Portola Bulldogs celebrate and get a big round of applause from fans after Saturday’s win. (PHOTOS: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).
Portola’s girls basketball team is headed to the quarterfinal round of the CIF Division 2 playoffs after upsetting top seeded Glendora 44-34 Saturday night in a second round game at Portola.
To see additional photos, click on the first picture:
A big, enthusiastic crowd was on hand to cheer on the Bulldogs, who took the lead in the second quarter and never trailed after that, handing Glendora (27-3) only its third loss this year. A large contingent of Glendora fans also attended.
Glendora had an 11-game winning streak snapped.
Portola (20-10) will face Saugus (20-8) Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Saugus in the second round.
Portola used a tenacious defense from start to finish.
“It’s the number one seed and that’s not lost on us,” a calm Portola Coach Brian Barham said after the win. “That we were able to handle business is a testament to how prepared our kids were to take this on. We tried to take away what it is that they do best. Number 23 (Reagan Hermann) is a really special player … and 22 (Mia Reyes) is an outstanding catch and shoot player so we tried to eliminate those opportunities as well.
“We tried to make them beat us using their plan B.”
Portola, an at-large entry from the rugged Pacific Coast League which also includes Rosary (seeded No. 2 in Division 2) and PCL champion Sage Hill (seeded fourth in the open division) was led by senior Amelia Booth, who had 16 points and 15 rebounds and was a defensive force all night.
“She is just absolutely invincible, every time she is on the floor, she is a constant, you can’t take your eyes off of her, an incredible motor,” Barham said.
Seniors Maddy Nguyen and Kara Niho each had nine points and junior Kelcie Fan six points.
“Maddy is one of the quickest guards in Orange County,” Barham said. “She’s able to get into those gaps, compromise defenses and exploit them and that’s exactly what she did today, totally on brand.”
Portola held a 19-12 lead at halftime and extended the edge to 27-16 on a 3-pointer by Fan. The Bulldogs led by 11 points after three quarters and moved out to 40-27 lead on a basket by Booth with 4:48 remaining in the game.
Glendora cut the lead to six points with 3:24 remaining but Portola’s defense stiffened up and the Bulldogs finished the deal.
“We just knew we had to play aggressively and trust in each other,” Booth said. “I’m just excited to keep playing and I think the harder working team shows and we prepared for this well and our team was waiting for a moment to show everybody what we can do, and we got the chance to do it.”
Portola opened the playoffs Thursday, defeating Paramount 64-41 in Paramount. The Bulldogs sank 15 3-pointers in the win.
Barham downplayed the seedings in the tournament.
“In a tournament, it really doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s like, who are we playing next? Who are they? I don’t care what your record is, you throw everything out the window at this point and you just roll the ball out there and go.”
It’s possible that if the Bulldogs keep winning they could meet up with Rosary, the No. 2 seed. Rosary Academy, in the finals.
Rosary, which defeated Portola twice in league play, plays at Dos Pueblos in a quarterfinal round game Wednesday.
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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