As was predicted on the staging-live.lbpost.com Sports Night podcast, both the mens and womens Poly vs. Millikan basketball games were more than worth the price of admission on Friday evening.
On the men’s side, it was all Poly in the first half, but Millikan battled back with a big run in the 3rd quarter. Check the video below to see how this Moore League battle ended.
Guest sportswriter Mike Guardabascio muses on the women’s matchup below.
The bleachers were pulled out, the posters scotch-taped to the wall, and Milikan’s gym absolutely filled to capacity, setting the stage for the biggest Moore League high school girls’ basketball game in recent memory. Earlier in the year, Milikan beat Poly on the Jackrabbits’ home floor, a stunning upset that served to heighten the tension for the Friday night special. Milikan sought to pull off a second upset behind star senior Courtney Clements, while Poly came in looking to prove they’ve earned their fifth-in-the-nation ranking, and needing a victory to merely stay in the hunt for what most assumed would be an easy Moore League title this season. The crowd, which was evenly split between Milikan and Poly fans, was fully aware of the importance of the game, filling the gym with their presence, and a deafening noise.
The first quarter opened at breakneck pace, with both teams playing incredibly tight on defense, making ball movement and open-floor running nearly impossible. Poly’s signature full-court press and stifling ball defense were in full effect, hampering Milikan’s star two players, and making it hard for anyone on the team to find a good look. At the end of a hard-fought and evenly matched first half, the ‘Rabbits were up by seven, 29-22. But the game felt much tighter than the score indicated.
Then came the third quarter. Poly Coach Carl Buggs must have given a doozy of a speech in the locker room, because the ‘Rabbits came out looking to end the game in the next eight minutes. Which they did. Milikan’s brightest star, senior Courtney Clements, was shut out in the third quarter, and junior phenom Ashley Mitchell was defended effectively by Poly junior Kelli Thompson, the unsung hero of the game. Thompson’s tight defensive play set the tone for Poly, and a three-pointer with a few minutes left in the quarter opened the Poly lead to 13 points, which ended up being the nail in the coffin as Poly went on to win by that score. All told, Poly scored fifteen points in the third, while allowing a mere seven to Milikan’s offense. At the end of the third, Poly had a commanding 44-29 lead, and had all but put the Rams away.
Milikan came back from a ten-point deficit in their earlier matchup, but they did so on the strength a 15-point second half from Clements. Friday night, she had three second-half points. The fourth quarter was merely a formal consideration in this game, as Poly went on to win, 55-42, in a Moore League matchup of huge significance. Poly star Jasmine Dixon had another huge game, scoring 19 points and grabbing 16 boards, including the first six points of that crucial third quarter. The two powerhouses are now tied for the lead in the League and, with neither team likely to lose between now and the end of the season, appear to be headed for a shared League title and a potential CIF rematch. Anyone who was at Friday’s game has got to be crossing their fingers for that scenario.