A strong start for Hart girls’ basketball in its quarterfinal playoff game on Wednesday ended in a heartbreaking overtime loss.
Traveling to Palos Verdes High School for the right to play in the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA semifinals, the Hart Hawks were up 24-10 after the first quarter. But the Palos Verdes Sea Kings continued to battle back and even held a lead late in regulation.
The Hawks were able to force overtime, only for Palos Verdes to come away with a 67-64 win.
It means the end of the line for the four Hart seniors — Morgan Mack, Andrea Aina, Emery Eav and Rebekah MacLeod — who have helped guide the Hawks to three consecutive Foothill League titles and a Southern Section championship appearance.
“It was tough,” Hart head coach Jerry Mike said in a phone interview. “There were tears in the locker room. We talked about each one of them, thanked them. They really elevated the program, those four seniors. They did a lot for Hart basketball, and we told them that. We’re gonna miss them.”
Mack had 28 points to finish her career with 1,814 points as she gets ready for her post-high school career at Long Beach State.
Mike said that in his 35 years of coaching, Mack ranks as an “all-timer” in the Foothill League.
Aina had 21 points and finished with 1,076 points in her career.
The Hawks were down four late in the game on Wednesday. Aina hit a putback attempt late to force overtime.
“Nothing to feel bad about. We left it all out there,” Mike said. “It was just a good team. They won their division last year. They were really solid. You couldn’t just not guard somebody; everybody could play on the court.”
Mike said the big difference after the first quarter was Palos Verdes switching from a 1-3-1 halfcourt defense to a man-to-man defense.
While Mack and Aina did most of the scoring — as they did throughout the entire season — Mike also credited Eav for being the team’s point guard and scrapping on every play.
“Emery Eav had great year at point guard, running the game and handling the ball,” Mike said. “She doesn’t get the recognition that others get, but she’s a key player.”
It’s been quite the three-year run for the Hawks, who went 34-2 in league play and had one perfect league campaign.
But now Mike has to retool after seeing key cogs in that run move on. He returns Faith Purfoy and Taylor Koebel, both of whom started this year and will be seniors next year. Chloe Judd also saw a decent amount of playing time and will also be a senior.
“We’re gonna take a little time off and then try to figure stuff out,” Mike said. “We have some youngsters who we need to get in the gym and see what they can do. We have Faith and Taylor back, two experienced players, and Chloe was on the team the last couple of years. It’s good that they were with us, so it’s not like a total fresh start.”
