LOS ALTOS HILLS, CA – Senior Kaitlyn Leung hit three key three-pointers and scored all 13 of her points in the fourth quarter, including the game’s final basket, as Pinewood pulled out a 58-56 home victory over a very game and no-quit Cardinal Newman.
Pinewood (2-0) inbounded the ball with 29.2 seconds left, tried to penetrate, and with the shot clock down to two seconds and the game clock showing 12 seconds, Leung drove the lane off a pass from Hannah Jump, and with a defender blanketing her still managed to get the ball up and off the glass. After one bounce on the rim it fell through for the game winner.
Cardinal Newman had a chance to win or tie it but with her foot on the three-point line a last second shot by Avery Cargill clanked off iron, and the hosts escaped with the win in a game in which they trailed 33-29 at the half, 42-29 after a 9-0 Newman run to open the third quarter, and 50-42 with five minutes left before Leung performed her heroics with all but five of Pinewood’s points in the final period.
It was a similar finish to the last two times the teams have met. Last year Pinewood won 53-52 at the buzzer in a game played at Elsie Allen-Santa Rosa, and two years ago in the CIF NorCal Open Division semifinals Cardinal Newman turned the trick in a 59-57 road victory.
Senior Klara Astrom was the only other Panthers player in double-figure scoring with 13 points. Stanford-bound senior Hannah Jump, Annika Decker and Una Jovanovic each had eight points, with Jump connecting twice from outside the arc.
Cargill led all scorers with 25 points (three three-pointers) and was a big part of building the Cardinal Newman lead. Cardinals’ junior sensation Anya Choice added 16 points and junior Christina Bacci had nine points on three three-pointers.
Cardinal Newman (4-2) needs to shake it off before heading to Dublin on Saturday.
Pinewood is at Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland on Saturday before leaving for Hawaii next week and the Iolani Classic.