Christopher High girls basketball coach Heather Stewart implored her team to dig in defensively in the final seconds Thursday night.
The Cougars did exactly that – twice – on their way to the first Central Coast Section quarterfinal bid in program history.
Christopher committed a backcourt violation with 6.9 seconds left, but San Jose missed a driving baseline layup, then turned the ball over with 0.8 left. The Cougars took over and ran out the clock for a 41-39 Division III second-round win over the visiting Bulldogs.
“We wanted to make sure everyone dug in and denied on defense and stood their ground,” Stewart said. “We had to want it more in the last six seconds, and I think that’s what we did.”
Keisha Abraham poured in a game-high 26 points for San Jose (20-7), but the senior point guard was unable to convert a tough layup on the Bulldogs’ first chance to tie the game in the final 6.9 seconds.
Cydney Caradonna made 1 of 2 free throws with 17.5 seconds left to give Christopher a 41-39 lead, and the Cougars held on.
Sixth-seeded Christopher (16-6) advanced to play third-seeded San Jose Notre Dame (19-8) in the quarterfinals at 2:45 p.m. Saturday. The game will be played at Christopher, which had been selected as a neutral site.
“We’re excited to move on. We’re not excited to just survive,” Stewart said. “We feel like we didn’t play up the capability of our team tonight, and that takes nothing away from San Jose. They came out and fought hard. They shot well, and that guard (Abraham) broke us down quite a bit tonight.”
Olivia Tabron led the Cougars with 13 points, including seven in the fourth quarter.
Her older sister, Hanna Tabron, scored 11 for Christopher, which got six points each from Maddie Peterson and Teresa Guerra.
Stewart was glad to see her team win its playoff opener after suffering a 47-31 loss to Los Gatos last year.
“I’m just proud of the fact that we got past this game,” Stewart said. “I’m proud of them fighting the last few possessions.”
