Windward Squads Reach Regional Finals

The Windward School boys basketball team started the game sluggish before coming back to defeat Fresno Washington Union 80-57 on Saturday night in the Division IV Southern California Regional semifinals.

Last Thursday night’s regional quarterfinal began much the same way and the second-seeded Wildcats (25-8) were at a loss to explain yet another slow start.

“I don’t know, I think we just come out kind of nervous," senior Wesley Saunders said. "I guess it’s nerves. Then we pick it up and just get into the rhythm of the game.”

“We have a tendency to do that," junior Nick Stover said of the slow start. "We gotta cut that out, but we always come back in the second quarter and in the second half just take them away.”

The third-seeded Panthers (27-8) took their biggest lead, 19-13, when senior forward Damone Mayberry easily banked a shot in with five seconds left in the first quarter. It was short-lived, however, as Windward got the ball to sophomore guard Jordan Wilson who made a buzzer-beating shot from well beyond the three-point line to give his team momentum going into the second quarter.

Shortly thereafter, Wilson stole a pass in mid-air and, while still airborne, threw the ball to Stover, whose layup tied the game 21-21. Stover finished with 29 points, including three three-pointers and numerous breakaway layups. In the second quarter, he rebounded the ball with three seconds left on the clock and drove the length of the court to make the shot.

The Wildcats attributed their success to a change from man-to-man to zone defense.

“We went to a three-two [zone defense] after the first four possessions, they threw the ball away four times in a row and then we converted off those,” Coach Miguel Villegas said. “That was kind of the ball game. When we went up eight or nine points we never looked back.”

Saunders, playing in his last game at Windward’s gym, finished with 19 points, despite getting into foul trouble that forced Villegas to limit his playing time.

“I’m going to miss it here and I have some great memories," said Saunders, who will plat at Harvard next year. "I just hope I’ll be remembered for doing something great here.”

The boys will play in the regional championship at 7 p.m. next Saturday at Colony High in  Ontario against No. 1-seeded Westlake Village Oaks Christian (26-7), a 62-55 winner over Central Valley Christian on Saturday. Windward beat Oaks Christian 72-53 in a nonleague game Feb. 5.

“I’m ready to come kick somebody’s butt," Stover said. "We need to get this state championship."

Girls basketball

The second-seeded Windward girls squad also won its Division IV Southern California Regional semifinal in impressive fashion, routing unseeded Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, 79-40, on Saturday.

The host Wildcats (27-4) were determined not to repeat the slow start they had in Thursday’s quarterfinal game, when they made just seven of 43 field goals in the first half.

“We came out with a lot of energy because last game we weren’t too prepared,” said sophomore guard Courtney Jaco, who led the team with 22 points, including four three-pointers.

The closest the Unicorns (27-10) got was 28-22 on a three-pointer by senior Kristen Pitpit late in the second quarter. Windward answered with a 10-0 run, including two three-pointers by Jaco, to take a 38-22 lead into halftime.

LACES never seriously challenged Windward again.

“We did everything well tonight except shoot free throws, everything else was excellent. Very good defensive pressure, excellent composure against their defense,” Windward assistant coach Tim O’Halloran said. “That’s a team that prides itself on taking you out of your comfort zone, putting pressure on you, and we just didn’t fall into that kind of trap.”

The stepped-up defense also resulted in numerous steals and breakaway layups.

“When we run our three-guard lineup out there, it’s very hard for other teams to deal with,” O’Halloran said. “We put a lot of pressure on them, a lot of active hands, a lot of deflections, a lot of turnovers.”

Freshman point guard Jordin Canada and junior center Imani Stafford each had 14 points, while freshman forward Kristin Simon added 13.

Senior Taylor Holeman had 15 points and senior Ea Shoushtari scored 13 points for LACES, the Los Angeles City Section Small Schools champion.

Windward earned a third shot at La Jolla Country Day (27-4), the No. 1 seed, which beat Long Beach St. Anthony 77-34 on Saturday. The regional final will be at 5 p.m. next Saturday at Colony High. La Jolla Country Day has beaten the Wildcats twice this season--71-53 on Dec. 4 and 45-39 on Dec. 22, but Stafford missed both games because of an injury.