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CORONA — Sage Hill’s story of resiliency flew off the left hand of Kat Righeimer in the final seconds of the fourth quarter Tuesday night and onto the CIF state girls basketball championships.
The sophomore forward sank a 19-foot baseline jumper with three seconds left to lift the sixth-seeded Lightning past No. 1 Santiago of Corona 43-41 in the finals of the CIF State SoCal Division II Regional at Santiago High School.
Sage Hill guard Isabel Gomez, center, takes a selfie with the team after defeating Santiago 43-41 in the CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill head coach head coach Kerwin Walters, right, reacts with the head of the school Patricia Merz after his team won the CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game against Santiago 43-41, in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill forward Kat Righeimer, second from right, reacts with teammates after sinking the game-winning shot against Santiago in the last second of the second half of CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. Sage Hill won 43-41. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill forward Kat Righeimer, right, shoots the game-winning shot against Santiago guard Rylee Ghent during the second half of CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. Sage Hill won 43-41. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill forward Kat Righeimer reacts after sinking the game-winning shot against Santiago in the last second of the second half of CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. Sage Hill won 43-41. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hills fans react after a player hits a basket against Santiago during the second half of CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill forward Kat Righeimer, second from right, gets a hug from guard Isabel Gomez, and forward Annabelle Spotts, second from left, after Righeimer hit the game-winning shot against Santiago during the second half of CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. Sage Hill won 43-41. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill forward Annabelle Spotts, right, vies for a loose ball with Santiago forward Mckinley Willardson during the second half of CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill forward Kat Righeimer, right, pulls up to shoot with Santiago guard Jayda Cobbs defending during the second half of CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill guard Emily Eadie, right, goes up to shoot against Santiago guard Jayda Cobbs, left, during the first half of CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Santiago’s Jayda Cobbs, on the floor, gets help up from teammates Tierra Taylor, left, Kalani Washington, center, and Makayla Fugate, right, during the second half of CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game against Sage Hill in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill forward Kat Righeimer, right, reacts with teammates after sinking the game-winning shot against Santiago in the last second of the second half of CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. Sage Hill won 43-41. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill guard Emily Eadie, right, drives to the basket with Santiago guard Jayda Cobbs during the first half of CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill forward Annabelle Spotts, right, controls the ball with Santiago guard Jayda Cobbs, left, defending, during the first half of CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill guard Isabel Gomez, right, falls to the floor in front of Santiago guard Jayda Cobbs during the second half of CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill guard Emily Eadie, right, vies for the ball with Santiago guard Jayda Cobbs, below, during the first half of CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill forward Annabelle Spotts, left, looks to make a pass from the floor against Santiago forward Sierra Macias during the first half of CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill forward Annabelle Spotts battles for a rebound against Santiago guard Tierra Taylor during the first half of CIF State Division II girls basketball regional championship game in Corona, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Sage Hill (26-10), featuring four players who rose through the ranks of Kobe Bryant’s Mambas youth team, will play San Joaquin Memorial in the state championship game Saturday at 2 p.m. at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
The foursome, including Righeimer, lost coaches and teammates in the 2020 helicopter crash in Calabasas but have played on and helped lead their school to its first state final.
The Lightning rallied for a victory in the section finals last season and reached their first state final after losing at Orange Lutheran 66-61 in the CIF-SS Division 2AA final on Feb. 26.
“It is that Mamba mentality that they do have,” Sage Hill coach Kerwin Walters said of his players’ resiliency. “These kids fight like they’re supposed to. It is built into them. They were built this way, and that’s the culture that we want to have.”
The field goal by Righeimer came out of a timeout called by Walters with six seconds left and just moments after Santiago freshman Jayda Cobbs tied the score at 41 with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 12 seconds left coming out of a timeout.
Sage Hill point guard Isabel Gomez made the inbound pass from the sideline to Righeimer, who took one dribble before sinking the shot with three seconds left.
“That release just felt really good and promising,” said Righeimer, who scored seven of her team-high 16 points in the final period. “And after (the shot) went it, it was just such good relief and joy. Honestly, it could have been anyone hitting that shot in that moment but I was ready and that’s just how it turned out.”
Santiago (24-10), the Division 2A champion, called time out after the basket but its desperation 3-pointer missed off the backboard.
In the second round of regional playoffs, Sage Hill sophomore guard Zoie Lamkin made a last-second shot to beat Long Beach Poly, something that Santiago coach Michael Mitchell remembered.
“I was sitting there going, ‘This is going to come down to a last-second shot,’ ” said Mitchell, a former Mater Dei player. “Things happen for a reason.”
Emily Eadie had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Sage Hill. Fellow sophomore forward Annabelle Spotts added two points and nine rebounds.
The Lighting led by as many as 11 points in the second half and took a 33-24 lead into the fourth period. But Santiago opened the final frame with a 9-0 run to tie the score at 33 with 4:46 left.
The Penn-bound Gomez (nine points) snapped the surge by collecting a long rebound and racing for a three-point play with 3:34 remaining.
Righeimer then made two free throws and a 3-pointer with about 2:45 left for a 41-33 lead. But Santiago tied the score again to set the stage for the dramatic conclusion to the game.
Sage Hill’s story, however, continues.
“(The accident) has impacted our lives but being together with everyone here today is really comforting,” Righeimer said. “We keep calm. We keep our composure. We just play hard and we stick together.”
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