Buena Girls Earn Chance at Redemption With Victory

For nearly a year, a lump has formed in Buena High girls’ Coach Joe Vaughan’s throat when he thinks of the Bulldogs’ four-point loss to Hart in a Southern Section final last season.

But Buena took one step closer to clearing the airway when the Bulldogs handed Rubidoux a 58-44 loss in a I-A Division semifinal game before a full house at Ventura High.

Buena (25-2) earned its 12th consecutive victory and second consecutive trip to the championship game, where it will meet Thousand Oaks (27-3) on Friday in a 6:30 p.m. game at UC Irvine.

“Last year’s game with Hart has left a craw in my throat for a year,” Vaughan said. “It was very, very disappointing to say the least.”

So disappointing, in fact, that the Bulldogs have been on a hunt for redemption all season. And, at times, the Bulldogs have pressed so hard it has led to shoddy play.

“After losing last year, I think we want to get to the finals so bad sometimes that we get a little excited,” said senior guard Lianne Ishikawa, who had 12 points and five steals.

Such was the case Friday when Buena hit just 21 of 64 field-goal attempts (33%) and turned 23 Rubidoux turnovers into only 20 points.

“It wasn’t very pretty,” Vaughan said. “We struggled, and were a little hurried at times, and I’m bothered by that. We definitely can play better.”

Yet a young Rubidoux team still threatened on only a couple of occasions. The Falcons had difficulty getting the ball in to 6-foot-5 junior Darlene Wilson, who went into the game averaging 19 points and 18 rebounds but finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

“Overall, we did a good job inside,” Vaughan said. “We just didn’t do as well on number 32.”

That was Renae Austin, who scored 12 points in the second half and finished with 16.

But Rubidoux’s offense centered on Austin’s penetration, whereas Buena countered with a disciplined--albeit sometimes sloppy--scheme that proved too much for the Falcons.

Four players scored in double figures for Buena: Jennifer Wells (13), Alisa Ewin (12), Mia Palkie (10) and Ishikawa.

When Rubidoux (26-4) pulled within 40-36 with 1 minute 44 seconds left in the third quarter, Buena finished the quarter with a 6-0 run in which Michelle Giordano (nine points), Palkie and Ishikawa hit field goals that extended Buena’s lead to 46-36.

Rubidoux came no closer than eight points to Buena thereafter.

The Bulldogs secured the victory with a 5-0 run, highlighted by Wells’ three-point basket as the shot clock expired that gave Buena a commanding 54-42 lead with 1:40 to play.

“They came out and beat us,” Rubidoux Coach John Hill said. “They’re very well-coached.

“Heck, I’m just pleased to coach against Joe Vaughan. He’s been a legend.”

Vaughan led Buena to Southern Section titles in 1979 and 1984, and Friday will mark the Bulldogs’ seventh trip to the final under Vaughan.

“He told us he’s had that craw in his throat for a long time,” Ishikawa said. “We’re really looking forward to getting rid of it.”