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STUDIO CITY — Jayda Ruffus-Milner spent most of the second half on the bench as the Harvard-Westlake junior was plagued with foul trouble. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing for the Wolverines.

With Mater Dei leading by nine with 4:37 left, Ruffus-Milner’s fresh legs helped Harvard-Westlake chip away at its defict.

Ruffus-Milner added the finish, scoring the go-ahead layup with 15 seconds left as Harvard-Westlake of Studio City won, 59-58, in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Open Division girls basketball playoffs Saturday night.

Mater Dei’s Jayda Adams missed a 3-point attempt on the following possession, and after two inbounds plays, Jayla Ruffus-Milner deflected the Monarchs’ final pass to spark the celebration.

Harvard-Westlake ended the game on a 12-2 run, which came after their team captain, Sydney Tsutsui, left the court in a wheelchair because of a leg injury. 

“If anything, we wanted to win it her because she plays with so much passion,” junior Melanie Hirsch said.

Hirsch and Jayda Ruffus-Milner finished with 11 points while Jayla Ruffus-Milner led the Wolverines with 22.

Hirsch gave the Wolverines (24-3) their first lead with a 3-pointer to end the third quarter, but Mater Dei (20-8) responded with a 10-0 run to open the fourth.

The Monarchs, who lost to Harvard-Westlake by 25 points in December, played with a renewed focus as they attacked the Wolverines inside, especially when Jayda Ruffus-Milner picked up her fourth foul with 6:25 left.

Mater Dei opened the game with an 8-0 run as Emma Torbert scored eight of her 10 points in the first quarter but left with a leg injury in the second.

“We played like we had nothing to lose so we came out with a lot more energy,” Adams said.

The Duke-bound Adams had 11 points, but only scored four in the second half. Nicole Freeman led the Monarchs with 15 points.

Mater Dei will be at home against Windward in the consolation bracket quarterfinals on Wednesday night.