Windward Is Done In by Fouls

SACRAMENTO — If the huge cheer that erupted when Hailey Dunham fouled out with 1 minute 44 seconds remaining in regulation didn’t tell the story, the nervous giggles by San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep players in the postgame news conference did.

The Fightin’ Irish dodged calamity because Dunham couldn’t dodge the referees. Cathedral Prep won its second girls’ basketball state championship, scoring a 66-56 overtime victory in the Division IV title game over Los Angeles Windward at Arco Arena on Friday.

USC-bound Dunham finished with 24 points, but wasn’t around at the end of regulation with the score tied, 52-52. UCLA-bound teammate Erica Latimer fouled out with 3:23 left in the four-minute overtime, and it was too much for Windward (29-4), which made 20 of 44 shots (45.5%) but committed 33 turnovers.

“Major relief,” said Cathedral Coach Brian Harrigan about Dunham’s early exit. “She kept taking the game over.”

Dunham missed all but 24 seconds of the second quarter when she picked up her second foul. She exited with Windward leading, 16-6. When she returned in the third quarter, her team trailed, 21-19, but not for long. She scored 15 in the quarter on six-of-seven shooting, and had three three-point plays on consecutive possessions to turn a 36-30 deficit into a 39-36 advantage going into the fourth quarter.

Windward stretched the lead to 45-37, but five turnovers in the final 5:31 hurt its chances of closing out its first state title.