Ishizaki hit four threes in Presentation's 54-35 first-round Central Coast Section Division II playoff victory over the Sequoia Cherokees on Feb. 24.

With the win, Presentation advanced to the CCS quarterfinals where the Panthers faced the No. 2-seeded Aragon Dons, but they were unable to secure a second round win and were eliminated 52-46 on Feb. 26.

The split in the two CCS games ended Presentation's season. The Panthers finished the year with a 12-15 record overall. Aragon, 25-4, will now face No. 6 seed St. Francis (18-9) in the semifinals on March 1.

Ishizaki led the Panthers against Sequoia in their CCS first-round win, scoring 16 points. Three of her four threes came in the first quarter, keeping the Panthers in the game even though ultimately Sequoia outscored them that quarter. Ishizaki had one rebound on the night.

Junior Katie Blach followed Ishizaki, scoring 10 points of her own with two points coming from the free-throw line. Blach pulled down three boards, two on the offensive end of the floor.

After Blach and Ishizaki in scoring came senior Christine Riley.

"Riley played a great game for us," said Presentation head coach Rich Brown. Riley scored eight points, including two three-pointers--one in the second quarter and another in the fourth. Riley also grabbed three boards.

At the end of the first quarter, Presentation actually trailed the Cherokees 20-17 but would not be behind for long.

The Panthers fought back hard in the second quarter. Their defense held strong, allowing only six points in the period while Presentation scored nine to end the quarter in a 26-26 tie.

"We've been working on our defense a lot," said Brown. "We can run up and down the court, but we have to be able to rebound."

The third quarter was when the Panthers really clinched the game. They scored 15 points and only allowed two free throws from Sequoia the entire quarter to take a commanding lead, 41-28.

Presentation put up another 13 points in the fourth quarter and held strong defensively, allowing only another seven from the Cherokees to hold on for the win.

"Sequoia's center was a good player," said Brown. The center for the Cherokees was dominant inside the paint, but the Panthers did their best to deny her the ball and keep pressure on the ball outside.

It was the offensive rebounding that helped the Panthers to their victory. Freshman Bridget O'Hara played her heart out under the basket, pulling down eight boards on the night. O'Hara pulled down five offensive rebounds, helping in the victory.

Senior Arianna Corona added her own five points to the total score, also hitting a three pointer. Corona also had four boards for the Panthers.

Freshman Erwina Kwan put up four points, scoring all four points in the end of the fourth quarter. Kwan pulled down two rebounds.

Nina Hasbany, the junior center for Presentation, scored four points and had two offensive rebounds for the Panthers.

O'Hara scored three points in addition to her excellent rebounding ability. One of those points came from the free-throw line.

Seniors Lauren Dreisch and Cassie French both had two points for the Panthers. Dreisch also pulled down two offensive boards in the win.