Toad netters make history
By Jesse Phelps

A long season and a long drive to Long Beach proved worth it for the Thacher girls' varsity basketball squad Friday as it defeated La Sierra Academy of Riverside, 54-50, in a nail-biter.

Sophomore point guard Becky Horton hit the crucial dagger, a three-pointer with 31 seconds to play, to open up a seven point lead in what was a back-and-forth struggle the entire night. Horton shot her three, only her fifth make from that range on the season, with over 15 seconds on the shot clock.

"I was saying, kill the clock, kill the clock," said Thacher head coach Meilssa Johnson. "I was going, "No, no, no!" And then it goes in and I'm like, 'Oh, God, yes!"

Thacher took a 27-24 lead into halftime behind the inspired play of senior co-captain Annie Wheatley and the continued hot shooting of junior power forward Steffi Rauner. The two combined for 37 of Thacher's 54 points and Wheatley was a force underneath, grabbing 12 rebounds on the night.
La Sierra opened the second half on a 9-2 run but Thacher quickly responded.

Wheatley and Rauner scored four points each in an 8-0 Thacher run to put the Toads up four. The two scored back to back hoops to forge a tie, then junior center Whitney Livermore, who had 11 points, blocked her second shot of the period. Again, Wheatley and Rauner scored in succession. After a La Sierra hoop and a Thacher turnover, Rauner blocked a shot to preserve a 40-38 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Joial Griffith, who led all scorers with 25 points, tied the game up for La Sierra to begin the final stanza. Thacher then got a free throw from Wheatley and an offensive rebound and putback from Livermore for a three-point cushion.

After a bucket by Griffith, Wheatley hit a long two. She was answered once again by Griffith, who stole the ball out front and hit a driving layup to make it a one-point game. With two minutes to play, a nice assist from Rauner gave Livermore an easy chance inside and Thacher's lead was four.

Griffith, now single-handedly keeping the Lady Knights in the game, hit a tough floater in the lane after a stutter move to cut the lead to two. Then Wheatley had a chance to prove her senior leadership. Having earned two free throws on a breakaway, she had already stepped up to the line when the scoreboard froze. Despite the extra time to think, she calmly nailed both after a short delay.

"The game of her life," said Johnson. "Talk about your senior co-captain leadership. She, I really feel, was the difference out there. Free throws have been the theme of the season."

Then it was time for Horton's heroics. As she's done time and again all season long, the scrappy point guard stole the ball at a crucial juncture to set up her big three. From there, it was all academic.

"Words cannot describe how great this feels," said Johnson, who was awarded CIF Southern Section Division VAA Coach of the Year honors after the game. "The girls just have worked so hard every day and maintained the intensity over an incredibly long season."

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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