Hollywood Girls Look to Take Next Step

This was the season players on the girls basketball team had preordained as the one they'd remember forever. The season of "unfinished business." The season where anything less than a City Section championship would be considered a disappointment.

And yet, there were the fourth-ranked Sheiks, at home and trailing by a point with 10 seconds remaining in the opening round of the Division III playoffs against No. 13 Locke last Friday night.

Had Hollywood put too much pressure on itself? Was a season filled with so much promise and expectation about to end with a bitter taste?

Thankfully for coach and his team, the answer to those questions was a resounding "No." Guard drew a foul on the last possession and made one of two free throws to force overtime. In the extra period, Hollywood took control to secure a 53-46 win.

"I was very shocked," Herron said. "I thought we would handle them, but they came out fighting and they were scrappy. They gave us everything we could handle."

The Sheiks' dream of a sectional title is still very much alive as they welcome No. 5 Garfield to their gym tonight at 7 p.m. for a quarterfinal game that would prove historic should the home team win.

Hollywood has never advanced beyond the quarterfinal round in any of Herron's 11 seasons with the team. He conceded that Hollywood's lofty section title or bust mentality may have worked against the Sheiks in the first round.

"The first game is always the hardest," he said. "Once you get that one out of the way, the second game should be easier."

Driving home from the game last week, Herron was reminded of a famous opening-round game from the 1995 NCAA Division I tournament when top-seeded UCLA needed a buzzer-beating basket by guard Tyus Edney to get by Missouri. The Bruins went on to win the last of their 11 national titles.

"That was the toughest game they had," Herron said. "After that, UCLA just started beating everybody. I'm hoping it will be the same way with us."

Herron said that Garfield (16-12) will present a different challenge to the Sheiks (18-5), who tore through their Central League schedule unbeaten. Herron claimed that the Bulldogs, who finished 7-5 in the Eastern League, don't have the size and athleticism of Locke, but employ an effective full-court pressure scheme that poses a serious challenge.

"They're small, but they don't give up," Herron said. "Whether they're up or down, they're going to keep coming at you. We just need to match their intensity."

Senior center played a huge role in Hollywood's opening round win, both on the floor and during a motivational talk with the team at halftime. She is ready to take the Sheiks to a place they've never been.

"We don't know what to expect, every game will have nerves, but we're ecstatic," said Gomez, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding. "We don't always get a lot of attention at school, so hopefully this is our chance to put us on the map."