By Mike Guardabascio 

 

After Tuesday’s Poly/San Clemente showdown, nobody can accuse the CIF refs of dynasty building.  In an…”interestingly” officiated game that had many fans wondering if Poly High’s Ron Palmer Pavilion was actually the San Clemente Titans’ home court, the Rabbits persevered with patience and great play from star Jasmine Dixon, to win 62-46.  As usual, the scoreboard doesn’t even begin to depict the drama of a physical, hard-fought game; suffice to say, it was Poly’s closest game in over a month (and tighter than anyone in the CIF playoffs played the Rabbits).

 

The key to the Titans’ game was their size, embodied by Kristen Riley, a 6’2″ senior who was averaging 15 points a game coming into the night.  San Clemente also has two other starters over six feet tall.  All three can run the floor well, and Riley took the ball up court herself several times.  The crowd was loud and rowdy on both sides of the hardwood, with plenty of cross-court jeers thrown back and forth.  Poly’s fans showed their experience even before the game tipped off: when Jasmine Dixon, who has been nagged by knee pain in the grueling CIF-to-state playoff schedule, took the court, all chatter in the bleachers stopped as the spectators turned to watch as she stretched and jogged up and down the court.  Happily, she looked fine.

 

Poly’s defense has been its knockout punch for the last several weeks, but tonight they were simply facing too much offensive talent to overwhelm them in one fell swoop.  The Titans stayed within 11 in the first half, playing a scrappy, physical game.  They relied heavily on their three premier scorers: Riley, and starting guards Cassie Harberts and Andrea Wertz.  Until Shelby Pederson hit a last-second three pointer to end the first half, those were the only three Titans to score a point, and they finished with a whopping two points off the bench, compared to Poly’s 17.

 

The team knew they’d have to lean on Monique Oliver to defend Riley, and in the first quarter they leaned a little too hard, as Oliver racked up two fouls in the first few minutes of game play.  She was in foul trouble all night, and Poly turned to Kelli Thompson and Thaddesia Southall to make up the difference defensively.  Southall, a tall sophomore, proved to be their best option since she could run with Riley as well as match her size, but she split duties all night since she struggled to score.  Thompson, on the other hand, had one of her best games, scoring 14 (including two threes) to complement her defensive play.

 

Despite a slowly-widening lead, the game still felt locked tight, until about halfway through the third.  Monique Oliver was called for a very questionable fourth foul.  Poly coach Carl Buggs sent Southall to the scorer’s table, but even after the ref looked over and saw her kneeling there, she blew the play live, keeping Oliver in the game and Southall on the sidelines.  The Titans immediately inbounded and ran at Oliver, who was whistled for yet another questionable foul to take her out of the game permanently.  Her ankle didn’t seem to be bothering her, but with no points and the foul trouble, it was a disappointing night for the Rabbits’ second-leading scorer. 

 

Surprisingly, it was at that point that the tide turned for the Rabbits, as Jasmine Dixon went from impressive to unstoppable.  Within a few minutes she grabbed two steals, rattled off six quick points and drew a charge to give Kristen Riley her fifth foul, taking her out of the game, all as part of a 12-4 run to end the quarter.  Dixon finished with a game-high 21 points, and proved herself the MVP with her passion and intelligence.  Sophomore guard Ashley Wilson also had an impressive game, finishing with 9 points.

 

After the game, Buggs said he was impressed with his team’s patience.  “We wore them down,” he said.  “After Riley went out, you could kind of see it in their faces.”  It wasn’t as stunning as a knockout punch, but the patient and measured defense of the Jackrabbits won out on Tuesday, and they’ll continue on to host A.B. Miller at home on Thursday, in the regional semifinals.