Brentwood girls basketball team relies on impressive third-quarter run in CIF-Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals against Esperanza to reach fourth straight semifinal

ANAHEIM – Keeping pace with the stellar 3-point shooting of the Brentwood School girls basketball team is a considerable challenge by itself.

Trying to keep pace with the second-seeded Eagles while dealing with tired legs and mental fatigue as a result of their defensive pressure is a daunting task as well, one that host Esperanza wasn’t able to overcome Wednesday night in the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 playoff quarterfinals.

In a showdown of the top two 3-point shooting teams in the entire Southern Section, Brentwood turned the anticipated matchup into a mismatch in the second half, knocking down three consecutive 3-pointers to cap a 15-point, third-quarter run that led the visiting Eagles to a 70-44 victory.

Post-game interviews

Brentwood (24-7) hit 11 of 15 3-pointers through the first three quarters and finished 13 of 24 from behind the arc, with Esperanza (20-12) missing all 12 second-half attempts to make just 3 of 22 3-point field goals, their second-lowest total of the season.

Payton Sugar, a senior, made five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 15 points to go along with six rebounds for the Eagles, who advanced to the semifinals for the fourth consecutive year and will play host Saturday to third-seeded Moreno Valley (25-6), a 73-62 winner Wednesday against San Clemente.

Brentwood prevailed by a 69-66 margin last year against Moreno Valley in the regional semifinals of the Division 1 state playoffs.

Brentwood girls basketball team | Photo courtesy of Brentwood girls basketball

Sugar added to her program records with 123 3-pointers in a season and 343 in her career.

Sugar is No. 6 all-time in the Southern Section for career 3-point field goals and ranks No. 20 in California prep history.

Kelsey Sugar, a sophomore and Payton’s sister, added four 3-pointers and scored 14 points for the Eagles, who held a 35-29 halftime advantage.

Brentwood’s full-court pressure defense throughout the opening half resulted in a few early transition opportunities for Esperanza, with Aztecs’ leading scorer Charlotte Muller hitting a pair of 3-point field goals and scoring 10 points.

The Eagles switched to half-court man-to-man defense in the second half, and the result was Muller being held scoreless and Esperanza managing just four field goals and producing only 15 points after the break.

Muller had 20 points for the Aztecs in a 59-54 setback Dec. 14 against Brentwood, with Esperanza making 7 of 27 3-pointers in that matchup, compared to Brentwood shooting 10 of 36 from behind the arc.

Brentwood held a 44-33 advantage with four minutes left in the third quarter Wednesday following a pair of free throws by Esperanza freshman Avery Kame.

During the next three minutes, Brentwood forced three turnovers, Esperanza missed four shots and the Eagles made six field goals – including a pair of 3-pointers from Kelsey Sugar and another from fellow sophomore Reena White – to stretch the lead to 59-33.

The Aztecs cut the deficit to 20 points following two more Kame free throws with 4:30 left in the contest, before Brentwood scored eight in a row during the next two minutes, capped by 3-pointers from Kelsey Sugar and freshman Jessica Liu to clinch not only a fourth straight semifinal appearance, but another berth in the state playoffs.

Brentwood increased its season total to 369 3-pointers, which ranks second in the state, trailing only Mission Hills at 376. 

White contributed 14 points and four assists, with UC San Diego-bound senior Lev Feiman adding 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Eagles, who also received six points from Logan Scott and five points apiece from Lei Tomatsu and Liu.

Feiman, the all-time leading scorer at Brentwood, improved her career mark to 1,732 points entering the semifinals.

Lacie Miyatake scored eight points and Alexa Muller had seven points for Esperanza, which missed all 10 3-point field goal attempts in the fourth quarter.