POWAY POWAY — The strategy Poway High School’s girls basketball team utilized in Friday’s CIF San Diego Section Open Division quarterfinal playoff game against rival Del Norte was not complicated: stop Bailey Barnhard, the section’s second-leading scorer.
The Titans routinely doubled the 6-foot guard, with a third defender occasionally sagging to help. Didn’t matter. Barnhard patiently let the game come to her, didn’t force shots and eventually led the Nighthawks to thrilling 62-59 win on the Titans’ home floor.
The fifth-seeded Nighthawks advance to the semifinals next Wednesday,when they’ll travel to No. 1-seeded Mission Hills. The Grizzlies routed Scripps Ranch 96-34.
Barnhard finished with a game-high 32 points, 8.1 above her average, 14 coming in the fourth quarter. The Nighthawks didn’t buckle in the fourth quarter, twice erasing five-point deficits.
“She wants to continue playing with her teammates, wants to share those memories of her senior year with her best friends,” said Del Norte coach Teshona Bennett. “She’s a gamer, she’s a competitor.”
Down 57-56, Barnhard knocked down two free throws. When Poway’s Katelyn Johnson hit a bucket to give the hosts a 58-57 lead, Barnhard responded again, scoring on a drive to make it 60-59 with less than a minute to play.
After a Poway miss, Barnhard let the shot clock wind down and hit a contested jumper at the elbow, extending the lead to 62-59 with 15.8 seconds to play. Poway missed a pair of desperate 3s in the final seconds.
Regarding her clutch fourth-quarter performance, Barnhard said: “Honestly, it’s just winning. I hate to lose.”
Barnhard hit the glass as well, pulling down 16 rebounds.
About not forcing things offensively, Barnhard said: “I have to read the defense and see what they decide to do. Whether it’s ing, finding the teammate with the open shot or doing it myself, I’ll do anything to get the dub.”
Del Norte led at halftime 31-24 with Barnhard hitting a deep two just before the buzzer. Poway rallied in the second half behind a balanced scoring attack. Senior guard Ari Mason scored 19 points. Three other players scored in double figures: Mya McGowen (13), Katelyn Johnson (12) and Teya White (11).
Barnhard’s 32 points give her 2,083 in her four-year varsity career, moving her to 21st on the San Diego Section’s all-time scoring list.
“We ask a lot of Bailey,” said Bennett. “She guarded the other team’s best scorer (Johnson). To play both ends of the floor, you couldn’t ask for more.”
Norcross is a freelance writer.
