
“We came out with some early jitters and we were forced to play
catch up the rest of the way. I knew we’d make a run and I knew we’d
come back, but the shots just wouldn’t fall [when we needed them
to].”
Bell-Jeff faced its largest deficit at 33-13 with 1:33 left in the second quarter, but Jennae Peoples and Kelly Van Dyke both hit
three-pointers in the final 75 seconds to give the Guards -- who had
their eight-game win streak halted -- some momentum entering the
second half.
After Lion forward Cherhara Shields (19 points, 11 rebounds)
scored the opening basket of the third, Camacho’s squad went on a
12-0 run, holding Oaks Christian -- which missed six straight shots
and turned the ball over five times -- without a point for 7:13.
But even though the Guards had a number of chances to get closer
than 37-33, they endured a frustrating scoreless stretch of 4:22,
allowing Oaks Christian to rebuild its lead to 10.
“We got it down to four and we had a couple good looks, but we
missed a couple layups and we didn’t capitalize on our
opportunities,” Camacho said.
“We got them out of their sets and we disrupted their tempo, but
[after we closed it to 37-33], the scoreboard just didn’t seem to
move for a while. We didn’t execute and we didn’t finish.”
Peoples (22 points, 14 rebounds, four assists) and Julie Van Dyke
(six points) helped Bell-Jeff make one last push, closing the gap to
43-38 with 4:12 left, but the Lions responded with a 10-0 run during
the next three minutes, during which the Guards missed nine straight
shots and turned it over twice.
“I knew they’d make a run, but I just didn’t think they’d get that
close because we had such a big lead,” said Oaks Christian Coach Don
McMaster, whose squad shot 24 of 52 (46.2%), including seven of 13 in
the fourth.
“They’re a talented team and they didn’t get [to the final]
because they couldn’t play, but our seniors kept their poise and I
think it was the experience factor that helped us.”
Said Peoples: “We let them take us out of our game and we didn’t
want it as much as they did. If we had grabbed one more big rebound
or made one more big shot, it might have been different. But they got
the rebounds and they made the shots and that’s why they won.”
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BOX SCORE
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Oaks Christian 18 17 4 14 -- 53
Bell-Jeff 4 17 12 11 -- 44
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OAKS CHRISTIAN
Shields 19 and 11 rebounds, McDaniel 12, 8 rebounds and 4 steals, McKinney 8, Berman 6, 5 assists and 3 blocks, Rutherford 4 and 6 assists, Butts 2, Enciso 2. * Three-pointers: McDaniel 2
BELLARMINE-JEFFERSON
Peoples 22, 14 rebounds and 4 assists, Ju. Van Dyke 6, Hobbs 5, T. Reyes 4, K. Van Dyke 3, Morgan 2 and 8 rebounds, Napolitano 2. * Three-pointers: Peoples 2, Ju. Van Dyke 2, K. Van Dyke
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