Girls Basketball: Mustangs’ Rally Falls Short Against Serra

The third quarter was the Muir girls basketball team’s undoing. The Mustangs fell behind by 15 points in the second half, and then rallied in the fourth quarter only to see their effort come up short.

Seventh-seeded Muir fell 69-61 at home to Serra in the quarterfinals of the CIF-Southern Section 3AA playoffs on Wednesday.

Muir (21-8) came within five points in the fourth quarter, but the Cavaliers hit their free throws down the stretch to advance to the next round. Serra made 19 of 32 shots at the line.

“The thing that makes me feel good is that they didn’t quit,” Muir coach Gary Johnson said. “They played hard 'til the end. You know what, we fell short.”

In the third quarter Serra outscored Muir 19-7 and the Mustangs looked flat. Freshman forward Emoni Jackson brought Muir back to life with big plays in the paint.

Jackson had 16 points, 14 rebounds and three steals. She went 8-for-14 from the field, taking advantage of Serra center Rejane Verin’s foul trouble in the fourth quarter. Jackson made her last five shots of the game while Verin sat the majority of the final period.

Verin was tough down low when she was on the court. She finished with eight points and matched Jackson’s rebound total with 14.

“I thought I played well,” Jackson said. “I had some mistakes. But that was a good team.”

Jackson fouled out with 1:48 to play. Two other Mustangs fouled out, Christian Conner at the 1:26 mark and Tyler Polk with one second left in the third quarter.

Polk finished with nine points. Conner had two points and five rebounds. Ahsia Owens started off hot, hitting her first five shots, but went ice cold from that point, making just two of her next 10. She finished with 15 points.

“We weren’t making our shots, but we played a good game,” Owens said. “We played hard and it hurts to see us out of the playoffs. It’s frustrating.”

Point guard Jordan Jackson was off the mark as well. She missed her first nine shots before catching fire in the fourth quarter. Jordan Jackson finished with 13 points.

Serra (25-5) was led by Simone Thompson’s 20 points on 7 of 17 shooting. She hit five shots from beyond the arc. Nicole Collins scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Collins went 6-for-8 from the free throw line. Bria Richardson had 15 points, draining nine out of 14 free throws.

“We were able to execute at the end and hold on,” Serra coach McKinsey Hadley said. “Muir is an excellent team. There was an ebb and flow to this game. It was a great win to prepare us for the next game.”

Serra will play the winner Arroyo Grande and Diamond Ranch on Saturday.

“Our girls kept playing so I can’t complain much,” Gary Johnson said. “They kept fighting so I was happy about that.”