Nicholle Aston made only two field goals in the second half Saturday against Marymount, but they turned out to be the biggest baskets of the game for the Louisville girls basketball team.
Aston picked up her fourth foul with 3 minutes, 31 seconds remaining in the third quarter, forcing Hazel Cruz, Caitlin Herzig and Caroline Lynch to carry the Royals with their senior captain on the sideline.
But Aston converted a three-point play with 1:24 remaining to increase Louisville's lead to six, then after a pair of Marymount baskets, hit a 22-footer as the shot clock expired with 17 seconds left to seal a 51-46 nonleague victory.
"(The foul trouble) definitely affected my mental state. I couldn't defend the way I wanted to because I knew I couldn't afford to get my fifth foul," Aston said. "It was hard for me to find my rhythm on offense, but I knew I had to just keep playing through it. That's why knocking down that shot felt so good."
Aston finished with 15 points, five rebounds and three steals, after also being limited in the first half when she picked up two fouls less than four minutes into the game.
Although Louisville (12-7) surrendered 11 of the final 12 points before halftime with Aston on the bench, the Royals responded to start the third quarter behind a pair of 3-pointers from Lynch.
"I saw a lot of growth from them (Saturday)," Aston said. "It showed me I can put more trust in my teammates and that I don't have to
put up 30 (points) and 20 (rebounds) in order for us to win. I learned that I can rely on them to hit major shots."Cruz, who had 14 points, added two 3-pointers and Herzig (10 points) hit one as well as part of a 21-point third quarter for the Royals, who increased their lead to 40-29 early in the fourth.
"We knew we couldn't rely on (Nicholle) 24-7. We had to swing the ball, make quick decisions, set our feet and hit our shots because in the first half we were rushing too much," Cruz said. "We just needed to play with more confidence and trust each other and pick it up and work together."
Christine Urquhart's 3-pointer pulled Marymount (10-6) to within 45-42 with 1:54 left. Aston, who had only one free throw in the second half at that point, rebounded her own miss on Louisville's next possession and was fouled on a rebound putback, then hit the ensuing free throw.
Michaela Keefe and Florence Turiaf made layups on the Sailors' next two possessions to close to within 48-46 with 47 seconds left.
Aston got the ball on the right wing with six seconds remaining on the shot clock the Royals' next trip down the floor, dribbled toward the top of the key with her left hand, elevated and buried a 3-pointer with a defender in her face as the shot clock buzzer sounded to erase any hopes of a Marymount comeback.
"That three was as big as they come," Louisville coach Bob Dacorsi said. "We were just trying to hold on having four girls with four fouls. It wasn't pretty, but we needed this win."
Chyanne Perkins had 12 points for the Sailors, including 10 free throws as Marymount was 17 of 31 at the line, compared to 11 of 15 for Louisville, which plays Tuesday in a Mission League game against Flintridge Sacred Heart.
-- Erik Boal
Boys basketball
El Camino (Oceanside) 54, Oaks Christian 50: Tyler Harris scored 16 points for the Lions in the intersectional loss at Lincoln High in San Diego.
Aleks Abrams and Ryan Hiepler added nine points each for Oaks Christian (9-9), which held a 25-19 halftime lead.
Traders Point Christian Academy (Ind.) 60, Sylmar 56: Travis Moore led the Spartans with 16 points in the intersectional setback. Cody Rodino scored 14 points and Larry Williams scored 13 points for Sylmar (10-11).
Leuzinger 65, Oak Park 64: Ron Lee scored 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Eagles in a nonleague setback.
Leuzinger's Eric Childress made two free throws with eight seconds left to give the Olympians (13-4) the lead.
Lee missed a 3-pointer on the following possession and the ball was tipped in at the buzzer for Leuzinger.
J.D. Slajchert scored 16 points for Oak Park (17-2), which got eight points and 10 rebounds from Kaelan Hicks.
Buckley 48, Dominguez 45: David Yona scored 12 points to lead the Griffins at the Pioneer Showcase at Bell-Jeff.
Tyler Coppin-Carter added 10 points and eight rebounds for Buckley (15-5).
Flintridge Prep 68, Chadwick 53: Robert Cartwright scored 20 points to lead the host Rebels to the Prep League victory.
Chadd Cosse had 12 points and Tyler Weakland added 10 points for Flintridge Prep (9-5, 2-0), which led 18-9 after the first quarter.
Bellarmine-Jefferson 79, Heritage Christian 53: Parker Williams scored 19 points to lead the host Guards to the nonleague victory.
Will Morales had 11 points and Jalen Henry added 10 for Bell-Jeff (10-9). Gabriel Bray scored 15 points to lead Heritage Christian (9-8).
Renaissance Academy 59, Diamond Ranch 47: K.J. Okamanas had 15 points for the Wildcats (12-6).
Marquise Mosley added 11 points for Renaissance Academy.
Girls water polo
Dos Pueblos 14, Agoura 9: The Chargers (12-5) suffered the loss in their final match in the Santa Barbara tournament, concluding 1-3 in the two-day event.
Aley Vilches had three goals, with Kristi McGee and Blake Stringer both scoring twice for Agoura, which opened the day with a 9-3 victory over San Clemente.
Vilches had four goals, with Lauren Rothermel, Taylor Shershenovich, Sam Sullivan and McGee also scored for the Chargers, who lost Friday to Murrieta Valley 8-5 and to El Toro 5-4.
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