NOT THIS TIME
Smith leads Ontario Christian over nemesis Sage Hill in Open Division regional opener
ONTARIO >> All it took was an extraordinary night at the freethrow line by Kaleena Smith and some timely 3-pointers for the Ontario Christian girls basketball team to finally defeat Sage Hill.
The Knights built an 11-point fourth quarter lead then held on for a 71-67 victory in a CIF State Open Division first-round regional playoff game Wednesday.
The third-seeded Knights (284) advance to play at No. 2 Sierra Canyon in the regional semifinals Saturday night.
Before Wednesday, Ontario Christian was 0-5 against Sage Hill in the last four years, including a 70-61 loss to the Lightning in the Redondo Tournament championship game in November.
“We finally got the monkey off our back,” Ontario Christian coach Matt Tumambing said. “They’re an amazing program, coached so well. Those girls work hard. It’s been a journey. It’s been year in, year out of taking a ring away from me, taking a state title away from me. To beat a program like that is amazing.”
It took some remarkable performances to get it done. That includes superstar freshman guard Smith, who scored a game-high 33 points, making her first 15 free throws and finishing 16 of 17 from the line, including a 9-of-10 effort in the fourth quarter.
“When I’m at the free-throw line, (it’s about) blocking the noise out. It’s just me and the rim,” Smith said. “Being able to connect 16 for 17, I feel like I really helped my team win.”
Smith also had seven assists and four rebounds.
“Kaleena is a phenomenal player,” Sage Hill coach Kerwin Walters said. “I thought we played pretty good defense. A lot of fouls were pretty straight up. Seventeen free-throw attempts, that’s a lot. But more credit to her. She does what she’s supposed to do.”