IRVINE – Beckman had beaten the third-seeded team in the first round, and wiped out a 14-point deficit against a defending CIF Southern Section champion in the second. But fate can be a cruel prankster, and it teased Beckman with a victory Saturday only to yank it away in overtime.
Palos Verdes, trying to win a second title in a row, took another step toward that goal by scoring a road victory over Beckman, 60-54, behind a 27-point onslaught by junior Maddie Farnsworth.
With its victory, Palos Verdes (19-10) will play at Hart of Newhall on Wednesday in the quarterfinal round of the Division 2AA playoffs. Beckman ends its season 22-8.
“I told the girls that this is playoff basketball, they’re all going to be close,” Palos Verdes coach Dan Rho said. “You have to earn it.”
Although the stars shone for Palos Verdes – Quinn Tamashiro scored 15 points and freshman Jenna Lee added 8 – it also got a 10-point effort from Katie Golden, who scored six more than her average. And the Sea Kings needed every one of them.
Beckman’s Taylor Tam made a 3-point basket with 17 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 48.
Palos Verdes missed a layup in the final seconds, but avoided defeat when Tamashiro blocked a 3-point shot by Jeanette Fabella with two seconds remaining.
“When we hit the 3 to go to overtime, I thought that would carry us,” Beckman coach Jason Edgmon said. “But they scored that bank shot on the first possession and regained the momentum.
“The girls played hard, we just didn’t finish.”
That bank shot in overtime was Golden’s 8-footer off the glass just 30 seconds into the five-minute OT. It was a basket that allowed Palos Verdes to take a breath and quell the momentum shift. But Beckman wasn’t going down without a battle. Undersized and scrappy, the Patriots took a 51-50 lead on A.K. Prakashchander’s inside move with 2:17 to go.
After a free throw, Farnsworth scored on a scoop play for a 53-51 lead. Fabella answered with two free throws tie it at 53.
Lee drove the lane and put up a left-handed layup for a 55-53 advantage with 1:04 remaining. Palos Verdes would never cede the lead after that.
Beckman’s Tam made one of two free throws, but a steal, a missed layup and another miss on the subsequent three possessions ended Beckman’s chances for victory. Conversely, Farnsworth drove the lane, Tamashiro converted two free throws, and Golden converted one to close it out in style.
“Once we regrouped before the overtime, we were able to regain our composure, play our game, pass the ball, and get whatever we could,” Farnsworth said. “In the end, it worked.”
Rho used four guards against Beckman in the overtime to combat their speed.
With the core players back from last year’s team, and the addition of a starting freshman in Lee, Palos Verdes may be poised for a few more games.
It looked like Palos Verdes would win in a walk. After leading, 15-13, after one quarter, a 12-0 run stretched the lead to 14 points. The Sea Kings had made 9 of 14 from the field at that point. But Beckman rallied behind freshman Zeina Mitkhal, who scored eight points in the quarter as the Patriots took a 28-27 lead into halftime.
The teams were tied at 39 after three quarters and 48 after four.
Although there were moments that cost Beckman, the Patriots were inefficient on offense. They turned the ball over 19 times – 18 in regulation – and were 18 of 54 (33 percent) from the field. Conversely, Palos Verdes also had 19 turnovers – none in overtime – and made 21 of 47 (44.7 percent).
Beckman’s only senior starter, Alexia Gallegos, fouled out in the fourth quarter, with 3:07 left and tied at 43-43. She saw limited minutes before that because of foul trouble – she picked up her third with 5:23 left in the second quarter. She’s the best defender for the Patriots and had drawn the task of guarding Farnsworth. But the rest of the Patriots will be back next season.
“It hurt us on defense and it hurt our depth,” Edgmon said.
Junior Natasha Jafari led Beckman with 14 points. Prakashchander added 12, Mitkhal 10 and Tam 8.
Prakashchander, the freshman, may have put it into the best perspective for Beckman, which set a school record for victories this season.
“There’s going to be more big games for us,” she said.
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