LONG BEACH — The Long Beach Poly girls basketball team played its best first half of the season, leading 46-11 at halftime, and the Jackrabbits cruised to a 73-48 win at home against Chaminade in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 playoffs Thursday night.
“That first half was awesome,” Long Beach Poly coach Carl Buggs said.
Senior forward Brooklyn Taylor scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Poly improved to 20-9 overall. Sophomore guard Jordyn Washington had 11 points, junior forward Joy Anderson added nine points and seven rebounds, and sophomore guard Bailey Prewitt added six points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
Long Beach Poly senior Brooklyn Taylor races up court during the Jackrabbits’ decisive victory over Chaminade in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly senior Brooklyn Taylor (21) helped lead her team to a decisive victory over Chaminade in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly senior Brooklyn Taylor, right, and Chaminade sophomore Payton Montgomery battle for a rebound in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly senior Brooklyn Taylor helped lead her team to a decisive victory over Chaminade in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly senior Brooklyn Taylor tries to muscle her way past a pair of Chaminade defenders during her team’s victory in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly junior Joy Anderson strides down the lane during her team’s victory over Chaminade in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly junior Joy Anderson pulls down an offensive rebound during her team’s victory over Chaminade in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Chaminade’s Natalie Patrick-aguiar grabs Long Beach Poly’s Jaleina Taliauli by her jersey on a rebound attempt in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Chaminade senior guard Alyssa Saldana grabs a loose ball against Long Beach Poly in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly senior Brooklyn Taylor is defended by Chaminade senior Alyssa Saldana in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly sophomore guard Jordyn Washington visits the free throw line during the Jackrabbits’ decisive victory over Chaminade in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly senior guard Andrea Perkins drives towards the basket during the Jackrabbits’ decisive victory over Chaminade in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly senior Brooklyn Taylor helped lead her team to a decisive victory over Chaminade in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly sophomore Bailey Prewitt backs in towards the basket during her team’s 73-48 win over Chaminade in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly head coach Carl Buggs huddles with his players en route to an easy victory over Chaminade in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly players celebrate after defeating Chaminade 73-48 in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly senior Brooklyn Taylor helped lead her team to a decisive victory over Chaminade in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly sophomore guard Jordyn Washington drives into the lane during the Jackrabbits’ decisive victory over Chaminade in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly sophomore Bailey Prewitt visits the free throw line during the Jackrabbits’ 73-48 win over Chaminade in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Chaminade sophomore Payton Montgomery (23) scrambles for a rebound against Long Beach Poly in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Chaminade’s Natalie Patrick-aguiar, left, and Long Beach Poly’s Jordyn Washington fight for a loose ball in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly sophomore Bailey Prewitt drives past Chaminade’s Rhema Clements during the Jackrabbits’ 73-48 win in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Playing in her final game, Chaminade senior guard Alyssa Saldana drives up court against Long Beach Poly in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly sophomore guard Jordyn Washington connects on a 3-pointer during the Jackrabbits’ decisive victory over Chaminade in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Poly junior guar Helena Vu follows through on a 3-point shot during her team’s 73-48 win over Chaminade in the first round of the CIF-SS girls basketball Division 1 playoffs on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at Poly High School in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
“Trying to get kids to understand, don’t measure your success by points that you score,” Buggs continued. “You know if you had a good game or not by your all-around game. Hopefully, we’re thinking like that more.”
Poly will play at Orange Lutheran in the second round Saturday. The Lancers beat the Jackrabbits 71-60 in a nonleague game at a Troy High tournament on Dec. 9.
“Once we checked the playoff bracket, we were like oh yeah, we’ve got this in the bag for sure,” Taylor said. “If we keep playing defense the way we’ve been playing and keep scoring the way we have, we’ll definitely win it all.”
Chaminade (16-11) was led by sophomore forward Payton Montgomery, who scored 21 of her team-high 25 points in the second half.
Poly was aggressive from the jump, particularly attacking the basket, as it began the game on a 12-0 run. The Jackrabbits’ defense stifled Chaminade early. Poly led 17-3 at the end of the first quarter.
“We kept the energy going throughout the entire time,” Taylor said.
Taylor’s second and-one of the game put Poly up 20-3 with 7:29 left in the second quarter. The Jackrabbits began the second quarter on an 8-0 run and established a 25-3 lead with six minutes remaining in the period.
“It was definitely important to keep the momentum going,” Taylor explained. “I think it was good because I haven’t been making layups consistently as I should throughout the season, so making sure I kept the momentum up, using the white box, it’s there for a reason.”
Chaminade coach Jason Ancrum called a timeout as Poly led 30-7 with 3:56 left in the first half.
The Jackrabbits continued their strong play, ending the first half on a 16-4 run. Poly led 46-11 at halftime.
Taylor had 14 points in the first half. Washington scored eight of her nine first-half points in the second quarter.
“It felt great,” Washington said. “I was feeling myself a little bit. I was trying to get my teammates involved a little bit more but yeah, some of my shots were falling and I was getting to the (free-throw) line a lot.”
Chaminade turned up its defensive intensity with a full-court press to begin the second half. The Eagles went on a 5-0 run but Poly still led 46-16 with 4:47 to go in the third quarter.
Montgomery had 14 points as the Eagles outscored Poly 21-11 in the third quarter. However, Poly led 57-32 heading into the fourth quarter.
Chaminade pulled within 20 points on a 3-pointer by junior forward Rhema Clements, which cut Poly’s lead to 65-46 with less than four minutes to go. However, Poly closed the game on an 8-2 run, winning 73-48.
“That was tremendous, especially on the defensive end and controlling the offense glass too,” Buggs concluded.
