SAN JOSE, CA - With Pioneer and Christopher neck-and-neck in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s CCS first-round playoff game, Pioneer leading scorer AJ Leasau sat for a quick spell due to foul trouble. Once she came back in, she made three 3-pointers and three free throws to help the Mustangs finish off Christopher, 65-53.
Leasau scored 25 points and had 11 rebounds, Joelle Dueck had 13 rebounds and three blocks, and Pioneer had a huge free throw advantage in the first half. The Mustangs were 13-of-17 from the line and the Cougars 1-of-3 in the first half. In the second half, Pioneer only had one free throw attempt until time was winding down. For the game, Christopher was 7-of-13, Pioneer 18-of-26.
“We’re a pretty decent shooting team,” said coach Mike Burrell. “Especially with our style we go more four guard and attack, so we’re going to get the line a lot, so (free throw shooting) is one of the things we practice a lot.”
Leasau went to the bench after picking up her fourth foul with 6:50 left. About minute later, she returned to the court and responded by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers—each on a wing and on a pass from Ashley Snow, which changed a 49-47 deficit to a 53-49 advantage.
Franchesca Ortega came up with a steal and rushed down for a layup to send the crowd into a further fever pitch. But it was Leasau with another three that brought the house down. From about four feet beyond the arc and with the shot clock about to expire, the senior guard launched a high-arching shot which swished through the net to give the Mustangs a 60-51 lead with 1:46 remaining.
“Coach said we need to come back out and execute, and he saw that I was tired and got into foul trouble,” said Leasau of the fourth quarter refresher. “So he just encouraged us to get back out on the floor and execute the plays.”
“AJ opens a lot because teams have to focus on her,” noted Burrell. “There’s a lot of times when she can do her own thing. There’s times when she takes the really deep threes. She’s one of our best defenders and crunch time, that’s when we count on her.”
For Christopher, Trinity Stark managed 17 points and 10 rebounds, Teresa Guerra tallied 17 points, and Christa Arroyo scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
For Pioneer, Ortega scored 14 points and Snow dealt six assists.
Both teams started out cold and were rushing, causing some turnovers and wild shots. The first basket of the game didn’t come until 5:41 left and it was tied at nine after one. In the second quarter, however, both teams stepped it up and though the tempo didn’t lessen the accuracy improved. Pioneer led 31-27 at the half and 45-43 heading into the fourth. A particularly exciting flurry of baskets from both sides closed the third quarter.
In the final frame, Christopher held its last lead at 49-47 before the first of Leasau’s three fourth-quarter treys.
“I think we held our composure very well,” Leasau said. “We didn’t get flustered when the other team was very aggressive.”
