WEST HILLS >> The emotions came out all at once.
As Ashley Orosco dribbled out the final seconds of the clock, the Alemany High School girls basketball team rushed the court, formed a makeshift mosh pit and spiked the basketball high into the air in joyous celebration.
Alemany reveled in a 53-47 victory Thursday at Chaminade that clinched its fifth Mission League title in six years.
The momentous part? It marked the first outright crown in that span.
PHOTO GALLERY: Images from Alemany-Chaminade matchup
“Every year, we’ve had to share that league title, so it feels good to have it to ourselves this time,” Alemany’s Jasmine Hardy said.
Alemany coach Bryan Camacho praised the Alemany players that preceded this team, such as Leslie Lopez-Wood, Brianna Calhoun, Genesa Bedoya, Kate Tokuhara, Clarissa Larios, Alex Moon and Dana Garcia.
Camacho said this year’s group takes pride in living up to the high standards set by those players.
“The credit goes to the kids and their sacrifice,” Camacho said. “To come in and face a great program like Chaminade, I felt fortunate to have a front-row seat.
“These girls represented their school with great pride.”
Tatyana Yarnell, the only four-year player on Alemany’s squad, said she got caught up in the moment.
“This is a good thing for Alemany and for the girls basketball program. It’s just exciting,” Yarnell said. “I came to Alemany for this purpose. I’m happy to be here, I’m happy I spent my four years here and it’s just a great day.”
Alemany routed Chaminade 65-43 on Jan. 12, and this game was shaping up to a similar result when Alemany jumped to leads of 8-0 and 23-5, dominating with its size and physical presence.
Brooklyn McDavid was splendid with 17 points and seven rebounds, scoring 14 of her points in the first half.
Hardy had 13 points and nine rebounds. Jillian Archer had nine points and 11 rebounds.
Ashley Orozco made sure to spread the wealth among Alemany’s dominant post players, getting seven points and seven assists.
“This was good for all of us,” Archer said. “All the girls on the team share the same goals and the same passion for the game. We had good intensity and energy. We all wanted the same thing and we just had to get it done.”
“We worked our butts off the whole season, and it feels great to bring home that title,” McDavid said.
Despite Alemany’s dominant first half, Chaminade roared back in the second half, spurred by a wondrous halfcourt shot by Isabel Newman to beat the halftime buzzer and a bank 3-pointer by Alexis Rodriguez to close to 36-32 before Alemany righted the ship in the fourth quarter.
“In the third quarter, we felt we had it, but we let it slip away and that’s the frustrating part,” Chaminade’s Melissa Wright said. “It was a really tough game. Every play was personal. We fought back as hard as we could. We’ll probably end up seeing them again.”
Newman’s halftime buzzer-beater was jaw-dropping.
With just 4.1 seconds left in the first half, Newman took a quick skip pass from Rodriguez and unleashed a wild shot just beyond the halfcourt line. It took a big bounce high into the air and came back through the cylinder, giving Chaminade momentum for the second half.
“I kind of threw it up there and I fell because I didn’t think it was actually going in,” Newman said. “It felt good. Halftime was nice.”
Newman led Chaminade with 15 points. Wright had 11 points and Alexis Rodriguez continued to look comfortable with eight points as she continues to transition following her transfer from El Camino Real.
Chaminade found itself within 50-45 with 1:01 left on a 3-pointer by Mackenzy Iwahashi, but could not draw closer.
“We just came up a little short,” Newman said. “They got us in the first quarter; we tried to come back in the second and third quarters but it just wasn’t enough in the fourth quarter.”
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