GARDENA – Fairmont Prep rallied from a 17-point first half deficit behind senior Tristen Rollon to cut host Serra of Gardena’s lead to three points with three minutes to play in the third quarter of a CIF-SS Open Division first-round playoff game Saturday, but that’s as close as it would get.
Serra (21-6) turned up its effort on defense and went on a 14-0 run over the next three minutes, and from there the Cavaliers cruised to a 68-48 victory over the Huskies.
Serra advances to face Etiwanda in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, while Fairmont Prep (21-7) drops into the consolation bracket. The Huskies will be home against Long Beach Millikan on Wednesday night.
With Serra leading, 40-27, with 5:45 to play in the third quarter, Fairmont Prep went on an 11-1 run. Rollon had eight of those points Christina Li scored a basket that pulled the Huskies within 41-38 with 2:40 left in the third quarter.
Serra sophomore Alexis Tucker converted a three-point play and a lay-up to push the Serra lead back to eight.
A three-pointer by senior Camille Hailey pushed the lead to 11, and Hailey capped the run with two foul shots to put Serra up by 17 with 7:40 to play.
“Once they got close we just had to slow the game down and right the ship by passing the ball to open people and not allowing them to set the tempo,” Serra coach McKinsey Hadley said. “Our defense set the tone and we got some stops, which allowed things to go the way we thought they would.”
Early in the game, Fairmont Prep kept it close thanks to Rollon and Cierra Hall. They scored five points a piece in the first quarter, which ended with Serra leading, 13-12.
In the second quarter, Serra stretched its lead to 16 points.
Rollon finished with a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds.
“It’s an opportunity to play another game and hopefully play better than we did today and learn from our mistakes,” Rollon said of moving into the consolatin bracket. “We just have to build it back up and hopefully we will continue to get better and move on.”
