Torrance High came out with the hot shooting hands and were able to hold off Los Alamitos down the stretch for a 47-46 win in the CIF-SS Division 2A playoffs on Thursday at Los Alamitos High.
The Tartars led by as much as 10 points in the first half, before the Griffins went on an 8-0 run in the final three minutes of the first half, to cut the lead to 27-25 at halftime. Torrance’s defense was able to disrupt the Griffins’ pace and shooters, something that helped Los Al grab a share of the Sunset League title this season, their third consecutive season at the top of the standings.
The Tartars were the third place team out of the Pioneer League, but they had the speed to keep pace with the Griffins, and they got hot from the outside at just the right time.
Senior Monica Villanueva led Torrance with 12 points, including three three-pointers. Sophomore Kaya Choi finished with 11 points for Torrance, including a baseline jumper that gave the Tartars their 47-46 lead with about 10 seconds to go. Los Alamitos moved the ball down court before calling a timeout with 6.4 seconds left. Torrance committed two quick non-shooting fouls that left just over two seconds, before defensive pressure forced an errant pass by the Griffins that ran out the final seconds. Torrance Head Coach Bob Varnell said their defense was the biggest factor in the win.
“That was a huge key for us, we watched a lot of game film on them and saw how well their shooters played and how good they’re guards were, we just told ourselves, ‘we’ve got to get out there and play defense, switch everything, and make it really difficult for them to get to the paint and really we didn’t want to give up any open shots,” Torrance Coach Bob Varnell said.
Still, the Griffins were able to tie the game at 34-34, going into the fourth quarter. Junior guard Tam Yoshida finished with a game-high 13 points, including seven in the fourth. Junior guard Maya Asumbrado had 11 points, as did senior Bryn Pagett, who also pulled down 20 rebounds as she began to take control of the paint in the fourth quarter.
Los Al took an early lead in the fourth quarter, but two three pointers by Nadia Suarez, her only points of the game, helped give Torrance an edge. When Villanueva hit a jump shot midway through the fourth quarter, the Tatars led 43-36.
Los Alamitos answered with some clutch shots of their own, including a kickout three-pointer off a fast break by Tam Yoshida that cut the lead to 43-41. After two free throws by Torrance, Yoshida hit another jump shot in the key and Asumbrado hit a three-pointer as the shot clock expired that gave the Griffins the 46-45 lead with 2:10 left in the game.
Griffin Head Coach, Maya DeAnda credited Torrance with a strong effort, but felt like her team missed a chance to steal the win down the stretch. She also noted that, while talented, the Griffins were a young team this year, starting two freshmen and not a lot of playoff experience, which may have been a factor.
“But man, I love this group, love this group of girls, they work so hard for me and I’m proud of them … our slow start, yeah, we were nervous, I think it was nerves,” DeAnda said.
