Lady Sea Hawks Win First Playoff Game in Four Years

It all went according to plan for Redondo Union.

“It played out just how I thought it would,” Redondo coach Marcelo Enriquez said. “I had a feeling we were going to come out nervous and anxious.”

Redondo struggled in the first half before turning up the intensity in the third and fourth quarters, earning a 56-44 victory over Long Beach Millikan in the opening round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 1AA girls basketball playoffs Thursday night at Redondo.

The victory puts the Sea Hawks, winners of 12 in a row, in the second round against the Etiwanda-Perris winner on Saturday.

Millikan (16-11), the No. 4 team from the competitive Moore League, was a handful for Redondo. Though the Sea Hawks may have suffered from a case of nerves, the Rams, who raced to a 14-4 lead late in the first quarter, also outplayed them early.

But reserve point guard Annie Park gave Redondo a much-needed spark.

“We were a little jittery, so I just tried to do whatever I could to help my team get back in it,” Park said.

She did so in a major way. Park, who led the Sea Hawks with 15 points, scored nine of those in the first half to rally Redondo from its double-digit deficit. She helped the Sea Hawks cut Millikan’s lead to 23-21 at intermission before they took command in the second half.

Redondo took its first lead in the third quarter after Michelle Lowery, who was limited by foul trouble, scored on a put-back a minute-and-half into the period. The Sea Hawks never trailed again.

In the fourth quarter, Redondo appeared to have the game in hand after Lowery, who finished with eight points, scored for a 43-34 lead with 6:49 remaining. But the pesky Rams closed to gap to 43-38 after two free throws by Erin Hagan with 5:10 left.

Millikan had chances to get closer, but the Sea Hawks defense forced turnovers and converted key scoring opportunities down the stretch.

“We pulled it together in the second half,” Lowery said. “We came out stronger and we shut them down with our defense.”

“We came out with flying colors in the end,” Enriquez said.

That wasn’t the case at the start. Some of that could be attributed to the Sea Hawks playing their first game in their new gym.

“I was concerned because we’ve never played a game here,” Enriquez said of the 900-seat facility, which is adjacent to the older gym. “The home-court advantage was completely taken away, but the fans were awesome. The smaller seating capacity made the fans sound that much louder, and that gave us the home-court advantage we needed. They were loud. So we benefitted from that.”

The Sea Hawks also benefitted from winning their first playoff game in four years.

“I’m very happy,” said Lowery, one of the team’s seniors. “This is awesome. This is the only year we’ve won a playoff game since I’ve been here, so we’re all pretty happy.”

Riki Murakami finished with 10 points for Redondo, while Shayna Stuart and Ashiana Antar added eight apiece. Allie Goldberg led the team with eight rebounds. Lowery finished with a team-high four steals.