Presented another chance in the CIF Southern California Regional tournament, the Culver City High girls basketball team was determined to make amends for its semifinal loss to Norco in the Southern Section Division 2A playoffs.
Knowing the game could be their last this season, the Centaurs played tough Wednesday night at Monache of Porterville, but when the final buzzer sounded the seventh-seeded Marauders had prevailed 62-42 to advance to the quarterfinals against No. 2 Riverside J.W. North (28-6), the Southern Section 2AA runner-up, which got a first-round bye.
After falling behind 13-7 in the first quarter, the Ocean League-winning Centaurs (22-9) played virtually even with the Central Section champions throughout the second quarter and were within striking distance at halftime, down only 29-22.
However, spurred on by its home crowd, Monache (24-2) seized control of the game with a 19-9 third-quarter spurt to open a 17-point lead heading into the final eight minutes. The Centaurs got to within nine points in the third quarter before senior co-captain Jenae Alcantar and Celine Montgomery made three-pointers to increase the Marauders' advantage back to 15.
Alcantar finished with 19 points and four steals, Dominique Pilkinton added 16 points and Alexandria Tobie dominated in the post with 11 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks as the East Yosemite League winners held off two final Culver City surges to post their 20th consecutive win.
It was just the second loss in 11 games for the Centaurs.
Score by Quarters
1
2
3
4
Final
Culver City
7 159
11 42 Monache13
16
19
14
62
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