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When Long Beach Jordan needed a stop Asia Edwards answered the call.
When the Panthers needed a bucket as Glendale chipped away their lead, Edwards answered with a coast-to-coast layup or a game-clinching free throw.
The junior point guard did whatever she needed to do Saturday night as Jordan defeated Glendale 48-41 to advance to the CIF-SS Division 4AA quarterfinals. It will be Jordan’s first appearance in the third round of the playoffs since 2010.
“During halftime everyone came together,” Edwards said. “We knew we needed to score, the score was getting close. In the third they started catching up and my coaches told me ‘You need a bucket here’ and I got it.”
Jordan led wire-to-wire and appeared to be on their way to punching their ticket to the quarterfinals, but Glendale kept the pressure on throughout the game.
After taking a 19-7 lead after the first period, the Nitros went on a 9-2 run led by five points from Christina Koshkerian as Glendale cut Jordan’s lead to five forcing the Panthers to take a timeout with 3:40 remaining in the second quarter.
“Give Glendale some credit,” Jordan coach Wesley Rosenbaum said. “They came out not ready to sit down, but that’s kind of who we are. They made it a tight game in the third and everyone found a way.”
As Glendale started to chip away at Jordan’s lead, Breanna Patu and Julie Davis each scored as the Panthers answered right back to go on a 8-0 run capped by an Edwards three as they pushed the lead back to 13 leading 31-18 at halftime.
The Nitros utilized a zone defense to start the second half and it proved to be effective as Glendale went on a 17-6 in the third to cut Jordan’s lead to two points heading into the final quarter.
In the final period, Glendale cut the lead to three, but that would be the closest the Nitros got as Patu and Edwards got clutch baskets to hold off the visitors.
“It wasn’t coming for her scoring,” Rosenbaum said of Patu. “She was our leading scorer from our Whittier game 15 with a double double. But it just wasn’t coming for her as far as scoring. So we just talked to her and said ‘It’s just not going in for you right now on offense but we got to get you rebounding and get you back hustling to get involved.’”
After Glendale switched to man defense in the fourth quarter, Rosenbaum said he felt confident in their man offense.
He was right as the Panthers outscored the Nitros 10-6 in the final quarter to take the win.
Jordan will be in the quarterfinals next Wednesday, on the road against the winner of Flintridge Sacred Heart and Shalhevet, who will play their second-round contest on Monday evening.
