Girls basketball: Estancia falls to James, err Ganesha.

Joseph Boo

POMONA - Take away Ganesha High’s Veranda James and Saturday’s CIF

Southern Section Division III-AA second-round girls basketball playoff

game with visiting Estancia would have been completely different.

But alas, James was there in uniform, scored 12 points in the games’

first four minutes, finished with 37 points, and put the Eagles away,

66-45.

Although it rode an eight-game winning streak coming into the game, it

didn’t help that Estancia (17-10) had little pregame knowledge of James,

or the rest of Ganesha’s team.

“She was a little better than we expected,” Estancia Coach Paul Kirby

said of James, “We couldn’t get a tape of her before the game and we

underestimated her athleticism. She’s a 6-foot-3 center who runs the

floor like a guard.”

James’ stat line read 37 points, 19 rebounds, four blocks and three

steals. Despite her guard-like skills, all of her field goals were

layins. She scored 12 points as the Giants (25-5) started the game on a

16-0 run before Xochitl Byfield hit a jumper for Estancia’s first points.

Ganesha, ranked No. 8 in Division III-AA and the undefeated Valle Vista

champions, employed a stifling full-court trap during the run.

“They came out with a trap that took us out of our rhythm,” Kirby said.

After the 16-0 disaster, Estancia held James down somewhat, collapsing

its two-three zone defense to the middle. James only had six points in

the second quarter. But Ganesha was on the verge of blowing the game wide

open with a 36-13 lead. Estancia got some momentum when Erika Avalos

scored five points in a row to cut Ganesha’s lead to 18.

Estancia senior Lauren Cassity matched up with James in the second half

and that provided the Eagles’ biggest success on both ends of the floor.

Estancia slashed Ganesha’s lead to 42-28 four minutes into the third.

Estancia’s Zuyin Barrera started the second half with a three, and an

energetic Cassity collected five points and four rebounds in four

minutes.

“We were a little more effective playing Cassity against (James),” Kirby

said. “Cassity’s a physical player, and she plays physical defense.

(James) still got her points, but not as much as before.”

But after scoring “only” eight points in the third, James eventually

broke free. She scored 11 points to start the fourth quarter and forced

Cassity to foul out. By the time James sat down with 2:21 left, the

Giants were sitting on a 64-32 lead.

In her last high school game, Cassity finished with 13 points and nine

rebounds. Byfield, a freshman, hit three three-pointers and scored 11

points in the game’s final two minutes to finish with 16, a team high.

Her 11 rebounds also led the Eagles.

“We played hard,” Kirby said, “but we faced a really good team tonight.”

CIF SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION III-AA SECOND ROUND

Ganesha 66, Estancia 45

Score by Quarters

Estancia 9 9 10 17 - 45

Ganesha 22 16 12 16 - 66

Estancia - Byfield 16, Cassity 13, Barrera 6, Avalos 5, Hirata 0, Lenhart

3, Matsufuji 2, Orellana 0, Rodriguez 0, Ollila 0.

3-pt. goals - Byfield 3, Barrera 2, Lenhart 1.

Fouled out - Cassity.

Technicals - None.

Ganesha - James 37, Lansang 13, Uiagalelei 5, Cortez 4, Verdon 0, Garcia

4, Champenois 0, Lockhart 0, Martinez 0, Findley 0, Grays 3.

3-pt. goals - Lansang 1.

Fouled out - None.

Technicals - None.