After an objective analysis, it has not in fact been all that hard to be a Jackrabbit the last few years, especially not if you’re a fan of the Poly girls’ basketball team, which last night won its fourth-straight Division I state championship with a 57-33 thumping of Monte Vista—it’s the first time a team has ever won four straight Div. I state titles.
They did it by correcting the mistakes that had plagued them for much of the CIF and state playoff brackets—they executed in the paint, they broke a low zone, they got their opponent’s star into foul trouble and kept her there, and they didn’t turn the ball over. In fact, the Jackrabbits had nearly 20 fewer turnovers in the first half of the state title game than they did in last Saturday’s regional championship. Perhaps more impressively, they finally finished their foe off—time after time, against Santiago, against Troy, against Troy again, Poly would get a lead and let it slip away. But after taking just a two point lead into halftime, the ‘Rabbits came out firing in the second half, outscoring the Mustangs 38-16 down the stretch.
Things got off to a rocky start in the first, as Monte Vista played physical ball and got Poly out of rhythm—they also packed the low zone and made it hard for Poly to execute their offense. “They defended us the way I would have defended us,” said Poly coach Carl Buggs after the game. The Mustangs also hit the boards, pulling down 11 offensive rebounds in the first half. Niveen Rasheed, the star player for Monte Vista, proved she was a force to be reckoned with in the first eight, scoring six of her team’s eight points and being credited with the assist on the other two—Poly could get nothing going, and scored just six in the first.
Poly’s depth pulled them through—they went on an 8-2 run to open the second quarter with reserves in, and 10 of their first 12 points came off the bench. An exchange of foul shots kept it tight, but it was a non-scoring play that may have had the biggest effect on the game, when Rasheed picked up her third foul with less than ten seconds to go in the half, after Monte Vista’s coach had carefully been subbing her in on offense and pulling her out on D.
The Jackrabbis rode that momentum to a 14-5 start to the third, winning the quarter 19-8 as they wore the Mustangs down. “We ran out of gas a little in the second half,” admitted Monte Vista coach Ron Hirschman, who got everything he could out of what is essentially a seven-player roster. Poly shadowed Rasheed with a man-on defender all game, making her work for every shot, and every step. “They played in my face,” she said after the game. “They made it very difficult.”
The pressure continued to wear on the Mustangs, and Poly continued to take advantage with transition baskets, and with more ease under the hoop (Poly’s bigs finished with 34 points). They started the fourth red-hot, jumping out on a 10-0 run to seal the deal, allowing them about six minutes of game time to bask in the victory, as Buggs subbed starters out one by one to get them their due. Rasheed continued to play all out, as she racked up 16 points and eight rebounds, both of which led her team—but Poly continued to pressure her, and it obviously took its toll, when a visibly exhausted Rasheed committed her fifth foul with 3:04 left in the game. She left the court to loud applause from all corners of the ARCO Arena.
When the buzzer sounded for the Jackrabbits, the scene on the floor was a combination of practiced ceremony, and unrestrained joy, as the frustration and hard work of a long season ended with a final win. Players “high-foured” each other, and danced and waved to family members in the crowd, while the coaches congratulated each other and hugged their team.
“Each one has been special,” Buggs said when asked about winning four straight titles. This one, he said, was special for him because Jackrabbit Kelli Thompson won her fourth championship ring on Saturday night, an unbreakable feat. “I don’t think it’s hit me yet,” Thompson said. “I grew up watching Poly, I’ve gone to Poly/Lynwood games since the fifth grade, so I knew the tradition even before I got here.”
Buggs and his players came up with various reasons for why their team played so hard, and executed their game plan so well on Saturday night. Brittany Wilson (7 points, 3 steals) said she thought they “just finally started being more aggressive.” Ta’Nitra Byrd (team-high 12 points) said she wanted to send the seniors off with a bang. Asked what she thought the difference was, graduating All-American Monique Oliver (10 points, game-high 7 boards) had the answer: “We wanted to create history.” By doing something no other program in this state’s past ever has, they certainly did.