Eagles Soar to Victory in Regional Playoffs

Granted a reprieve of sorts with a berth in the Southern California Regional Division IV playoffs, the Brentwood School girls basketball team took on a "nothing to lose" attitude and so far, it has worked to perfection.

The resilient Eagles kept their season alive with a 53-44 upset victory over seventh-seeded Fresno San Joaquin Memorial in the first round of the 16-team tournament Wednesday night.

Brentwood had fallen to Alpha League rival North Hollywood Campbell Hall for the third time last week in the Southern Section Division 4A finals in Anaheim. In that contest, the Eagles fell behind early and were never quite able to catch up. On Wednesday, however, it was Brentwood that took the early lead.

In fact, the Eagles (22-9) outscored Memorial 17-8 in the second quarter and enjoyed a comfortable 36-19 lead at halftime. However, perhaps spurred on by its noisy home crowd, the Central Section champion Panthers (14-18) went on an 18-5 third-quarter run to cut their deficit to four points with eight minutes left.  

Brentwood held off Memorial's spirited charge, winning the fourth quarter 12-7 and advancing to a quarterfinal matchup Saturday night in Gardena against second-seeded Serra (28-3), which routed Parlier 73-20 in the first round. 

Sophomore center Kennedy Martin was all but unstoppable in the post, scoring a season-high 39 points for the Eagles. She has scored 20 or more points 11 times, including a 27-point effort Dec. 19 in a 69-49 triumph over Santa Fe Christian.  

Under Coach Charles Solomon, Brentwood won its first eight games, finished fourth in the Alpha League and reeled off six straight wins before falling in the CIF-SS finals to Campbell Hall. Now the Eagles want to start another winning streak.

The winner of Saturday's game will play either third-seeded L.A. Windward or sixth-seeded La Jolla Bishop's in the regional semifinals next Tuesday. Serra upended Windward in triple overtime in the Southern Section Division 4AA finals last week while Bishop's was runner-up to top-seeded La Jolla Country Day in the San Diego Section. 

Brentwood failed to qualify for the state tournament last season, losing to Ojai  Villanova Prep, 48-45, in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 5AA playoffs.

Score by Quarters

1

2

3

4

Final

Brentwood

17

5

12

53

8

7

44