Dos Pueblos freshman Carly Letendre had a great look at a potentially game-tying, last-second 3-point shot in overtime — but it rimmed out, giving Cabrillo the 56-53 win Thursday.
“It looked good, and we all thought it was going in, but it rimmed out,” said her coach, Manny Murillo.
“For me it’s not so much whether you miss or make the shot, but it’s about having the confidence and courage to take the shot,” Murillo said. “For a freshman that was a big shot, miss or make. I’m proud of her for that.”
The Chargers led 28-18 at halftime, but Cabrillo rallied in the third quarter to take a 38-37 edge into the fourth. Regulation time ended in a 52-52 tie.
“We got a huge stop on defense to send it into overtime,” Murillo said. “It was one of the few times In the second half we were all on the same page defensively. I was proud of them on that possession.”
Cabrillo took the edge in the overtime period.
“The last play of the game, I called timeout with four seconds on the clock and drew up one of our many side out of bounds sets that the kids executed perfectly,” Murillo said. “Our first option wasn’t there. The ball ended up in (Justine) Katz’s hands with a pretty good look but passed up a good look to get a great look for her teammate Carly Letendre.”
Gianna Nichols led the Chargers in scoring with 14 points, adding four rebounds.
“Gianna is buying in on the defensive side of the ball and is playing smarter each game,” Murillo said.
Letendre finished with 13 points and three assists, and had the team’s highest shooting percentage.
Evette Allen nearly had a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds, and Katz said eight points and seven assists. Sierra Jewel added six points and five rebounds
“I’d like to thank God for being able to coach this group, who continues to work hard,” Murillo said. “We had a good first half playing our style, pushing the pace and playing solid pressure defense. We came out flat in the third quarter and went back-and-forth in the 4th quarter.
“Credit to Cabrillo and their coaching staff — they do a great job,” he added. “We didn’t play well defensively tonight and didn’t have the fire power on offense. This is a great learning lesson for our kids heading into our double header on Saturday against Lompoc and heading into the Tournament of Champions next week at Santa Barbara. We need to not let up on teams n keep up the pressure and pace moving forward.”
The Chargers are now 3-3 overall, and remain 2-0 in Channel League play. Cabrillo is 5-4.