LOS ANGELES >> In its first ever CIF-SS finals appearance, the Santa Ana girls basketball team took an eight-point lead to the fourth quarter and had the No. 1 seed on the ropes.
But the Saints only managed three points in the final eight minutes of play, and proved to be their downfall as they lost to Price 43-35 in the CIF-SS Division 5A final Saturday night at Price High.
The Knights were led by senior Kaziah Fletcher and Jade Fort, who combined for 38 points. Fletcher, a senior, had a game-high 20 points, and Fort, a freshman, finished with 18 points, 13 in the fourth.
“They’re No. 1 for a reason,” Santa Ana coach Tony Jarjoura said. “My girls kept fighting and fighting until the end, and that’s all I can really ask for.”
Janessa Roa scored 14 points for the Saints, who also got nine points from Halle Broadnax before she exited the game due to an injury in the final minutes.
Santa Ana (16-17) used great defense and sharp ball movement to come within eight minutes of winning their first CIF title, but it was unable to stop the scoring flurry from Fort and Fletcher in the fourth.
Price (15-2), who had only have seven players on its roster, looked fatigued as the third quarter ended, but it got a surge of energy in the final period. That is something that Price coach Jillian Smith had grown accustomed to.
“Unfortunately for us, being down is common,” she said. “One thing I can do as a coach is keep my team calm and collected and know that as soon as we get it going, there’s nobody out here that can stop us, and that’s exactly what they did.”
Fort began the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, and Broadnax responded with a nice drive to the left side of the key and it was 34-27 Santa Ana.
It was all Price from then on.
The Knights locked in defensively and forced turnovers in bunches by applying pressure. The Saints couldn’t stop the momentum as their lead dwindled away.
Fletcher had a few breakaway layups after some steals that gave Price a 36-34 lead with three minutes left.
Yarexy Diaz was fouled and made 1 of 2 free throws to bring the Saints within one, but that was the final point they scored for the remainder of the game.
Fort nailed a 3-pointer to extend the Knights’ lead 40-35 with 1:31 remaining, and that proved to be the dagger.
Smith had nothing but good things to say about Santa Ana after the win, which gave the Knights their first section championship since 2016.
“They’re a great team, I would take nothing away from them,” she said. “They played (hard) and gave us their best, especially here on the road.”
The Saints trailed early but stayed in the game thanks to Roa, and big plays from Ashley Silva and Elizabeth Agama. Santa Ana went on a 6-0 run to end the first half with a 21-20 lead with Broadnax providing a spark.
Santa Ana continued its scrappy play in the third quarter, building an eight-point advantage with a highlight play in transition where Broadnax pushed the ball upcourt to Diaz who executed a lovely touch pass to Roa for the easy layup to make it 32-24.
Jarjoura was proud of his team’s march to the CIF championship game but was clearly disappointed with the loss.
“We made history this season and I’m incredibly proud of them,” he said. “These seniors set the tone and I feel like we put Santa Ana on the map. I would’ve loved to win, obviously, but I’m happy we made it here.”