MidValleySports.Com

Pasadena Poly celebrates Division 5A title (Photo by Anne Cypress)

(Santa Ana) – Michelle Miller took over, coming out of the halftime break to send Pasadena Poly to its second CIF Girls Basketball title with a 55-42 win over Chadwick.

For the Panthers it marked the third time this season that it defeated the Dolphins. The Prep League rivals met twice during the League season with Poly defeating Chadwick 44-43 and 47-33.

Miller finished with a game-high 32 points, but her eight straight points to begin the third quarter help ignite the Panther offense which seemed tentative in the first half. She had only six points after two quarters.

The Dolphins kept pace throughout the game with the help of Haley Bush’s team-high 24 points. Bush to her credit matched Miller score for score in the first half. Her inside presence caused Miller to have three fouls before the half.

Early on Chadwick had trouble scoring as Poly’s defense played tough and didn’t hit a field until Bush’s rebound-score with 3:57 remaining in the quarter.

The Panthers managed to jump out to a 9-4 lead with the help of Courtney Foster’s step-back jumper.

The only lead the Dolphins enjoyed came with 3:25 remaining in the second quarter after Bush scored on a three-point play.

Right after Chadwick took the lead Poly went into overdrive by going on an 8-2 run to close the half off. Foster hit a key three-pointer and Katilyn Olah made a layup near the end of the half to give the Panthers a 23-18 lead.

The closest Poly allowed the Dolphins to get came with a minute left in the third quarter when Bush hit two free-throws. The deficit for Chadwick quickly turned to six after Miller scored and hit her free-throw.

With the Dolphins in foul trouble, the Panthers lived on the charity stripe for 7:24 of the fourth quarter which allowed them to score 10 points going 10 of 19.

Both Foster and Miller came up big late in the game to seal the win. Miller stopped a small 4-0 run for Chadwick with a pop and stop jumper to keep the lead at 10 points. Foster put the finishing touches on any Dolphin comeback with a steal and score with 2:12 remaining in the game to make the score 48-38.

Both schools have advanced to the State Playoffs that begin on Tuesday.

Pasadena Poly won its first CIF Title in 1992 with five trips to the Finals.

Miller quietly scored 32 in Poly's win (Photo by Anne Cypress)