Girls Hoops: Tologs Miss Opportunity for Upset

Lana Haddad had a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) for the Flintridge Sacred Heart basketball team on Thursday, but was outshined by Hannah Johnson (25 points, 11 rebounds) who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to lead Alemany to a 66-56 come-from-behind victory.

“Games like this will become the norm for Lana once she reaches her potential,” FSHA coach Gino Pacella said. “She has some nice moves in the paint. She just needs to know when to be aggressive.”

Alemany led throughout the first quarter, but the Tologs were able to keep pace behind two 3-pointers by Vanessa Romero. Johnson displayed her skills early by making a 16-foot jump shot midway through the period and a difficult step back jumper just before the buzzer to give the Warriors a 17-13 lead.

“She was tough to stop all night,” Pacella said. “She’s a good player for just being a freshman.”

FSHA played Alemany evenly in the second quarter, thanks to some nifty passing by Dana Budzyn. Following a timeout, Budzyn made a nice inbound pass to Haddad under the basket for a layup. Two minutes later Budzyn dribbled along the baseline and made a bounce pass through two defenders to Haddad for another layup to cut the lead to 28-22.

With 10 seconds remaining in the half, Olivia Warner stole the ball from Alemany and made a long pass to Ivy Fitzgerald who made a bank shot just before the buzzer to close the deficit to 31-27.

FSHA (14-10, 3-5 in the Mission League) opened the third quarter with an 8-2 run. Warner made a jump shot off an assist from Budzyn to start things off. Haddad made a tip-in basket off her own missed shot and then Stephanie Ramsden hit a long bucket to tie the game at 33.

The Tologs took their first lead of the game when Budzyn dribbled around the Warriors’ perimeter and passed to Haddad for a layup. Alemany (13-12, 6-2) hung tough, but another assist from Budzyn to Haddad and a basket from Romero gave FSHA a 44-41 lead.

“We played great for three quarters,” said Haddad. “But we turned the ball over too much and missed too many free throws.”

The Tologs left the door open for a Warrior comeback by sinking just 10 of 25 free throws in the game. Adversely, Johnson shot a perfect 6 of 6 from the line in the fourth quarter.

The game was tied at 47 with five minutes remaining when Johnson grabbed an offensive rebound and drew a foul from Haddad, making both free throws. Johnson then scored on a fast break layup after a Tolog turnover. On the next play Johnson blocked a layup by Budzyn and passed up the court to Alexander Moon who made a layup to give the Warriors a 56-48 lead they would not relinquish.

Budzyn had a game-high six assists while Romero scored 14 points with four steals. The Tologs remain in fourth place in the Mission League, but they stand a good shot at receiving at at-large bid into the playoffs with their 13 wins overall. FSHA will play at Harvard-Westlake next Tuesday.