Emily Eadie scored 13 on the night, but none bigger than her two baskets under a minute to play. The 6-foot-1 sophomore rebounded a wayward shot and finished the putback to give Sage Hill a 46-45 edge, the team's first of the night.
The Panthers'
Malaysia Williams answered on the next possession with a low post bucket in traffic with 33 seconds left. Following a timeout, the Lightning again went to the sophomore, who saw her layup bounce off back iron before dropping for the 48-47 edge.
"We defend extremely well and that showed today," said Lightning coach Kerwin Walters. "I thought the energy in the second half was unbelievable.
"We've been in a few tight games."
Sage Hill players celebrate with coach Kerwin Walters after their 51-47 win over San Joaquin Memorial on Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Photo by David Steutel
And the game was tight most of the way, except for when San Joaquin Memorial took at 22-9 lead five minutes into the second quarter after a 14-3 run.
But the Lightning responded with a 7-0 mini run sparked by
Kat Righeimer's 10-foot push shot. Eadie added a putback with under a minute and Regheimer canned a 3-pointer to cut the halftime deficit to 22-16.
From there the Lightning continued to push as their lone senior starter,
Isabel Gomez, started to will her team toward a comeback. She hit a 3-pointer midway through the third quarter than cut the Memorial lead to 28-24 and followed that with an NBA-range, top of the key triple at the end of the shot clock that tied the game at 33 with 90 seconds left in the period.
"I felt it, not it slipping away, but not getting into that high gear ... so I decided to be more aggressive," said Gomez, who finished with a game-high 14 points. "I knew more energy would put us over the top."
And for that deep 3-pointer?
"I just saw the clock," she laughed.
Isabel Gomez led the Lightning with 14 points.
Photo by David Steutel
But San Joaquin Memorial, which had overcome adversity all season including a midseason coaching change, answered every punch from Sage Hill.
Saiya Sidhu hit a trey to give the Panthers a 36-33 lead heading to the fourth, but Gomez again stepped up, swiping a ball and midcourt and finishing the coast-to-coast bucket and the one-point deficit.
"Big stage, bright lights ... we fought but came up a little short," said Panthers coach Verenique Warren. "We missed a lot of layups (toward the end) and I think if we make three of them, we win.
"We just didn't get the results we wanted."
Memorial held a 41-35 lead after a Malaysia Williams free throw, but Eadie rebounded a Lightning miss and finished at the basket. After a Memorial miss, Gomez got the ball on the left wing and fired a bullet skip pass to
Zoie Lamkin, who drained a 3-pointer in rhythm.
Righeimer's nifty left-handed reverse tied the score are 42, but
Haley Duvall answered for the Panthers with a 3-ball and a 45-42 lead near the two-minute mark.
Annabelle Spotts' two freebies cut the lead to one and Eadie was finally able to get the Lightning their first lead two possessions later.
"Everybody had a hand in this, everyone had a key moment," said Righeimer.
Meadow Roland, San Joaquin Memorial
Photo by David Steutel
– 6, 10, 17, 18 – 47
San Joaquin Memorial – 5, 17, 14, 11 – 51
Lightning – Lamkin 5, Spotts 8, Righeimer 11, Eadie 13, Gomez 14
Panthers – Ramos 4, Duvall 6, Swillis 6, Sidhu 6, Sra 7, Williams 8, Roland 10
3-pointers – SH: 5 (Eadie, Righeimer, Lamkin, Gomez 2); SJM: 4 (Duvall, Sra, Sidhu 2)
Emily Eadie, Sage Hill
Photo by David Steutel
