Chargers Hold on to Lead to Move on in Playoffs
Butler scored 23 points Friday night. |
February 24, 2006
Cypress, Calif. - The Chargers struggled to pull away until the second half and never gave up the lead as they survived the Warriors to move on to the second round of playoffs. Cypress extended their first half lead to win 82-68. Freshman guard Brae Butler led the Chargers with 23 points and sparked the Charger defense with 4 steals.
Cypress led by as much as 11 with three minutes left in the first half but the Warriors kept battling back going on an 8 point run to narrow the lead to 3 with 1:30 left in the first half. Eventually Cypress came out of the first half with an uncomfortable 7 point lead. The second half was more productive as the Charger freshmen led the efforts leading by as much as 20 and winning with a 14 point margin. Freshman point guard Corianne Felix had a season high 16 points with 7 assists, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals. Freshman Brandi Thomas neared a double-double scoring 14 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. Sophomore Stephanie Lewis was 3 for 3 from the field including 2 three-pointers for 8 points. Ana Fakatou and
The Chargers survived and will move on to host the second round of Southern California Regionals. Cypress will face fifth seeded Pasadena in the next round. Pasadena is 22-5 and ranked 7th in the state. Cypress defeated Pasadena in 2005 for the State Championship but Pasadena won the last victory. The Lancers came to Cypress on December 21st this season defeating the Chargers 75-56. Cypress is seeded higher but are the decided underdogs and will try to beat the odds next Saturday night at 7:00 pm at home. The winner will be headed to Fresno as a part of the state’s elite 8 vying for the State Championship.