Girls’ basketball: Clock finally strikes midnight in Beverly Hills
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Despite a furious fourth-quarter comeback, Beverly Hills saw its Cinderella season come to an end Saturday night in a heartbreaking 44-42 Division II-AA quarterfinal loss to Norco at the Swim Gym.
The Normans trailed by 17 points on three different occasions in the third quarter, the last time at the 3:09 mark, then rallied to pull within 43-42 on Morgan Mason‘s three-point play with 1:42 left in the game. Norco’s Cierra Windham made the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity for the Cougars’ final point with 28 seconds left to set the stage for a wild finish.
As the clock ticked down, Normans’ guard Taylor Craig drove the length of the court and missed a layup with four seconds left. After an intentional foul and a missed free throw, Craig hoisted up a desperation shot from just inside the half-court line that hit the backboard as time expired.
What ultimately cost Beverly Hills a chance to advance to the semifinals was a dismal first half in which the Normans were outscored 21-8 and failed to score in the final 6:56 of the second quarter. Still, they won 20 games and advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in 30 years.
And with 10 of 13 players returning, who’s to say Coach John Braddell‘s squad can’t go even farther next season?
-- Steve Galluzzo