 |
| Vikes' Kat Kurtchi is obscured by the ball as she grabs a rebound in the second quarter against host Point Loma. (Photos by Ed Piper) |
Viking sophomore Sydney Hatfield just got cleared to play basketball Fri., Feb. 8. Then she played in the fourth quarter that night at Senior Night as La Jolla squeaked past Mission Bay by four points in front of an enormous crowd.
Coming off rehab for an ACL tear that sidelined her for the past nine months, the North Carolina transplant filled a key role for Coach Darice Carnaje's squad Tues., Feb. 12, in the first round of the Division 3 playoffs at Point Loma.
Employed at the high post in the Vikings' set offense for much of the game, the redheaded Hatfield helped move the ball, drive down the paint, or feed one or the other of La Jolla's main scorers, guards Katrina Kurtchi and Brooke Strowbridge.
In a wild game, the visitors came from 17 down in the second quarter to within three early in the fourth quarter. Vocal fan contingents for both schools cheered or booed the melee, in the remodeled Pointer gym sporting brand new Pointer-maroon bleachers on both sides.
Earlier, the game looked like a rout for Point Loma, with travel-squad-savvy Sadie Heckman, a 21-point-a-game scorer, leading the charge.
But then Hatfield and gang turned the shootout into an update of the Hatfields-McCoys feud: Trailing 24-7 with over four minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Vikings closed the first half still down by 14.
Heckman was assessed for her third foul in that span, and the host Point Lomans lost confidence and momentum.
In the third quarter Kurtchi turned into a whirling dervish, delivering on full-court dashes to the basket. She scored three baskets and six free throws in that period alone.
 |
| The Vikings during a third quarter timeout. Coach Darice Carnaje (kneeling) holds forth to her troops, who came back from a 17-point deficit to within 3 before falling. Sydney Hatfield is the redhead second from left. |
Sophomore Caroline Palmer, not a scorer but another wise owl on the basketball court kind of like Hatfield, ended up on the floor multiple times as she scrapped, scrambled, and dived for balls with good, physical play.
With 5:37 to play in the game, Sydney's layup brought the Vikings to within three, 41-38. It looked like they were going to close things out, but a few missed free throws and freshman Mikaela Miles stood in their way.
Miles, a long-braided, bespectacled guard, drove to six key points as the Pointers, on air support, fought back, even after La Jolla came back to trail again by three, 46-43, with only 1:58 to play. Kat's layup did that.
Pointer senior captain Jessie May's two free throws with half a minute remaining countered Palmer's pair of charity tosses only seconds before. Point Loma led, 52-45.
That was enough to end the Vikings' season, and send the Pointers on to the second round of the playoffs Friday against Calvin Christian. Carnaje's squad ended 11-14 overall, 8-4 in the Eastern League. Point Loma is 18-9 overall, 5-7 in the Eastern League.
Kurtchi scored 24 points, including 10 free throws as the result of aggressive drives into the middle. In a rare occurrence, she didn't register a three-pointer.
Hatfield scored a gutsy eight points. Despite the strong finish, she said, "(It felt) rusty. I'm way out of shape. I haven't played in nine months. Plus I haven't played with these girls." She wasn't making excuses. She was answering a reporter's question honestly.
How did they engineer the near-comeback? "Teamwork," said Hatfield, who doesn't show a Carolina accent. "We have a lot of seniors (including Strowbridge and Kurtchi), and we worked hard."
For Point Loma, Heckman had 21 before fouling out in the fourth quarter, when she didn't score a point. Miles added 17.
No comments:
Post a Comment