MILPITAS, CA - Marissa Hing had 12 points and made two clinching free throws to send Pinewood to the CCS Open Division championship game.
Pinewood, the No. 2 seed, survived a poor shooting night from beyond the arch in a 47-45 win over rival and No. 6 seed Eastside College Prep.
Pinewood’s Stella Kailahi scored 13 points and took nine rebounds before succumbing to a knee injury with 4:02 left in the game. Pinewood trailed 43-37 when the injury occurred. With the score knotted at 43, a jump ball occurred and Pinewood received possession underneath its own basket. Gabi Bade made a quick inbounds pass to Chloe Eackles, who laid it in. After a missed shot on the other end, Hing was fouled and made both free throws.
Eastside Prep had the ball with about 11 seconds, and Brije Byers flew up court for a layup. By that time, however, there were fewer than five seconds left, which meant that all Pinewood had to do to secure the victory was not inbound the ball.
“We got our shots, couldn’t hit them, but we found a way,” Pinewood coach Doc Scheppler said. “We got some layups and hit our free throws at crucial times. We can lock down on really good teams defensively and I saw that for stretches in the first half, and then for 10 minutes it was like no big deal. I didn’t think we took advantage of the natural energy we had but it’s great to be in the finals. We’ll rest up, recharge the batteries, and get ready for the Open Championship.”
Kayla Tahaafe paced Eastside Prep with 15 points, while Destiny Graham had 12. For Pinewood, Eackles and Akayla Hackson each tallied eight points. Pinewood led 22-15 at halftime and had a 27-21 edge partway through the third quarter. But Eastside scored the next eight points to briefly take a lead, and was on top 33-31 heading into the fourth. Tahaafe’s 3-point play followed by a three-pointer from Chacitty Cunningham on an assist from Tahaafe put Eastside in front, 41-35. But after the Kailahi injury, Hackson had back-to-back buckets and the shots stopped falling for Eastside.
“It was a great game,” said Eastside Prep coach Donovan Blythe. “Both teams bring the best out of each other. The first half, they outhustled us to those 50-50 balls. That had a lot to do with the outcome of the game.”
Scheppler talked about competing in the Open after a string of Division V championships.
“The girls were put to the question, if you want to go Open you have to work really hard. You got to get a stop, get a score, and run our sets to perfection. We’ll be prepared. The girls like the moment.”
