Denise Peterson dribbles to the hoop. (Photo by AC)
(Pasadena) – Benefitting from a poor shooting performance from Twentynine Palms, La Salle advanced to the Quarterfinals of the CIF Girls Basketball Division 4A playoffs with a 63-43 victory.
Heading into the second half, the Lancers had already dominated the glass on both sides of the floor with an astounding 32-15 margin.
La Salle took advantage of its second chances to take a 30-18 lead into the break.
Itos Aikhionbare led the Lancers with 14 points, but Jackie Pacheco calmly sunk three important three-pointers when the Wildcats attempted to change the momentum of the contest.
Defensively, La Salle was tough to score on during the entire second half allowing just three field goals. Twentynine Palms didn’t see its first field goal in the second half until Erin Stanford hit a long-distance three with twenty-two seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The Lancers also let a charmed life, thanks in part to the Wildcats inability to make free throws going 22 of 47 as a team. Twentynine Palms lived at the free-throw line for the better part of 11 of 16 minutes in the second half.
If the fact that the Wildcats were struggling from the floor and the line, the opposite could be said for La Salle which seemingly saw its shots go in no matter which way the play was drawn up.
With 6:18 remaining Aikhionbare found Pacheco on a length of the court pass for an easy two points. On its next possession the Lancers guard Denise Peterson banked home an improbable shot with a defender in her face to break Twentynine Palms spirit in the early stages of the second half.
La Salle ended the game on a 9-3 run to advance to face the winner of the St. Anthony-South Pasadena matchup.
Stanford finished leading all scorers with 16 points in the loss.
Jackie Pacheco was key in La Salle's win. (photo by AC)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |||
| Twentynine Palms | 11 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 43 | ||
| La Salle | 16 | 14 | 10 | 23 | 63 | ||
| TWENTYNINE PALMS | POINTS | ||||||
| Jaymee Candaleria | 2 | ||||||
| Paige Rossi | 0 | ||||||
| Alexa Herrera | 14 | ||||||
| Rosie Graham | 4 | ||||||
| Hannah Engesser | 0 | ||||||
| Holly Johnson | 0 | ||||||
| Erin Stanford | 16 | ||||||
| Chelsie Thomas | 0 | ||||||
| Laveen Benavente | 2 | ||||||
| Johnette Brown | 0 | ||||||
| Kayi Beach | 1 | ||||||
| Cherokee Turner | 1 | ||||||
| Ashante Burton | 3 | ||||||
| TOTALS | 43 | ||||||
| LA SALLE | POINTS | ||||||
| Breana Mora | 2 | ||||||
| Denise Peterson | 5 | ||||||
| Caroline Knopp | 2 | ||||||
| Diamond Ridley-pierce | 2 | ||||||
| Janelle Bieker | 0 | ||||||
| Jackie Pacheco | 11 | ||||||
| Sarah Kopcha | 3 | ||||||
| Kelly Sanchez | 3 | ||||||
| Nila Vaeluaga | 1 | ||||||
| Itos Aikhionbare | 14 | ||||||
| Amalea Sideropoulos | 6 | ||||||
| Billie Rude | 4 | ||||||
| Brianna Rodriguez | 2 | ||||||
| Kelsey Glass | 0 | ||||||
| Kandyce Smith | 8 | ||||||
| TOTALS | 63 | ||||||
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