SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO >> After the San Juan Hills girls basketball team built a big lead by the end of the first quarter Saturday night, Beckman guard Sara Hameed led her on a 17-0 run in the second quarter to take the lead at halftime.
That wasn’t the end of her heroics.
The senior’s biggest moment came when she made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game to a second overtime.
The Patriots rode that momentum to a 51-46, double-overtime victory over the host Mustangs in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 2A playoffs.
Postgame interview with Sara Hameed of Beckman. 19 points including a buzzer beating 3 at the end of the 1st overtime to send Beckman to the second round!@ocvarsity @Beckmanbball @BHSPatriots @beckman_hs @BPatsBaseball pic.twitter.com/JdFqIt9dH0
— Manny Alvarez (@MAlvarez02) February 13, 2022
Beckman (16-9) will host Crescenta Valley in the second round on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
“She’s used to it,” Beckman coach Lauren Coleman said of Hameed. “She is used to carrying the weight, she is used to the pressure. She was hitting her shots tonight. I like our odds when that is the case, when she is hitting it and feeling good.”
Postgame interview with Beckman coach Lauren Coleman as her Patriots adjusted and held on to victory over San Juan Hills to advance in the playoffs.@ocvarsity @Beckmanbball @BHSPatriots @beckman_hs @BPatsBaseball pic.twitter.com/vUU9UesCEf
— Manny Alvarez (@MAlvarez02) February 13, 2022
San Juan Hills (20-9) jumped on the Patriots early thanks to the hot shooting of Sydney Peterson (13 points) and Amanda Edwards (17 points).
With Beckman trailing 16-3 at the end of the first quarter, Coleman told her players that their defense would be the key to the rest of the game.
“She just said to work on our defense,” Beckman senior Caitlin Muller said. “Our defense will push our offense. We’ll get shots and our energy will go up.”
Postgame interview with Caitlin Muller of Beckman. 11 points and 13 rebounds for Muller as the Patriots head to the second round!@ocvarsity @Beckmanbball @BHSPatriots @beckman_hs @BPatsBaseball pic.twitter.com/pqDscO7eua
— Manny Alvarez (@MAlvarez02) February 13, 2022
The Patriots went to a zone defense and that cooled off San Juan Hills’ shooters, while Hameed led a 17-0 run that gave Beckman a 20-16 lead at the half.
Hameed led all scorers with 19 points to go with her five rebounds and five assists.
Beckman extended its lead to nine points at the end of the third quarter, but the Stallions came back to tie the game and force overtime.
San Juan Hills took the lead in overtime thanks to freshman Anna Shreeve (13 rebounds, four points), but Beckman had the last shot.
With a three-point lead and fouls to give, the Stallions were going to foul Hameed and force her to the free throw line in order to avoid a 3-pointer that would send the game to a second overtime. But the Stallions changed their plan in the final seconds and decided to defend the last shot.
Hameed hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to push the game to a second overtime.
— Manny Alvarez (@MAlvarez02) February 13, 2022
“We had fouls to give,” San Juan Hills coach Paul Edwards explained. “Do we either foul her to the free throw line up three points or do you let it play out and defend the three? A lot of things can go wrong if you foul them. They make the first free throw and miss the second and get the rebound to get a quick shot. That opened up our logic. It didn’t work for us.”
The momentum changed in the second overtime as Hameed put the game away to send Beckman to the second round.
“I got my shots up in the morning,” Hameed said. “That’s really all it was. I know I could hit that shot. I had to take my time. My teammates set up a screen and I was able to knock it down.”
Lily Sisson scored eight points to go with eight rebounds and five assists for San Juan Hills.
Muller scored 11 points with 13 rebounds and Miranda Yu added seven points for Beckman.