Rancho Alamito’s girls basketball team just wanted to be on the right side of history.
In four previous playoff appearances under Coach Anh Tung Than, the Vaqueros had been dismissed in the first round each time. But the streak ended there.
Gabrielle Carbajal made a driving layup with five seconds left, and the Vaqueros rallied past Laguna Hills, 42-41, Thursday night in a CIF-SS Division 3AA first round game at Rancho Alamitos High.
“Gaby’s always the one. She comes in clutch,” Patrice Sagiao-Jones said of Carbajal’s heroics. “She’s our star.”
The Vaqueros’ next game will come Saturday night when they host top-seeded North of Torrance (23-2).
Jenny Rundles hit a deep jumper with 15 seconds remaining to lift the Hawks (12-14) to a one-point advantage. Rancho Alamitos (15-7) called a timeout.
When the game resumed, Carbajal was isolated at the top of the key and dribbled the ball into the teeth of the defense. The crowd erupted as her right-handed shot dropped through the net.
Carbajal called the winning shot “amazing.”
Asked to describe the play, she said, “Our coach had drawn out a play for us. He said just take the ball all the way through and said, ‘I don’t care if it’s a charge or foul, just take it all the way for a layup.’ That’s what I did.”
Laguna Hills controlled the boards for most of the game, and it staked the Hawks to a 33-26 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Hawks outrebounded the Vaqueros, 40-31. Aaleah Brown had 14 points to go with 13 rebounds, and Michelle Holt added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Rancho Alamitos’ biggest deficit was nine points, but the Vaqueros steadily close the gap in the fourth quarter. Senior Jocelyn Reed grabbed three big offensive rebounds, and the Vaqueros recorded seven steals down the stretch.
“That’s always very important,” Than said of his team raising the energy level for the comeback. “That was our job from the get-go.”
ANDREW TURNER, Contributing writer
In another Division 3AA game:
Esperanza 48, Orange 26: The Aztecs (16-9), led by Maddi Catalano’s 18 points, took command early and breezed to a victory over the visiting Panthers.
Esperanza will host Indio in the second round Saturday.
Orange, the fourth-place team from the Golden West League ends the season 15-12.
“I’m real proud of my girls,” Esperanza coach James Valverde said. “The effort and hustle they showed is what gets us to our 16th win. Our thing is hustle and heart, that’s what we’re all about.”
Last year, the Aztecs won 17 games and advanced to the second round of the CIF playoffs.
“Getting into the next round, we’re going to have to take care of the ball better, but I thought the defense was pretty good tonight,” Valverde said.
He added: “Maddi hit some big shots when we needed it.”
Catalano had four of the Aztecs’ eight 3-pointers.
The Aztecs led 11-2 after the first period and 23-8 at halftime.
Arianna Hernandez led the Panthers with nine points.
Nicole Larson added 12 points. Amanda Williams had seven and came up with several blocks on defense.
“For the most part, we can do better, but we’re happy with the win and we’re moving on to the second round,” Valverde said.
“If we take care of the ball, get shots off (on offense), we’re pretty good.”
DAMIAN CALHOUN
