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WEST HILLS — Chaminade girls basketball’s Payton Montgomery was met with applause when she came out of the locker room following Thursday night’s game.
It’s not a common greeting for a freshman, but Montgomery’s 26 points and 16 rebounds in the Eagles’ 75-66 CIF Southern Section playoff win over Mira Costa necessitated it.
“I had a slow couple games before,” Montgomery said. “So coming back out here, it’s playoffs, you know? I felt great, so good.”
Chaminade found an advantage in Montgomery’s post play in its first-round contest in the Division 1 playoffs at Chaminade. The Eagles will play at Riverside King on Saturday in the second round.
Chaminade (17-12) shut down a Mustangs offense that was thriving on 3-pointers.
Mira Costa (17-10) hit 10 3-pointers in the first half to build a 44-38 lead at halftime. With 6:30 left in the first quarter, the Mustangs already held a 9-5 advantage, and Chaminade didn’t catch up until Amia Witt let a shot fly from downtown to cut the deficit to 20-19.
Rebounding kept the Eagles in the game even when their shots weren’t falling. Hunter Hudson finished with 15 rebounds, and she wasn’t afraid to take on some dirty work on defense.
“We call her Dennis Rodman for a reason,” Eagles coach Megan Kelso said of Hudson. “If she scores it’s great. But she will always give you grit, rebounds and defense. She’s the logjam in the middle that we need.”
Chaminade gained an edge in the third quarter after a scary moment roughly three minutes into the frame. Senior Laila Carrillo took a hard fall in which the back of her head hit the hardwood, and that momentarily silenced the gym.
Carrillo got up and walked to the team’s bench and she later returned to the game.
She also sparked something in the Eagles.
“I think they wanted to fight for a senior,” Kelso said. “I think the girls knew if Laila can’t go, we need to win for her. I was proud of the girls for fighting for her.”
Amia Witt hit a mid-range jumper to give Chaminade a 55-52 lead – its first significant advantage of the game – with two minutes left in the third quarter. The Eagles proceeded to outscore Mira Costa 20-11 in the final quarter.
Six different Chaminade players scored in the game as part of a well-rounded offense that was led by Montgomery’s 26 points, followed by Alana Neale’s 19 points.
“It’s something we stress every night,” Kelso said. “It might be someone new, but that’s what makes us great. Find the hot hand and make the extra pass and think every time we have multiple scorers, we win.”
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Chaminade is striving for a championship after falling in the Division 1 semifinals to Camarillo by six points last season.
“Watch film on MLK and have a great practice tomorrow,” Montgomery said. “And come out Saturday just like we did today.”
MORE DIVISION 1 SCORES
Harvard-Westlake 71, Camarillo 41
LB Poly 57, Alemany 47
Oxnard 54, Westlake 44
DIVISION 2AA
Paramount 64, Burroughs/Burbank 35
Canyon 70, Covina 41
DIVISION 2A
Northview 55, Notre Dame 47
Calabasas 50, Cajon 41
DIVISION 3AA
Louisville 49, Agoura 38
Highland 64, Saugus 52
Holy Martyrs 40, Valencia 34
Corona del Mar 48, Burbank 29
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DIVISION 3A
Bell Gardens 38, Heritage Christian 23
La Canada 42, Villa Park 35
Trinity Classical Academy 68, Temple City 39
Campbell Hall 75, Hawthorne 70
DIVISION 4AA
Knight 58, Simi Valley 29
DIVISION 4A
Quartz Hill 48, Valley Christian/SM 22
DIVISION 5A
Oak Park 58, La Verne Lutheran 18
CITY SECTION
OPEN DIVISION
Granada Hills 55, San Fernando 45
Westchester 61, Taft 17
King/Drew 53, Birmingham 52
Crenshaw 69, Palisades 52