Marshall guides Lynwood to CIF regional crown
RANCHO CUCAMONGA >> Rayah Marshall had to deal with two or three defenders in nearly every situation through three quarters of Lynwood’s CIF Southern California girls basketball regional final Saturday, so she turned provider, doing the tough work to find or open space for teammates as the Knights took control early at Etiwanda and held on, precariously at times.
Then the 6-foot-3, USC-bound, inside-outside threat took command down the stretch, dominating in the paint and pouring in free throws as Lynwood pulled away to a 58-47 Division 1-AA triumph to claim its sixth regional title and first major championship since sweeping the Southern Section, regional and state Division II crowns eight years ago.
The state championship games were canceled this season.
Marshall scored 17 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as the Knights (18-4), whose double-digit lead was cut to a point late in the third quarter, left no doubts in a spirited, often frenzied and too often sloppy encounter.
“Every year we work for a championship, and if we fall short, we just keep pushing, we keep working,” said Ellis Barfield, who has guided Lynwood to 10 of its 11 sectional titles and all six regional and five state championships captured since 1993. “These young ladies for four years, we’ve been grinding them, the nucleus of this team, so they’re deserving of this.
“I remind them of the opportunity they have, even to have the season through COVID, and we just kept working, we got better, I’ve seen the improvement, I’ve seen the hunger, the desire. I’m happy they can leave their legacy, leave their mark. That’s what it’s all about.”
The Knights used an active defense led by 5-4 guard Jana Turner, the smallest player on the court, and got strong performances down low from sophomore Jaushlynn Ruffin, who scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and point guard Brillyah Taylor, who scored 10 points and dished off six assists.
Etiwanda (18-6), which had lost to Lynwood in an end-ofregular-season tuneup and edged the Knights in overtime in a Southern Section Open Division pool-play game, couldn’t match the visitors’ intensity when it mattered.
The Eagles, who turned young — they started two freshmen and two sophomores — when 6-3, Fresno State-bound star Jessica Peterson stepped away and 6-foot junior Daisia Mitchell suffered a broken leg in May, missed nine of their first 10 shots in the first quarter and their first eight attempts in the second quarter en route to a 17of-67 evening.
Etiwanda, which was seeking its first major girls basketball title after dropping Southern Section finals in 2013 and 2015 and the regional Open title game to Long Beach Poly in 2014, also turned the ball over 22 times — Lynwood had 19 turnovers — and could only find nine points from 21 offensive rebounds.
“Maturity-wise, we weren’t really up for the challenge at times,” Eagles coach Stan Delus said. “Our silly turnovers caught up with us, we weren’t able to sustain a flow. I thought we still had a chance to make a run, we put ourselves in position, but we just weren’t able to defensively keep it together and rebound the whole game . ...
“It came down to the fact that (Lynwood’s) seniors wanted it more than our underclassmen.”
Taylor scored five points as Lynwood opened an 11-2 lead over the first five minutes, then hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for an 18-11 edge heading into the second period (with freshman Kennedy Smith scoring 10 of her team-best 15 points for Etiwanda). The Knights’ edge fluctuated between 4 and 10, before a 10-2 Etiwanda run — fueled by two Destiny Agubata baskets and four Majesty Cade free throws — cut the lead to 32-31 with 33 seconds left in the third quarter.
Jada Laititi’s buzzer-beating 3 pushed Lynwood’s advantage to 4, and then Marshall took over in the final period, leading 5-0 and 6-0 tears that put Etiwanda away. The Knights kept Agubata from getting good looks at the basket and limited her to nine points, but she grabbed 14 rebounds.
“This feels like a job accomplished ...,” said Marshall, who posted her ninth straight double-double and 14th in 19 games this season and averaged a double-double in each of her four seasons at Lynwood. “We played this game with a chip on our shoulder {after the 72-71 home loss two weeks earlier).
“In the fourth, I did what I had to do. This is my senior year. I had to go out with a bang.”