Bishop Diego suffered a heartbreaking overtime defeat at Santa Paula in a Frontier League girls basketball game on Tuesday.
Santa Paula made one of two free throws in the final seconds of regulation to send the game into overtime and hit a tough 15-footer with two seconds left in the extra period to beat Bishop, 61-60.
“We couldn’t guard her any better,” Bishop coach Jeff Burich said of the defending on the game-winning shot. She got a little opening and threw in the shot.”
It didn’t look good for Bishop Diego in the fourth quarter as they trailed by eight midway through the period and was down by six with a minute to go.
“The kids executed and played good defense until the called a foul with two seconds to go,” Burich said of the comeback.
Bishop, which led by as many as 11 early in the game, played without leading scorers Jordyn Lilly and Hannah Rogers in the third quarter because of foul trouble. Santa Paula took advantage and outscored Bishop 21-9 to take a five-point lead into the final stanza.
Bishop took a four-point lead in overtime, but Santa Paula’s post player hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give her team the lead.
Rogers scored 17 points and had 15 rebounds and four blocked shots to lead Bishop (14-7, 7-2). Colleen Duley added 15 points and three rebounds and Lilly had nine points and five assists.
Bishop hosts Carpinteria on Thursday.
