Three Point Loma High School (PLHS) winter sports teams earned CIF playoff berths this month — and each had similar experiences during their post-season runs. Boys’ basketball, girls’ soccer and girls’ water polo teams each defeated their first opponents in dramatic Division II action, and each team’s hopes were scuttled by an eventual final-round team or CIF champion. Boys’ hoops tops Norsemen There wasn’t much reason for optimism several minutes into the Pointer boys’ first-round CIF battle at Valhalla on Feb. 23. The Norsemen jumped out to a 10-0 lead and the Pointers appeared confused and overmatched. The contingent of Pointer fans were seen squirming in their seats. But the scrappy Dogs regrouped and fought back, cutting the deficit to a single point as the hosts clung to a 20-19 halftime lead. During the third quarter, the Pointers grabbed their first lead of the game at 29-27 and never looked back. Weathering a late Valhalla surge, the Pointers celebrated a 50-46 victory. Kohl Meyer paced the Pointers with 14 points, including all four free-throw attempts. Nate George added 10 points as PLHS shot an excellent 49 percent from the floor. Christian Heyward’s six rebounds and Cody Harvey’s five led the Pointers, while Meyer and Marquis Clifford recorded four steals each. With the victory, the Pointers moved to 14-11 on the season (7-5 overall and third place in the Central League). The PLHS win ended the Norsemen’s season with a 14-13 record after Valhalla finished fourth in the Grossmont Hills League (5-5). In the quarterfinals, the Pointers traveled east on Feb. 26 to face Hoover, a team that boasted a 26-6 overall record and was fresh from an undefeated Eastern League season at 10-0. The Cardinals rolled up big numbers this season behind Angelo Chol, a 6-foot-9-inch standout player ranked as the 35th best player in the U.S. by the MaxPreps online website. Chol’s numbers are impressive — 23.4 points, 14.8 rebounds and 8.1 blocked shots per game. Clearly, the Pointers faced a challenge in stopping the University of Arizona-bound giant. The Pointers had some success, holding Chol to 18 points and six blocked shots, although the 210-pounder racked up 23 rebounds. The Pointers were overwhelmed by the fast-break offense and overall athleticism of a Cardinal team that delivered a lopsided 68-27 loss to the Pointers, ending the PLHS season with a respectable 14-12 record. Harvey and Heyward, both seniors, closed out their prep careers with 10 points each. George, Clifford, Ryan Gardocki and Zach Wood also are graduating. The Cardinals would move on to the CIF finals for the second straight season. Girls’ water polo ends strong The Pointer girls earned two unique honors — they were granted a first-round bye in the Division II CIF water polo playoffs after their 16-13 season record earned them a No. 4 seed. And, theirs was the only PLHS winter team to reach the CIF semifinals. The Lady Pointers dispatched West Hills 5-2 in a quarterfinal match as season top-scorer Arianna Conger netted four goals and teammate Lexie Bohlman added another. Next up was a hot Valhalla team, arriving in the semifinals with a 24-6 record and hungry for a first-ever CIF title by any East County girls’ water polo team. The match, played Feb. 22 at La Jolla High School’s Coggan pool complex, saw the Pointers fall behind 4-1 at halftime as the Norsemen ladies showed off their ball-movement skills and ability to find open shooters. PLHS goalkeeper Samantha Pugh made brilliant saves on some laser-like Valhalla shots, but was too often left one-on-one against opposing shooters. Lexie Bohlman and Carolina Saboya found the net for the Pointers. Later, with the game out of reach in the waning minutes, Pugh was allowed to play in an attacking position and scored the final goal of the season for her team. Valhalla went on to win the CIF Division II title with a 7-6 win over Mt. Carmel. In the net, Pugh recorded a 4.7 goals-against average for the season, stopping 267 shots. Top scorers for the Lady Pointers this season were Conger (62 goals, 19 assists), Longworth (51 goals, 16 assists), Bohlman (36 goals, 13 assists), Saboya (18 goals, 21 assists) and Cristina Colloca (25 goals, nine assists). Pugh, Conger, Bohlman and Colloca have finished their prep careers. Other seniors are Sarah Wassem, Haylee Rea, Shannon Lund and Karin Davila. Girls win soccer shootout After 95 minutes of competition, the PLHS girls’ soccer team and first-round opponent San Marcos were deadlocked in a scoreless tie. Through two 40-minute halves and a 15-minute sudden-death overtime, junior goalkeeper Lily Edwards — already with 11 shutouts this season — had kept her side in the game with six saves. But she was just getting warmed up. Playing Feb. 23 on her home field, under typical sea breezes, dark clouds and falling temperatures, Edwards proved just what the Pointers needed as penalty kicks were needed to decide which team would advance to the CIF Division II quarterfinals. In the first three rounds of a five-round exchange of short-range kicks, the Pointers went up 2-0 on goals by Marie Laube and Jewell Roth while Edwards, reacting with lightning speed, stopped both San Marcos shooters. But when a San Marcos shooter finally beat Edwards in the fourth round, tensions rose as Pointer sophomore Caelle McKaveney stepped up for a potential game-winner. McKaveney, a defender, sized up the situation, looked to her right, then calmly drilled the ball into the open left side of the net as the San Marcos goalkeeper dove in the wrong direction. While McKaveney was swarmed by her teammates, a dejected San Marcos side walked off the field, its season ended with a 10-6-5 overall record following a first-place finish (6-0-4) in the Avocado East League. The Pointer victory sent the team to the CIF quarterfinals at La Costa Canyon. The team’s quest for a CIF title (after winning its first-ever Eastern League championship) ended Feb. 26 when the Lady Pointers came up short in a 2-0 loss to the Mavericks. The team played without captain Carly Holly, ineligible after being assessed a red card and ejected from the San Marcos match. Maverick goalkeeper Emily Jones only had to make one save against the Pointers, who were credited with eight shots. The Mavericks made 17 shots, with Edwards making eight saves. The Mavericks, after defeating Hilltop in the semifinals, were scheduled to play in the CIF finals March 5 against Westview. Going into the quarterfinals, the Lady Pointers were riding an 11-game unbeaten streak and appeared to have the momentum needed to match the 2009 team that won a CIF title in a shootout with then-freshman Edwards in goal. Top scorers for the season were Megan O’Beirne (seven goals, three assists), Holly (seven goals, one assist) and Veronica Perez (three goals, six assists). Edwards ended with a .743 goals-against average, 12 shutouts and 111 saves. The Lady Pointer program is stocked with talented young players. Graduating are captains Holly and Colleen O’Brien, Hailey Miller, Blair Holman and Paulina Mejia-Arroyo.