LONG BEACH - Leading by just a point entering the final quarter of Wednesday night's CIF Southern Section Division 4AA quarterfinal at St. Anthony, Serra High's girls basketball team had a choice to make.
"The fourth quarter became a call to duty," said Cavaliers coach McKinley Hadley. "It was a matter of whether or not we were gonna answer the bell or be out for the count."
Senior Deandrea Toler and junior Caila Hailey each decided there was still way too much basketball to be played this season, and they directed Serra's fourth-quarter charge. Behind eight points from each in the fourth, the defending Division 4AA champs regained control of the game and earned a 58-45 quarterfinal victory at Errion gym.
"We said, `We're not gonna go home. It's too early for us,"' said Toler, who finished with a team-high 21 points as well as six rebounds and five steals. "We're trying to go back to CIF and win another championship."
The third-seeded Cavaliers (24-5) held a tenuous 39-38 lead after three quarters and went ahead 41-38 on a Hailey bucket early in the fourth. But McDonald's All-American post Kendall Cooper tied the game with a 3-pointer with 7:12 remaining, which ignited the Saints' bench and crowd, especially the students behind the home basket.
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With their transition game in high gear and St. Anthony in a shooting slump, the Cavaliers went on a 15-2 run to finally pull away.
"I thought from the end of the third quarter to the (end) of the fourth, they outplayed us," said St. Anthony coach James Anderson. "I thought our kids fought but we didn't make plays at the end to win the game."
Hailey added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Michigan-bound senior guard Siera Thompson scored 15 points and had five assists.
Senior post Tatiana Howard finished with 12 rebounds and sophomore Nautica Morrow came off the bench to contribute 12 rebounds, including several on the offensive end in the second half that kept possessions alive.
Cooper played her heart out in her prep finale, finishing with 25 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks. The 6-foot-4 Duke signee scored on putback baskets, on turnaround jumpers, on strong low post moves and in transition, including a layup off a Sierra Skiba assist early in the third that gave the sixth-seeded Saints (17-11) a 25-22 lead.
Later in the third, Cooper blocked a shot, collected the loose ball and scored on a coast-to-coast drive.
"She was great tonight," said Anderson, who benched Cooper after one quarter in two previous meetings this season against the Cavaliers. "I think she showed us she was an All-American tonight."
Senior Sydney Heard added 10 points for the Saints and Jordan Jackson scored eight. St. Anthony got into early foul trouble, with both Stephanie Williams and Gaby Moura-Hayes picking up their fourth before halftime.
-@dfeltonpt