Benilde-St. Margaret's perseveres in quarterfinal victory over DeLaSalle

Benilde-St. Margaret's was totally out of sync Wednesday. It didn't hinder the team's determination.

Sophomore guard Kendall McGee ignited a seven-point, 33-second burst in the second half that broke a tie and lifted the Red Knights to a 64-53 victory over DeLaSalle in the Class 3A girls basketball state tournament quarterfinals at Maturi Pavilion.

"Olivia [Olson] was doing her thing, and I needed to step up and start hitting my shots," McGee said.

McGee scored 15 of her 19 points in the second half, when she went 6-for-10 from the floor. She also finished with four rebounds and four steals.

McGee buried a three-pointer, grabbed a defensive rebound before scoring on a short jumper and had a steal and assist on a layup by Olson layup to put the Red Knights (24-6) up 52-45 with 5 minutes, 43 seconds remaining.

"When Kendall gets that look on her face she can be tough to handle," Red Knights coach Tim Ellefson said.

Olson, a junior guard, finished with a game-high 25 points. She also had eight rebounds and four assists as the Red Knights overcame an early 22-6 deficit.

Sophomore Aneisha Scott epitomized DeLaSalle (23-7) at the outset. She didn't back down from anything or anybody. Scott made her first four shots and had 10 points before the Red Knights knew what hit them. DeLaSalle scored the first 10 points and stretched its lead to 16 midway through the first half.

"Everything was a step slow for us," Ellefson said. "It's a maturity thing for us. We are still very young."

Scott finished with 17 points, six assists and five rebounds. The Islanders led 32-21 at halftime.

"We knew they would come out with a lot of energy in the second half," Scott said. "We didn't match it."