Troy’s Defeat Leaves Foul Taste
By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
RAFU SPORTS EDITOR
Saturday, March 21, 2009

Warriors’ 3-for-12 performance at the free throw line is their
undoing in CIF state semifinal against Long Beach Poly.

Alysa Ito launches a three-point basket that brought Troy to within two points of Long Beach Poly on Thursday, March 12.

Stephanie Yano is tripped up by one of the Jackrabbits, earning a trip to the free throw line where Troy converted only 3-12 for the game.

LONG BEACH.–Troy had an upset of three-time defending state champion Long Beach Poly in the making, but it stopped at the free throw line. Troy’s struggles Thursday were best illustrated by junior Stephanie Yano, who was fouled as time expired in the first half.

With the heavily favored Long Beach Poly team already in the locker room and Troy trailing, 21-20, Yano stood alone at the charity with the chance to tie or give the Warriors the
lead going into the break.

She missed them both, wincing as if she’d been pinched.

Yano, who otherwise played a feisty game and scored four off the bench, was by no means alone in her free throw futility. As a team, Troy made a dismal three foul shots out of 12  chances, a glaring stat in their 44-38 loss to host Poly in the semifinals of the girls basketball Division I Regional State Championships.

Away from the foul line, Troy, who lost to the same Jackrabbits squad in the CIF Southern Section semifinals, played well, keeping close to the much larger and deeper Poly team. The defense was tenacious and largely succeeded in containing six-foot-plus All-American
Monique Oliver for most of the game, forcing her into at least three traveling violations and holdong her to a total of three points.

The Warriors even managed to take a 24-21 lead in the third quarter, before a Poly three-pointer tied it. Defense ruled the third frame, with both teams managing only five points.

With Poly feeling the threat in the fourth, they went with their tallest possible lineup, and the recipe of dominating on the offensive boards and blocking at the other end proved effective against the faster but shorter Troy players.

Still, Troy was in it until the end. With 16 seconds left to play, the Warriors narrowed the score to 40-38, on three-point shots from Kristen Chikami and then Alysa Ito. On the following inbound pass, Troy managed a steal, but kicked the ball out of bounds–one of several costly turnovers in the game.

The Jackrabbits then calmly sank their next four foul shots–one better than Troy’s output for the entire game–to secure the win.

Troy assistant coach Alicia Komaki said it boiled down to her team being able to score and they simply couldn’t get it done.

“We were in this game the entire time and honestly, it came down to free throws. We were three for 12 and we lose by six. We had every chance in the world. We’re undersized, but we battled inside and we played great defense. Any team that plays great defense can win basketball games, and that’s what we’ve done all year long.”
 
Ito, who finished with 10 points in her final high school game, emerged from the visitors locker room with her eyes red and swollen from the flow of tears and emotion.

“When I woke up this morning, I had the feeling that we were going to win,,” she said, holding back more tears. “We were close.”

Ito said the Warriors were their own worst enemy, missing free throws and open shots and turning the ball over at critical points.

“We were so close, from freshman year to now. It’s like a blur,” she said.

Chikami had seven points on the night. Troy only loses two players to graduation
next season and Komaki said their approach won’t change.

“We’re going to be a defensive team until the day we die,” she said. “Anyone who wants to learn how to play defense should come to Troy and we’ll teach you how to do it.”

Yano, who showed impressive quickness off the dribble Thursday will be a prime candidate next year to fill the point guard shoes of Ito, who is weighing her options for college.

“Steph’s a great player,” Komaki said. “She played with confidence and showed tonight that she wanted to win a game.”