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TORRANCE -- Chaffey High School's Tamara McDonald knew the Tigers had the defending CIF 1AA champs on the ropes Tuesday night.
But she also knew top-seeded Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula had plenty of fight left in it.
The underdog Tigers finally ran out of steam in the fourth quarter and fell to the Panthers, 45-34, in a semifinal game at West Torrance High School. Chaffey held a 26-23 lead late in the third quarter, but a seven-minute scoring drought enabled Peninsula to take over the game. The Panthers (25-4) grabbed a one-point lead entering the fourth quarter and then scored the first six points of the final period. The Tigers (27-4) never recovered.
"Even when we had the lead, I knew we had a long way to go," McDonald said. "They weren't rattled by it. Peninsula is a very good team. They make you pay when you gamble."
McDonald led the Tigers with 17 points, but she was hampered by foul trouble down the stretch. She picked up her third and fourth fouls in the first minute of the fourth quarter and by the time she returned - with five minutes to go - Peninsula had grabbed a 30-26 lead.
The Tigers, who started three sophomores, didn't have an answer for Peninsula's Natalie Kelly, who dominated the boards. The 6-foot-2 senior scored 17 points and grabbed 20 rebounds against a smaller Chaffey team. The Tigers were short-handed in the middle after Kathy Barnes was injured in a playoff win over Eisenhower and was unable to play Tuesday.
Even though they weren't at full strength, the Tigers still had their opportunities to win. Mary Turner scored 10 points for Chaffey, while Angie Cannady added five. The Tigers were hurt by their free-throw shooting, making only 9-of-20.
"I thought defensively we hung in there pretty well," Chaffey coach Jerry Clayton said. "Offensively, we struggled. They are a very good defensive team. We knew coming in shot selection would be very important. They don't give up a lot of easy baskets."
The Tigers, who won their third straight Mt. Baldy League title, only lost games to Brea, Peninsula, Don Lugo and Ventura this season.
"We're disappointed in a lot of ways," McDonald said. "We had a lack of execution and a lot of missed free throws. We didn't do a lot of the little things we had done all year."
Both teams struggled on offense early, especially Chaffey, which made only one of its 10 first-quarter shots. Still, the Tigers only trailed, 6-5. A turnaround jumper by McDonald gave Chaffey a 17-16 lead, but Peninsula scored the final four points of the second quarter to take a 20-17 halftime lead.
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