Calvary Chapel steals Lightning’s thunder to advance

NEWPORT COAST — The game sat tied for most of the fourth quarter, the scoreboard almost daring either Calvary Chapel High or Sage Hill School to grab control of the game.

Neither team could do it, but a Calvary Chapel staple — the full-court press — came through when it mattered.

The Eagles from Santa Ana got two key steals in the final minute and hung on to beat the Lightning, 43-37, in a second-round CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA girls’ basketball playoff game Saturday at Sage Hill.

But Coach Lou Silverman couldn’t be prouder of his No. 14-seeded Lightning, the co-Academy League champs who finish with a 13-13 record.

“It’s been an honor to coach this team,” Silverman said. “They’re high-character individuals. They won as a team and they lost as a team, and that’s what basketball should be.”

No. 14-seeded Sage Hill trailed nearly the whole game, only to come back to take the lead over No. 4-seeded Calvary Chapel with 2:35 to go.

That lead of 35-33 was the Lightning’s first since the first quarter. It came on senior Roya Rashtchi’s two free throws, part of a 15-for-15 night from the line for Sage Hill.

After four straight Eagles points, Tyre was fouled and added two more free throws, knotting the score again at 37-37 with 1:17 left.

“We practice [free throws] so much, that’s the main thing we do,” Tyre said. “In practice, each person shoots, and if you miss you have to go up [the court] and back.”

Calvary Chapel, who finished second in the Orange Coast League behind Costa Mesa, turned the ball over, but the Eagles’ Rachel Costa made a key steal. Shauna Ricker then converted a three-point play to give Calvary a 40-37 lead with 32 seconds left.

Calvary Chapel collected another steal and added three more free throws to put the game away.

“They were aggressive defensively all over the court, and the referees were letting us play tonight,” Silverman said. “I think that worked to their advantage … but we were tied with four minutes to go. It was right down to the wire.”

Rashtchi, Tyre and junior guard Katie McKeon are all team captains. They’re also the last players left from the original Sage Hill Academy League championship team of 2005.

“We’ve been playing together for a long time,” said McKeon, who had four assists Saturday. “We’ve gone through a lot of transitions, but this team was amazing. There were so many new faces this year, so many people playing new positions. But everybody stepped up.”

Sophomore Stephanie Garrison had a team-high 12 points and three steals for Sage Hill, and Tierney Danner added 11 points and seven rebounds.

McKeon said the fact that Rashtchi, who hit four free throws, could do it in a pressure situation showed just what Sage Hill has been about this year.

“She’s not our best free-throw shooter, but she made all of them tonight,” McKeon said with a smile, as she and Tyre gave Rashtchi a hug. “That’s what’s pulled us through this season, everybody stepping up when they’re needed.”

CIF Southern Section

Division IV-AA Playoffs

Second round

Calvary Chapel 43,

Sage Hill 37

Score by Quarters

Calvary Chapel 13 12 6 12 — 43 Sage Hill 11 8 10 8 — 37

Calvary Chapel -- Ricker 19, Rambo 11, Souder 9, Karkut 2, Gooch 2.

3-pt. goals -- Rambo 1, Souder 1.

Fouled out -- Karkut.

Sage Hill -- Garrison 12, Danner 11, Tyre 6, Rashtchi 4, West 2, Jefferey 2.