Near the end of the first quarter, the No. 1-seeded Eastside College Prep Panthers began to build a lead over the visiting International Jaguars that ended with a 44-22 win in the CIF-State Northern California Division 5 semifinals.
Once again, the Panthers (22-8) proved they deserve the top seed after their 53-42 quarterfinal victory against the Capital Christian Cougars last week.
Because they played with their heart and passion, International coach Charlene Murphy is still proud of the girls.
“We executed our game strategy especially on defense,” she said. “Unfortunately we had a bad offensive night, but that was because of excellent defense [from Eastside].”
The Panthers’ defense grew stronger after each quarter, widening Eastside's lead against the Jaguars (30-5).
The game got off to a slow start, though. Sophomore guard Shayna Mehta scored the first two points of the game for International, while Eastside junior guard Charmaine Bradford responded with a shot from the wing a minute later. Possession of the lead bounced from one side to another until Eastside surged ahead with a layup from sophomore center Destiny Graham at the buzzer. Eastside led 8-4 after the first eight minutes.
Both teams demonstrated more vigor in the second, but Eastside had the greater energy boost and doubled their lead. Mehta was extremely close to sinking a buzzer attempt just outside of the top of the key, but her miss meant the Jaguars were down 20-12 going into the second half.
Relentless defense proved to be the perfect weapon for Eastside in the third and fourth. The Panthers allowed the Jaguars to score only 10 points in the final 16 minutes..
“Defensively the players took it to another level in the second half,” Eastside coach Donovan Blythe said. “The players did a much better job of talking with each other and it helped.
Bradford started her team off strongly in the second half. She scored four points in the first minute from the wing and had an assist from sophomore Chacitty Cunningham, who had two other assists and scored two points in the third. Mehta’s 3-pointer were the only points scored by International in the third, and Eastside took a large 35-15 lead going into the fourth.
The Panthers continued building upon their lead, with Hashima Carothers scoring four of her 10 points in the fourth. She dominated the low post area and had nine rebounds and two blocks for the game.
Junior forward Alexus Simon and Bradford each scored 12 points for Eastside. Simon had four rebounds, while Bradford had two assists. Graham scored eight points and took seven rebounds.
Mehta led all scorers with 15 points, which included three 3-pointers. Mehta, junior forward Kassie Encinas, and junior forward Danielle Palmer had six rebounds each.
With one of the team's top forward players injured halfway through the season, Murphy is pleased with how the team was able to create a different identity.
“I’m so proud of what they’ve accomplished. They fought hard, they wanted it, and they worked for it,” she said.
Eastside will move on to the regional finals to meet Pinewood at 10 a.m. Saturday at American Canyon High near Sacramento, with a trip to the state finals on the line.
