Bishop Montgomery of Torrance came back from four points down in the final four minutes to defeat the Lions 46-43 in the CIF-SS Division 4AA final on Saturday at Azusa Pacific.
Chelsea Lidy’s layup gave the Knights a 44-43 lead with 30 seconds to go, and JSerra’s Megan House missed two free throws at the other end. After Christine Delapina hit two foul shots to extend the lead to three, Coco Miller missed a desperation 3-point attempt at the other end that would have tied the game.
The Lions (21-10) were vying for their first CIF-SS championship. They beat the Knights (23-8) by nine in December.
JSerra trailed 38-29 in the third quarter, but began the fourth on an 11-0 run to take a 42-38 lead with 4:09 to play. Miller led the Lions with 23 points, 17 of which came in the first half.
But the Knights battled back late. Delapina scored on a putback off her own miss to tie the game at 42. Then, off a JSerra miss, Lidy sprinted ahead of the Lions defense and caught a pass in transition, finishing inside to take the lead.
JSerra shot just 31.4 percent for the game, making only one field goal in the third quarter, when Bishop Montgomery outscored it 14-4.
Janelle Odionu, a Cornell commit, led the Knights with 13 points while Delapina added 12. House and Corinne Bogle had eight points apiece for JSerra.
Check back later for a full game story and photos on OCVarsity.com.
