The University City High School (UCHS) Lady Centurion basketball team suffered a tough 61-41 loss to the Mission Bay Lady Buccaneers in a CIF Division 3 quarterfinal playoff game played at Mission Bay on Feb. 25. The Buccaneers raced out to a quick 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. “Our team was good at sharing the ball with each other,” said Mission Bay coach Sade Wiley-Gatewood. Five-foot-ten-inch junior Keyahndra Cannon and 5-foot-9-inch sophomore Briteesha Solomon shared most of the scoring load in the first period for the Buccaneers, combining to account for all but four of the first quarter points for Mission Bay. Meanwhile, 5-foot-8-inch senior captain Genevieve Quintard did most of the damage in the first period for the Centurions, scoring four of the seven points for UC in the opening quarter. The Buccaneers would double the Centurion deficit to 27-13 by going on a 13-6 run early in the second period. “Our girls played very hard,” said Wiley-Gatewood. UCHS played hard in closing the gap to 32-21 as the two teams headed to their locker rooms at halftime. Spearheading the surge for the Centurions was the play of  5-foot-10-inch senior captain Jillian Drogan, 5-foot-8-inch senior Erika Nicdao and 5-foot-2-inch senior Justine Ronas. Drogan drained a three-point basket for UCHS in the second quarter, while Nicdao added six points in the period and Ronas had five of her own. After the intermission, Mission Bay outscored the Centurions 18-8 to extend its advantage to 50-29 at the end of the third quarter.  “Our players looked really great,” Wiley-Gatewood said. Nicdao did a great job of attempting to keep UCHS in the game by nailing a bucket and two free throws from the charity stripe early in the fourth quarter. However, a three-point basket by 5-foot-7-inch junior Eriel Dennis made the score 61-36 in favor of the Buccaneers and pretty much sealed the victory.  With the win, Mission Bay improves its record to 21-8 as the team moves on to the CIF Division 3 semifinal basketball playoffs. With the loss, the Centurion team concludes its season with a record of 17-12.