Mission Hills girls basketball team records remarkable comeback to secure dramatic 62-61 victory on Westview Senior Night

SAN DIEGO – It didn’t matter how many free throws Mission Hills missed in the fourth quarter Friday night, as long as Bay Cordova made the two most important attempts of the Grizzlies’ season when it mattered most.

It wasn’t about the number of times that Westview successfully attacked Mission Hills’ full-court pressure defense to convert layups prior to the last possession, as long as the host Wolverines were prevented from doing so by Maleena Nava when it really counted.

And despite difficult starts to both halves, the only stretch of the North County-Palomar League girls basketball showdown that really concerned Mission Hills was the last few minutes, and the Grizzlies responded with one of the most impressive comebacks in program history.

Post-game interviews

Cordova capped the Mission Hills rally from an 11-point deficit with 2:35 remaining by hitting the deciding free throws with six seconds left and Nava prevented the Wolverines from taking the final shot by stealing the ball in the backcourt just before time expired in a 62-61 victory on Senior Night at Westview High that forced a first-place tie in league.

Katie Graves, a senior who produced eight points and seven rebounds, blocked a 3-point field goal attempt by Mission Hills (18-8, 7-1) with 8.9 seconds remaining and Westview (17-8. 7-1) leading by a 61-60 margin.

Following a Mission Hills timeout, Cordova – who finished with 17 points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks – drove from the right wing into the key and was fouled while attempting the go-ahead layup.

Although the Grizzlies had missed five consecutive free-throw opportunities earlier in the fourth, including one by Cordova, the sophomore guard calmly sank both attempts to give Mission Hills only its second lead of the contest, the other a 22-20 advantage midway through the second quarter.

Bay Cordova shoots deciding free throw for Mission Hills against Westview | Erik Boal photo

With Westview out of timeouts, the Wolverines attempted to advance the ball quickly up court, but Nava stole the second pass and tossed the ball in the air, allowing the clock to run out, sparking the first of two moments of jubilation by Mission Hills, the other during the post-game team meeting when the Grizzlies celebrated the birthday of junior Lyndsey Rogers.

Nava was also instrumental in the Mission Hills comeback, scoring 20 of her-game high 22 points in the second half, including she and fellow sophomore Cordova combining for 17 of the Grizzlies’ 20 in the fourth quarter.

Nava added six assists and five rebounds for Mission Hills, which faced a 13-point deficit early in the fourth and still trailed by a 59-48 margin after junior Mia Jacobson made the Wolverines’ final field goal with 2:35 left.

But the Grizzlies limited Westview to one free throw apiece from Sarah Heyn and Jacobson in the last 70 seconds, as the Wolverines converted just two of six attempts from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, with Mission Hills making only five of 11 opportunities.

After a 3-pointer by Mission Hills junior Kalea Bacho cut the deficit to 61-60 with 36 seconds left, Jacobson was unable to capitalize on a pair of crucial free-throw attempts for Westview with 15 seconds remaining.

Jacobson contributed 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots for the Wolverines, with fellow junior Heyn adding 11 points and three steals, overcoming a significant calf cramp late in the third quarter, before returning to finish the contest.

Maren Zimmer had a team-high 21 points in addition to seven rebounds for Westview, but the senior forward was held scoreless in the fourth, as the Wolverines made only three field goals in the quarter.

Kendall Nguyen, who fouled out for the Grizzlies with less than four minutes left, had 14 points, including four of the nine 3-pointers for Mission Hills, which leads the state this season with 352 3-point field goals.

Nguyen, a junior, scored 11 first-half points to help Mission Hills trail only 27-26 at halftime, overcoming a seven-point run by the Wolverines to open the game. Westview also scored six unanswered points to start the third quarter.

Cordova was the lone Grizzlies’ player to score in double figures with a 30-point performance in a 54-53 loss Jan. 28 at Mission Hills, snapping a run of 48 consecutive league victories for the program – 44 in a row against North County-Palomar opponents following four victories over Avocado-West schools in 2020 – but she received significant support Friday in the rematch from Nava and Nguyen, who combined for only 13 points in the first meeting.

The loss also snapped a run of 10 consecutive victories for the Grizzlies against Westview, which earned its first win against Mission Hills since 2013.  

HC Harding, a junior who leads Mission Hills with 111 3-pointers, also contributed a 3-point field goal Friday in the third quarter for the Grizzlies after making a program-record 11 shots from behind the arc Tuesday against Poway.

Both schools have two more regular-season contests scheduled Feb. 11 and 14, with Westview seeking a share of its first league title since capturing the Palomar crown in 2020 and Mission Hills pursuing at least a tie for its fifth consecutive championship and 11th in 12 seasons.

The programs are also in contention for placement among the top four seeds in the CIF-San Diego Section Open Division playoffs, along with Francis Parker and La Jolla Country, which square off Feb. 14 in the regular-season finale.