PALOS VERDES ESTATES — What started out much like a 3-point shooting contest Wednesday night turned into a CIF Southern Section Division 2AA girls basketball quarterfinal playoff game that became more about executing the little details in the second half.
For Palos Verdes, it meant staying composed after trailing by as many as 14 points through one quarter and then giving up a late lead in fourth that forced overtime. On the other side, turnovers and missed free throws ultimately hurt Hart more in the second half.
Nobody was more composed than Sea Kings guard Katie Golden, whose three free throws after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt with 23.1 seconds left in overtime keyed Palos Verdes’ 67-64 win to advance to the semifinals.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking,” Golden said about being put on the line to snap a 62-62 tie. “But I’ve practiced it many times before so I just had to keep myself calm and know I was going to make it.”
Hart coach Jerry Mike said it was a “strange call” after Golden was rolled into by a Hawks player who appeared to lose her balance and make contact with Golden’s right foot on the attempt.
Still, Mike added, his team did itself no favors with careless possessions.
“I didn’t see it, maybe she undercut her,” Mike said of his vantage point across the other side of the court. “I think it’s a tough call to make in a tie game.
“Now, the calls throughout the game, I’m going to assume they evened out.”
Palos Verdes coach Dan Rho, who had the play develop on the wing in front of him, said he saw “a hard closeout.”
“She overran her closeout, and enough contact for a foul. We’ll take it,” Rho said.
Still a three-point game with 3.5 seconds left, a final heave from Hart forward Andrea Aina well beyond the 3-point line was off target as time expired.
Guard Maddie Farnsworth scored 22 points and fellow guard Quinn Tamshiro added 18 in the victory.
The Sea Kings (21-10) will travel to face Bay League co-champion North Torrance (20-8) in the semifinals Saturday at 7 p.m.
Guard Morgan Mack scored a game-high 28 points and Aina had 21 for Hart (22-8), which was plagued by 23 turnovers, including 19 after the opening quarter.
“I thought our turnovers in the second quarter killed us,” Mike said.
After a slow start, Farnsworth capitalized on the miscues with three of her four 3-pointers as part of a personal 9-0 run to open the second.
Palos Verdes, which trailed 24-10 after eight minutes, pulled within 42-36 at halftime.
“I knew that I needed to start playing my game and knocking down my shots,” Farnsworth said after being limited to two first-quarter points. “Our motor was high throughout the second quarter. Even though we were down, we knew we could come back.”
After making 10 of 14 3-point attempts in the first half, the Hawks made just one of their final nine attempts.
The Sea Kings had 10 3-pointers of their own, including one from freshman guard Jenna Lee to grab their first lead, 46-44, with 3:38 left in the third.
“I think we got back in it with steals and layups just to get the energy going, and then the shots started falling,” Rho said.
Hart closed the quarter with seven consecutive points to take a 51-46 lead into the fourth.
However, Mack was only able to split a pair of free throws on three consecutive occasions to open the fourth as Hart’s lead was down to 54-50.
Farnsworth then made a pair of layups and a 3-pointer as part of a flurry to give Palos Verdes a 59-56 lead with 1:23 left in regulation.
Over the final 19.3 seconds, Hart forced overtime with a steal that was bookended by a pair of put-back baskets — including Aina’s conversion to tie the game 60-60 with six seconds remaining.
Rho, though, said his team was prepared for the extra session after playing two overtime games this season.
“The whole goal was just to stay poised in the overtime,” Rho said. “Really, I was saying to the players to trust each other. We don’t want ‘hero ball.’ We want to get a W.”