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Tesoro’s girls basketball team added yet another chapter to its underdog story with a dramatic 45-43 victory against visiting Savanna in the first round of the CIF Southern California Regional on Tuesday.
Center Charlotte Marvin made a go-ahead layup with about 17 seconds left to help lift the Titans into the second round Thursday at No. 1 seeded Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary.
Marvin’s basket, off an assist by Sammie Burkett, gave the Titans (24-11) a 44-43 lead. After a foul shot by Jade McMahon with 3.9 seconds left extended the lead to 45-43, Tesoro forced a missed shot at the final buzzer before celebrating with its student section at center court.
For a school that three days earlier claimed the CIF-SS Division 4AA title after finishing 4-23 last season, it was quite the postgame scene.
“It’s like a Cinderella story but we have the keys to the place,” second-year Tesoro coach Ra Reyes said, “because the future looks pretty good.”
“It’s a curve (of progress),” the coach added. “To watch them grow in that moment and to make those decisions in crunch time just speaks to the level of confidence they’re playing at right now. I love to see it.”
Marvin’s basket highlighted a frantic final two minutes of the fourth quarter filled with clutch baskets after the teams went just over three minutes without scoring.
The go-ahead shot answered a steal and layup in the backcourt by Savanna’s Jazara Madrid. who gave the Rebels a 43-42 lead with 25 seconds left.
Tesoro responded with a long inbound pass from sophomore point guard Kaitlyn Tse to Burkett at midcourt. Burkett took three dribbles to reach the Savanna free throw line and fed Marvin in the low post.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Marvin said of the Titans’ postseason, which include a 53-45 win against Savanna in the Division 4AA semifinals. “I’m really glad I made that shot at the end. I think it really helped us win.”
Tse led Tesoro with a game-high 13 points, including a 3-pointer from the corner for a 42-41 lead with 1:23 left.
Marvin had 12 points and 21 rebounds. The 6-foot-2 junior has grabbed a single-season school record 431 rebounds.
Madrid scored a team-high 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Savanna (21-7). Scarlett Valentin added five of her 11 points in the fourth, including a basket for a 41-39 lead with 1:42 remaining.
In other CIF SoCal Regional games:
In Division III:
Palisades 59, El Toro 45: Junior Mia Cubacub scored 17 points in the loss for the CIF-SS Division 3A champion Chargers.
In Division II:
Portola 62, Victory Christian 46: Senior Nina Saiki scored 26 points to lead the Bulldogs (18-15) into the second round Thursday at El Capitan.
In Division I:
Fairmont Pre 81, Birmingham 61: Adyra Rajan scored 27 points, including five 3-pointers, and Sarah Aldeguer added 20 points to lead the top-seeded Huskies (22-10), who play host to Harvard-Westlake in the second round Thursday.
Sage Hill 67, Westchester 35: Amalia Holguin and Kamdyn Klamberg each scored 16 points for the No. 2 Lightning (20-11), who play host to Moreno Valley in the second round Thursday.
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