Monday Night Playoffs: St. Paul advances; Whittier Christian ousted


Above: St. Paul’s Priscilla Hidalgo came up big for the Swordsmen, who advanced to the quarterfinals with a 43-35 win over Archer Monday. (File photo by Chris Burt)

Both the St. Paul and Whittier Christian girls basketball teams were forced to the court for Division 4A second-round games. Monday.
For the Swordsmen, who beat Archer 43-35, it was a good thing. For the Heralds, who lost to Brentwood, 57-52, not so much.

St. Paul 43, Archer 35

SANTA FE SPRINGS — Priscilla Hidalgo has been the go-to player for the St. Paul High School girls basketball team this season.
The senior lived up to that billing Monday.
Hidalgo scored a game-high 18 points and hit a key 3-pointer during a third-quarter run and the Swordsmen advanced to the CIF-Southern Section quarterfinals for the second consecutive season with a 43-35 victory over visiting Archer, of Los Angeles, in a Division 4A second-round game.
St. Paul, also getting 18 rebounds and 8 points from Holly Shafer, improved to 16-13 and will host St. Bonaventure Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Archer, getting 15 points from Mariah Barnett and 12 points and 18 rebounds from Coco Maurice, finished 18-9.
“We needed those shots (from Hidalgo),” said St. Paul coach Robert Miller, whose Swordsmen forced 10 turnovers and yielded just five field goals during the second half to overcome a 19-15 deficit at halftime. “If she doesn’t hit those shots (in the third quarter), who knows?
“But sometimes when you’re up against a 2-3 (zone) and you’re not getting the inside shots to fall, you need someone to step up and hit something from the outside to loosen things up.”


St. Paul, which had fallen behind 21-17 early in the second half, was able to tie it at 25 when Hidalgo knocked down a 11-footer from the side with 4:12 left in the third quarter.
She then gave the Swordsmen the lead for good when she dropped in a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 29-27 advantage with just over a minute left in the quarter.
St. Paul then pushed it to a comfortable six-point edge in the fourth when Shafer hit from five feet, Shannon Cruz-Canul drained a 3-pointer and Clarisa Hernandez scored on a drive from eight feet for a 36-30 lead with 4:31 left in the game.
Defense played a part, too.
Barnett, getting nine of her 15 during the first quarter, found it rough during the final two quarters, making just two of eight shots in the second half.
“Early on, she shredded us and got some easy layups,” Miller said. “But when we doubled her, she had to give up the ball and they made some mistakes, which gave us some easy buckets.”
Hidalgo and Shafer combined on seven of eight free throws to seal it down the stretch.
The Swordsmen, getting a 3-pointer from Hidalgo and a fast-break layup by Clarissa Perez, looked good early, taking an 8-6 lead after the first quarter.
But the Panthers got an 11-footer by Barnett and putback from Maurice for a 17-15 lead late in the second quarter.
Maurice, who had seven rebounds in the first half, had another rebound follow for a 19-15 lead at the break.
“I thought we adjusted to (Barnett’s) foot speed well,” Miller said. “But (in the first half) we missed a bunch of shots. They hit some shots early on, and them getting 19 points is not such a big deal, but when you don’t make (shots) and you score only 15 in your own gym, that’s tough.”
The Swordsmen were able to recover, outscoring Archer 14-8 both the third and fourth quarters to advance.
“We’d better play a lot better (against St. Bonaventure),” Miller said. “Otherwise, we’re going to get beat.”

Brentwood 57, Whittier Christian 52
LA HABRA — When the trap was sprung, Whittier Christian High School’s girls basketball squad couldn’t wriggle loose.
Visiting Brentwood threw a half-court trapping press that rattled the Heralds and help the Eagles to a 57-52 victory in the CIF-Southern Section Division 4A. Brentwood moves on to the quarterfinals Wednesday against St. Monica. Whittier Christian finished 15-13.
“They found our weakness and exploited it,” Whittier Christian coach Richard Villeza said. “Their press forced us into too many turnovers, and that was the game.”
The Heralds were forced into 27 turnovers in the contest, many of which led to easy transition baskets for Brentwood (19-8).
In spite of the dismal ball-handling, the Heralds were able to stay in the contest right up to the end, trailing by a single basket, 54-52, with 45 seconds to play. The Eagles finished out the game with three free-throws.
The third period was the most telling for the Heralds, following a 21 tie at the intermission. In the first 5:30 of that frame, the game was tied twice and changed hands seven times. The last tie was at 32 with 2:36 showing on the clock when Sydney Lopez had a layuo on a feed from Lina Arreola.
It was at that point that the press took its toll as Brentwood finished out the quarter with an 11-2 run.
Even at that, however, the Heralds clawed back in final quarter, trimming the lead to a mere three, 43-40, with six straight points. But the Eagles responded with their own six. A three-pointer from the top of the circle by Brentwood’s Sammie Schlessel “was a crushing blow,” Villeza said.
Still the Heralds went on a 7-0 run to climb back in the game, but could never regain the lead.
“I thought Whittier Christian played with a lot of heart,” Brentwood coach Charles Solomon said. “They deserved more. No one deserved to lose this game.”
Whittier Christian’s Arreola tied Brentwood’s Kennedy Martin for scoring honors with 21. Martin was a one-woman wrecking crew on the boards for the Eagles. Lopez added a dozen points for the Heralds, while Drew Cabral tossed in 17 for the Eagles.

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