No one in the bracket’s got swagger like them, a fact the Long Beach Poly girls’ basketball team was all too eager to teach the visiting Lady Mustangs of Stockdale in a second-round state playoff rout, which Poly won 76-47.  With the exception of the first half of the third quarter, Poly dominated throughout, proving that when they’re playing relaxed, confident basketball, they’re nearly impossible to beat.

Poly had come out flat against Santa Monica in the first round, possibly a post-CIF loss hangover—’Rabbits coach Carl Buggs said that against Stockdale, “We wanted to get a little of that swagger back,” which his team did to the tune of a 28-10 lead after eight minutes.  They sprinted out by pushing the tempo and racketing up transition buckets, something they have struggled to do of late.  In the second quarter, they kept pushing, leading to a 47-21 halftime lead—the offensive production, more than the defensive efficiency, is what’s so encouraging.  47 points is the most they’ve scored in the first half of a game since the CIF playoffs started, more in fact than any game they’ve played since they scored 47 in the first half against Compton almost two months ago.

“We started very well,” said Buggs, “And then we tried to come out of the half like it was zero-zero.  Obviously, that’s not always easy.”  The Mustangs got their footing in the early going, starting on a 10-0 run and not allowing a Poly point until nearly five minutes into the third.  They did it with a full court trap press that seemed to flummox the Poly guards, who’d been used to zipping down the hard-wood before Stockdale had a chance to get set.  “We knew it was coming,” said Buggs.  “We talked about it at halftime—but sometimes, kids forget things.”  The press was easier to institute since Stockdale started knocking down some jumpers, as Jalei Kinder and Melissa Sweat pushed the tempo and combined for eight. 

But after Poly settled down, they got help from key reserve players Sheila Boykin, and Kelli Thompson, who scored eight points in the final three minutes—with a long shot from Thaddesia Southall, the ‘Rabbits went on a run themselves, closing the half 8-0 to effectively cancel out the Mustangs’ hot start.  The fourth quarter was more of the same, as Sweat and Kinder continued to perform for the Mustangs, as Poly’s reserves went toe-to-toe and sealed the 29-point win. 

Afterwards, some of the Jackrabbits continued to push for perfection.  Boykin said she wanted to improve her shot selection, and work on finishing better—”Of course, we’re happy to get a win,” she added.

Buggs said his team will spend some time in practice on Wednesday working on their press break, since they can expect to see it for much of the game against Troy, as the undersized Warriors will try to use their tenacious speed to try and cancel out Poly’s size advantage.  The Warriors will face Poly in the regional semifinals at Poly on Thursday evening at 7pm—the two are familiar foes, since Poly played Troy in the semis of the CIF-SS playoffs.  If Poly comes out with the confidence and extraordinary swagger they displayed against Stockdale, it may not be as close as the last time these two teams met, which resulted in a 46-34 Poly win.

Monique Oliver with the block from behind

Ariya Crook-Williams sizes up Alyssa Shannon, a five-foot tall point guard for the Mustangs.