Girls’ Division I : Morningside Gets Past Point Loma, 45-44

Lisa Leslie scored a game-high 22 points despite sitting out almost a full quarter with four fouls to lead the Morningside High School girls’ basketball team to a 45-44 victory over San Diego Point Loma in the Southern Regional Division I championship Saturday night at the Sports Arena.

The Monarchs, who improved to 32-1, advanced to next Saturday’s State final at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. Morningside will face Oakland Fremont, a 50-47 winner over Orinda Miramonte in the Northern Regional final. It will be Morningside’s second consecutive appearance in the championship game.

Morningside took a 17-0 lead five minutes into the game but led by just 30-27 at halftime. The Monarchs trailed, 36-30, with 2:24 left in the third quarter and tied the score, 36-36, heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the lead changed hands for the eighth and final time on a turnaround eight-foot jump shot by Leslie, a 6-foot-5 junior, with 55 seconds left.

Point Loma was called for a double dribble violation with 27 seconds left and then fouled JoJo Witherspoon with 13 seconds left. Witherspoon missed the front end of the one-and-one, and Leslie missed a short shot off the offensive rebound.

With 11 seconds to play, Point Loma’s Jo Filer grabbed a rebound and headed downcourt. Thinking there was less time remaining than there actually was, she let loose a 28-foot shot with 7 seconds to play that bounced off the backboard and into the hands of Witherspoon.

After the miss, Witherspoon held onto the ball around the Pointers’ free-throw line for 5 seconds without anyone fouling her.

Filer, a 5-8 senior guard, led Point Loma (32-2) with 20 points.

Said Filer: “I thought there was only 3 seconds left. I couldn’t see the scoreboard overhead because I didn’t want to look up. And I couldn’t see the (auxiliary scoreboard) because there was something in the way.”

Said Morningside Coach Frank Scott: “Point Loma is not the most physical team, but it certainly has the most aggressive defense we’ve faced all year. “They denied inside well.”