PASADENA -- Right from the opening tip off, the members of the Muir High girls’ basketball team found themselves in trouble against St. Bernard’s up-tempo style.
Before the Mustangs could finally fathom what happened, they were trailing by double digits.
Unfortunately for the fifth-seeded Mustangs, they couldn’t recover and saw their season end Wednesday night with a 67-49 home defeat against fourth-seeded St. Bernard in a CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA quarterfinal contest called with 1:35 left in the fourth quarter after Muir’s Tahniya Sweatt suffered what appeared to be a neck injury after being fouled.
St. Bernard (24-7) raced out to a 12-0 lead, with six of the points coming on the fast break. Muir didn’t score until Emoni Jackson made a shot to bring the Mustangs to within 12-2 with 4:28 left in the first quarter.
“The fast-break points killed us,” said Muir Coach Gary Johnson, whose team finished 27-4 after winning the Pacific League championship and picking up playoff victories against Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and St. Anthony. “We had nobody back.
“They just beat us in every phase of the game. They had a lot of hustle points.”
Johnson said St. Bernard Coach Bo Corona and the three officials agreed with him to stop the game after Sweatt was fouled by Brianna Willis while battling for a loose ball. Sweatt was crumpled on the sidelines near the bleachers before being attended to by paramedics. Sweatt was transported to a local hospital for observation.
“I don’t think it was intentional,” said Johnson, who received a game-high 21 points from Jackson. “They were going after the ball.”
St. Bernard, which advanced to the Division V-AA and Division V state championships games last season, held a 40-23 halftime advantage.
Corona, whose team captured the Del Rey League titles and followed up with postseason wins against Nordhoff and Morro Bay, said the Vikings looked to get off to a quick start.
“We got a lot of transition baskets quickly,” said Corona, who got 17 points from Michelle Curry and 12 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks from Lajahna Drummer. “Our defense has to set up our offense.
“We are a team that’s battle tested and young at the same time.”
Muir played better in the third quarter, closing to within 44-35 on a three-pointer by Shaela Flynn with 2:02 left. However, St. Bernard, which will meet top-seeded Windward or Gardena Serra in a semifinal game Saturday, closed out the quarter on an 8-0 run to make it 52-35.
Jackson said the Mustangs exceeded expectations.
“When you go 27-4, what can you say?,” Jackson said. “I’m proud of our team.
“[St. Bernard] is a really fast team. We couldn’t get back on their fast breaks.”
Muir got 15 points from Flynn and 10 from Sweatt.
