CYPRESS – Before Wednesday night’s game, both coaches said what their team lacks in size, they make up for with speed and physical defense.
And they weren’t lying.
With the game close all night, it came down to whoever had the last possession and Calabasas freshman Jocelynn Townsend came away with the game-winning shot at the buzzer to lead the Coyotes to a 56-54 victory over the host Cypress in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 3AA playoffs.
Calabasas (22-6) will host La Salle on Saturday in the quarterfinals.
“She told me before the game, ‘Coach, my shot feels good,” Calabasas coach Jena Laolagi said of Townsend. “She didn’t say that on Saturday and she was a little off. She said she felt good and she didn’t take a lot of shots either. I trusted her just as much as the other girls and that’s why she got the ball.”
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Cypress (21-9) took the first lead of the game and never trailed until late in the fourth quarter.
Calabasas, though, stayed close and never trailed by more than six points.
The fast-paced offenses led to the teams trading a lot of turnovers.
Isabella Caceres led Cypress with 13 points and five steals while Maddy Tauro led the Coyotes with 19 points and seven steals.
Calabasas finally took the lead late in the final quarter, but the Centurions tied the game up again thanks to four clutch free throws in a row from center Myia Collins.
Collins, who had eight points and 13 rebounds, went back to the free throw line with 12 seconds left, but missed both of her free throws.
Lia Hendelman (10 points, 8 rebounds) grabbed the rebound for Calabasas and called time out with nine seconds left in the game.
Laolagi designed a final play to go to Townsend, who made her one and only field goal of the night to take the victory for the Coyotes.
“It was all in slow motion,” Townsend said. “I thought I was going to airball. It was all in the moment in slow motion. It was a really great experience. It was once in a lifetime.”
Sara Shigekawa scored nine points and Jasmine Arnold added eight points for Cypress.
“Our season went very well to be honest,” Cypress coach Nathaniel Rivera said. “We made up for our lack of size with our speed. A good thing about basketball is our girls bought into it. They bought into our speed. Some of them were slow and they bought into it and worked hard.
“We became a fast and aggressive team on defense. That was the one thing that we challenged them everytime, to be aggressive on defense. That’s what kept us in the game tonight.”
Khailand Anderson-Strawder scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Calabasas while Erin Topacio scored 11 points.
Amia Witt grabbed nine rebounds for the Coyotes.