Troy falters at free throw line

LONG BEACH- Long Beach Poly made four free throws in the final seconds to clinch a 44-38 victory over Troy in the semifinals of the girls basketball Division I Regional State Championships on Thursday at Long Beach Poly High.

Those four free throws were more than the Warriors made the entire game. They finished 3 of 12 in that category, and it likely cost them an upset of the three-time defending state champions.

"It's a tough loss," Troy coach Roger Anderson said. "We missed nine free throws and we trail by two with under a minute to go. It was our game. We just needed to execute and make our free throws and we move on.

"Poly is a great team. It makes it hard to swallow. But I'm extremely proud of the girls. They didn't quit and they fought for 32 minutes."

The Jackrabbits led, 39-32, with 53 seconds remaining. However, the Warriors scored on 3-pointers from Kristen Chikami and Alysa Ito to pull to 40-38 with 14 seconds to play. But Poly hit its final four free throws.

"The girls are taking it hard," Anderson said. "They left everything they had and they are a little frustrated too."

The Warriors trailed, 8-0, three minutes into Thursday's contest, yet fought back and was behind 15-8 after one quarter. Anderson said the key to the game was staying close to the Jackrabbits in the opening quarter.

Troy closed to 16-14 before a Poly 5-0 run made it 21-14. Troy was down, 21-20, and had a chance to take the lead before halftime.

The Warriors were awarded a pair of free throws with no time on the clock but missed both and trailed by one at intermission.

The teams each scored five points in the third quarter and Poly led 26-25 entering the fourth. The Jackrabbits started the quarter on a 6-0 run to lead 32-25 with under four minutes to play.

"We were able to force some turnovers and get some shots to fall," Anderson said. "We knew if we kept it close we would have a shot."

Contact the writer: ctobolski@ocregister.com