With the crowd at the edge of their seats at Long Beach Poly, a close game in the Division 3 girls’ basketball All-City championship saw Hamilton edge Tincher 54-49 in the closest game of the day. The Tigers fought hard to protect their lead against the Wolverines’ late comeback push.
“I actually attended Hamilton, so this is pretty special for me,” said Hamilton coach Cory Huber. “A lot of full circle moments today.”
In response to the Tigers’ Shaunice McClain’s two point shot in the first 15 seconds of the game, the Wolverines went on a run of six points started by Kaylee Mascarinas’ layup at the 55 second mark. Responding to this run was again McClain who made a layup 3:30 into the first quarter. The sixth grader Mascarinas was no stranger to pressure, though, showing early that she would be the top scorer with 6 points contributing to the Wolverines’ 17-11 early lead over the Tigers.
“She’s been that way all year. She averages 20 points per game and she’s the heart and soul of the team,” said Huber. “I put her against the best player of the opposing team every single time and she’s always up for the challenge.” Mascarinas put up a total of 24 points during the game, never letting up pressure on the Tigers.
The Wolverines came out in the second quarter aggressive with Serenity Conley and Sie’ana Murphy sinking back to back two pointers in the first minute. Within 10 seconds, McClain responded by stealing the ball twice in a row to score two consecutive layups. Mascarinas continued to make plays with two free throws in the second minute of the period, but Makayla Amadeus weaved through the Wolverine defense to score a layup with only 15 seconds left in the quarter. The period ended with a score of 29-21 Wolverines.
“Tincher did not make it easy on us,” said Huber. “They brought their best today as I knew they would.”
Tincher aimed to bridge the gap in the third quarter with Perez putting up the first bucket in the first minute doubled by McClain’s layup ten seconds later. Countering was the Wolverines’ Mascarinas who caught a rebound and made a layup directly after Tincher’s run, contributing to their run of 6 points. The Tigers’ main efforts came from Makayla Amadeus who hit a shot at the 4 minute mark and Charlie Sanders with a free throw in the 7th minute. With 5 seconds left in the quarter, Mascarinas made a shot just barely in front of the 3 point line giving the Wolverines a lead of 45-30.
Tincher roared back with 19 points in the fourth, however. This quarter was lit up by Shaunice McClain who for the Tigers put up a 3 pointer in the first 10 seconds and continued on to put up a total of 14 points in the quarter, contributing to her total of 34 points during the game. Despite the Tigers’ comeback, the Wolverines kept the lead throughout the quarter with constant pressure from Mascarinas and Paige Randolph.
“I was looking to keep my composure because my coach told me if the girls sense me losing my cool, they’ll do the same,” said Huber. “I’m a kids’ coach so I’ve always gotta be intense.”
