By Ernie W. Webb III
OLPE – Survive and advance. That’s the name of the game in March, and the fourth-ranked Burlingame girls lived it Friday night during the semifinals of a Class 1A Division I sub-state.
The Bearcats (19-2) trailed Madison most of the night and didn’t take the lead for good until the final minute of the fourth quarter but managed to reach Saturday’s championship game with a 37-31 win.
The Bulldogs (14-7) led 31-29 with 3:15 left after a short jumper by Jaylynn Weakley, but Burlingame pulled even on a basket by Kaylin Noonan at the 2:00 mark. A minute later, Noonan got wide open on a set play, scored and was fouled. Her free throw gave the Bearcats a 34-31 lead, their first in more than nine minutes.
On Madison’s next play, Daelyn Winters, who hounded the Bulldogs’ backcourt with five steals, knocked the ball away and forced an over-and-back. Kenna Masters hit the front end of a one-and-one for a two-possession lead. Winters added a pair of free throws in the final 20 seconds to put the game away.
The Bearcats handled Madison during two regular-season games, winning by nine and 18 points, but the Bulldogs controlled the game into the third quarter behind Yolaine Luthi. The fast and long junior forward disrupted Burlingame’s offense with several steals leading to layups, including five in the first half.
Madison led 14-7 after the first quarter and surged ahead 21-10 on a 3-pointer by Reese Farrow late in the second period. Burlingame closed the half on a 6-0 run to pull within five at the break.
The Bearcats extended the sizz to 12-0 with six straight points in the second half, including back-to-back buckets from Winters and Noonan, and led 22-21 with 5:49 left in the frame. After multiple turnovers and several missed shots by both teams, Luthi scored on another steal and layup as the Bulldogs took a 25-24 advantage into the final period.
Madison led 29-25 when Burlingame came up with back-to-back steals and layups to knot the score at 29-29 with 4:10 remaining.
Winters paced the Bearcats with 16 points, five rebounds and five steals, and Noonan had 14 points and five boards. Burlingame won despite committing 16 turnovers, shooting 31 percent from the field and going 7 of 20 (35 percent) at the foul line.
Luthi nearly had a triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight steals.
BURLINGAME 37, MADISON 31
Madison 14 7 4 6 — 31
Burlingame 7 9 8 13 — 37
MADISON (14-7): Luthi 8-17 2-3 18, Weakley 3-8 0-0 6, Farrow 2-8 0-1 5, Gaines 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 14-34 2-4 31.
BURLINGAME (19-2): Winters 5-16 3-11 16, Noonan 6-12 2-5 14, Simmons 2-6 0-0 5, Masters 0-4 1-2 1, Crook 0-2 1-2 1, Tyson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 13-42 7-20 37.
3-point goals – Madison 1-6 (Farrow 1-5, Luthi 0-1); Burlingame 4-14 (Winters 3-7, Simmons 1-4, Masters 0-2, Tyson 0-1). Rebounds – Madison 20 (Luthi 10); Burlingame 24 (Winters 5, Noonan 5, Simmons 5). Turnovers – Madison 19, Burlingame 16.
