RIVERSIDE – Max Najera came to Hillcrest looking for a better opportunity, and now the 6-foot-1 forward and her teammates on the Trojans girls basketball team are headed to the CIF Southern Section finals.
Najera had 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds as Hillcrest defeated Anaheim 66-59 on Friday night in a CIF-SS Division 4A semifinal playoff game.
“We were lucky to get her this year. We didn’t have her last year, so she’s made a big difference to this team; just huge, huge,” Hillcrest coach Tonya Miller said.
Najera made 6 of 10 free throws down the stretch to help Hillcrest (24-7 overall) advance to the first CIF-SS championship game in program history.
“This will be a dream come true for a lot of us,” said Najera, who transferred from Riverside King before the year. “Coming in as a new player I wanted to help take this team as far as we can, and I know everyone wants that as well.”
Janelle Hickey was 4 for 4 from 3-point range and finished with 20 points, and Paris Gamble had 11 points, six rebounds and three steals as the Trojans secured their seventh consecutive victory.
It was the second of Hickey’s two fourth-quarter 3-pointers that broke a 53-53 tie with 1 minute, 36 seconds remaining, and she finished the contest by going 4 for 4 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
“It’s all about trust with this team,” Najera said. “We’ve tried playing as individuals and that didn’t work, so now the trust is there. It’s about the team, and we trust that anyone can make the shot because we can see that as individuals we wouldn’t be where we are now.”
Mayleen Lopez made eight 3-pointers and a game-high 26 points, but it wasn’t enough as Anaheim (24-5) had its 16-game winning streak snapped.
“You got to value each possession,” Anaheim coach Vincent Gomez said. “We can shoot well, but it comes down to defense, and they capitalized on all our mistakes. They’re a good team.”
Freshman guard Selena Ileleji added 13 points but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter, as Anaheim missed out on its bid to return to a CIF-SS title game. The Colonists were Division 5A finalists last season.
“This team only had one senior and it’s not over,” said Gomez, alluding to the Colonists qualifying for the CIF Regional playoffs. “We’re going to come back at it hard. We’re practicing (today) and looking forward to whatever is next.”
Hillcrest ran out to a 5-0 lead on Hickey’s first shot from outside, but the Trojans struggled with turnovers and Anaheim finished the first quarter with three quick baskets and a deep 3 from Ileleji that gave the Colonists a 17-13 lead at the end of the period.
Najera came off the bench and got to work on the boards, collecting six points and seven rebounds in the first half, and Hillcrest’s defense held Anaheim to just nine points in the second quarter. The Trojans held a two-point halftime lead.
Lopez continued to bang home 3-pointers in the second half as the lead changed hands four times in the third quarter, and she made three more in the fourth as Anaheim clung to a 53-51 lead with 3:45 remaining.
“(Anaheim) is a fast team and that caught us off guard,” Miller said. “Luckily, we calmed those nerves and executed the game plan a little bit better at the end.”
Two free throws from Najera tied the game at 53-53 before a missed shot at the other end led to Hickey hitting from long range as Hillcrest took the lead with less than two minutes to play.
Anaheim’s Lopez and Ileleji both sank 3-pointers in the final minute to keep it close, but Hillcrest’s Jada Reid got a put-back basket at the offensive end, and Najera and Hickey were perfect from the line in the final minute to put the game away.