Mission Prep girls basketball team loses section final in overtime

It had all the elements of good drama: A last-second shot, four extra minutes of basketball, a defensive stand and a score that was close throughout.

But when all was said and done, despite a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Jacqueline San Jule to force overtime, the Mission Prep girls basketball fell in the CIF-Southern Section Division 5AA championship game to Flintridge Prep 39-34 on Saturday.

San Jule struggled from the floor, finishing 2 for 15 for seven points, but hit the shot when it mattered.

“Eventually one is going to go in. She knew the shot was going to be on her,” coach Andrew Richardson said. “She stepped up big for us.”

Mission Prep (22-9) outscored Flintridge Prep 12-5 in the fourth, before a scoreless overtime extinguished the Royals’ title hopes.

Jennifer Laird and Emily Lucier each scored nine points to lead the Royals.

Mission Prep closed the first half with a 6-0 run to make it 21-15 at the break and then opened the third quarter with 5-0 run, cutting the Rebels’ lead to 21-20.

The Royals had 12 second-chance points, using their size to outmuscle Flintridge Prep (23-4), outrebounding the Rebels 46-35.

Defense ruled the day in this one. The Royals were 11 of 53 from the floor while the Rebels shot 14 of 46. The Royals had a strong showing by their bench, outscoring Flintridge Prep 11-0.

But perhaps the biggest difference was at the free-throw line, where Mission Prep shot 9 of 20.

Mission Prep learns its ranking for the state tournament Sunday.

This story was originally published March 5, 2016 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Mission Prep girls basketball team loses section final in overtime."