California misses its share, upset by Frazier
CALIFORNIA – With a chance to clinch a tie for the Section 3-AA title with Serra Catholic and Greensburg Central Catholic Thursday, the California High School girls basketball team dropped a 66-52 decision to Frazier on Senior Night.
“We played Frazier’s game. We needed to keep the game in the 40s, and they were in the mid-60s,” said a disappointed Chris Minerd, the head coach of the Trojans. “They killed us on the boards, they killed us on the backside and (Brooke) Poling took over.”
Frazier coach Ken Poling spoke about the difference in the game.
“We played together and hustled,” he said. “We wanted it and stepped it up in the second half.
“We were the aggressive team in the second half and wining this game in a playoff atmosphere is helping us prepare.”
Poling’s daughter Brooke, a junior who went over 1,000 points earlier this year, only had four points at halftime but finished with a game-high 26 points including 14 in the decisive third quarter.
Neither team gained much of an advantage in the first quarter, and California closed the first quarter on a 5-0 run when Grace Roberts drained a three-pointer, her third of the quarter, and led 17-12 heading into the second quarter.
Frazier took its first lead since it was 3-2 when Poling made a shot with 1:26 left in the half to make the score 27-25, and Lauren Mastowski added a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Frazier a 30-25 lead at the half.
The Commodores closed the half on a 10-0 run, and they followed that with a 9-0 run to start the third quarter. The 19-0 run erased Cal’s 30-25 lead and put the Trojans behind 39-25 with 6:12 to play in the third quarter.
“We aren’t a team that is built to come back and Frazier kept hitting shots,” Minerd said. “Frazier played better than anybody the second time around (in section play) and I knew it wouldn’t be easy.”
California got no closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Bailey Vig led Cal with 17 points, seven rebounds and five steals. Roberts finished with 16 points.
Poling added five steals for Frazier while Jovanna Isaac had 13 points and eight rebounds while Sierra Twigg added 11 points.
Frazier had 16 turnovers and Cal had 12.
The Trojans (10-4, 13-6) go from a first-place tie for the section title to third place, one game ahead of Frazier (9-5, 13-8). Frazier’s win eliminated Beth-Center from playoff contention.
“We have to regroup and hopefully third game will help us get ready for the playoffs,” Minerd said.