Fans who attended the Poly girls’ basketball team’s loss last Friday in the CIF championship, and last night’s 63-35 thumping of the Santa Monica Vikings, may have thought they were seeing a different team. In many ways, they were. On Friday, Poly couldn’t hit anything from outside (they started 0-10 from beyond the arc), allowing Cajon’s zone to crash down to the middle, disrupting Poly’s inside dominance. Last night, the Jackrabbits started 4/5 from three point-range, freeing their bigs up to score 30. On Friday, the Jackrabbits’ defense couldn’t account for a dominant guard in Cajon’s Layshia Clarendon. Last night, they smothered the Vikings’ best shooter, Thea Lemberger, who had six points in the first half and disappeared in the second.
At first, the Jackrabbits looked tentative, turning the ball over seven times in the first quarter (three times by traveling), and letting the Vikings get a few cheap buckets. The turnovers kept Santa Monica in the game—halfway through the first period, Poly had only taken three shots. They held just a two-point lead after eight minutes, and had trailed 7-4 at one point.
With help inside from Ta’Nitra Byrd (whose first-quarter play against Cajon was one of the few bright spots for Poly), Monique Oliver, and Sheila Boykin, who was excellent again in a reserve role, the Jackrabbits began to pull away in the second, only turning the ball over twice while getting six points off takeaways. At the end of the first half, Poly had hit 13/21 from the field, and led 33-22.
From then on, it was all Jackrabbits, as their shooters continued to work well from outside, and their defense kicked into shutdown mode. In the third quarter, the Vikings hit just one bucket. In the fourth, just three—Poly started the third on a 14-0 run and the final period on a 9-0 run. All told, they won the second half 30-13.
“I was extremely pleased with the way we played,” said Poly coach Carl Buggs after the game. “Especially defensively.” As to his team’s improved shooting performance, he said, “Well, we couldn’t practice yesterday, so we came in today real early for the game, around five o’ clock, and spent a lot of time shooting.” Buggs also praised the performance of Byrd over the last few games—tonight she moved into the starting lineup at the power forward position. “I told her she’s starting and it’s her job to lose,” he said.
Leaders for the ‘Rabbits were Thaddesia Southall with twelve points, and Monique Oliver with six points, seven boards, and two assists–the ‘Rabbits recorded seven team blocks. Poly now advances to the second round, which means they’re hosting Stockdale this evening at 7pm. Come back tonight for a post-game update on the score!
New starter Ta’Nitra Byrd gets a back-handed block of Ellesse Brandis