TORRANCE — For more than five minutes, El Dorado hung tough without star guard Brooke Salas.
After Salas fouled out with 5:18 to play, the Golden Hawks still completed a comeback from an 18-point halftime deficit. They took the lead for a moment and tied West Torrance at the buzzer to end regulation.
But the Golden Hawks’ holes without Salas were exposed in the four-minute overtime.
El Dorado’s mustered just two overtime points in a 60-54 loss to West Torrance in a Division 2 Southern California regional semifinal on Tuesday at West Torrance High.
In a rematch of the CIF-SS Division 2A title game that West Torrance won by 13, the Warriors took control early by making 10 of their first 14 shots.
But the Golden Hawks (28-6) outscored the Warriors, 18-3, in the third quarter to head into the fourth down 42-39. When Salas fouled out with El Dorado down 44-43, her teammates kept their composure.
Jaylin Jones put back a Miranda Martinez miss to tie the game at 46. Jones, who led all scorers with 21 points, hit two free throws on the next possession to put El Dorado ahead with 2:50 to play.
After West Torrance took back the lead, Kristy Omura’s buzzer-beating layup off an offensive rebound sent the game into overtime tied at 52.
“We did some pretty amazing things without Brooke on the court,” Golden Hawks coach Wayne Carlson said. “The kids played really hard together.”
But El Dorado turned the ball over on three of its first four overtime possessions as West Torrance’s pressure caused chaos. The Warriors (33-4) made all six free throws in the final minute.
“It’s tough,” Carlson said. “It’s hard. We almost pulled off a great win.”
