GIRLS BASKETBALL: Pinewood Defeats Eastside Prep in WBAL Final

Pinewood 43, Eastside Prep 40

The Stars: Pinewood guards Miranda Seto and Hailie Eackles both finished the game in double figures. Seto rebounded from a six-point outing in the two teams last meeting to score 12 points in Saturday’s league tournament finale. Seto scored her team’s first seven points, while Eackles added 11 points and reserve forward Leeana Bade chipped in 10 points. Bade stepped in beautifully for starting post player Angelina Mapa. Mapa and Eastside starting center Hashima Carothers each were called for three fouls in the first four minutes of the game.

Eastside Prep senior Ahjalee Harvey was held to only four points in the first half, but woke up in a big way in the second stanza. The smooth guard scored 10 points in the second half and nearly added three more during her teams final possession of the night.

The Turning Point: Pinewood led by 10 points after one and by nine points at the halftime break. Things began to turn in the second half as Eastside crept its way back into the game. Eastside would get as close as one point late in the fourth quarter, but a timely corner triple from Pinewood senior guard Kelsey Morehead extended the lead back out to four points with 40 seconds left in the contest. Down by three, Eastside forced a steal on the sideline and had one final crack at sending the game to overtime. Eastside guard Ahjalee Harvey connected on a clutch triple to force overtime in the two schools last meeting, but her 3-point try didn’t fall on this night.  

The Quotes: “Pinewood played a great game,” Eastside Prep head coach Donovan Blythe said after the championship nail biter. “Harvey had a great look. I’m sure if we could rewind it and have her shoot that one again, we’d be in overtime right now.”

 What's Next? Eastside Prep will await the announcement of the Central Coast Section Playoff seeding on Sunday. Both Pinewood and Eastside will compete in the Division V draw.

Bottom Line: Early foul trouble after a lengthy delay to start the game left the Eastside Prep bunch a little out of whack early. The 30 minute delay was due to the lack of game officials. Once the game got rolling, Pinewood came out cooking and opened up a 16-6 advantage after one. The hard-nosed defense and grit displayed by Eastside showed that even without senior guard Leanne Martin, this group will be a tough out in the CCS playoffs. Martin, a starting guard the past few season and the best one-on-one perimeter defender on the Eastside roster, was lost for the season with a knee injury earlier this month.

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