Another strong season of hardwood action turned in by the JSerra Girls Basketball team came to a close in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs.

The Lions opened the postseason with a 66-39 first round victory over the Bonita Bearcats at JSerra Catholic High School.

The Lions held a 22-16 lead at halftime, but sophomore Kayla Rice exploded in the third quarter, scoring 14 points in the period to help the Lions open up a 44-32 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

JSerra put the game out of reach with a 12-0 run in the first three minutes of the final period.

Rice finished with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting and added a team-leading seven rebounds.

Sophomore Rosie Santos added 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting and dished out a team-best seven assists.

Sophomore Vivian Grenald scored 12 points and pulled down five rebounds.

The Lions tangled with San Clemente in the second round at San Clemente High School in a game that went down-to-the wire.

After trailing 39-38 at halftime, JSerra surged to an eight-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

But the Tritons continued to chip away at the Lions’ lead and re-captured the advantage with 1:53 remaining.

A clutch three-point shot by sophomore Addie Nolan pushed the Lions back in front 68-67 with 25.3 seconds remaining, but the Tritons answered with a basket on their ensuing possession to reclaim a one-point lead with 10.3 seconds remaining.

The Lions were unable to score in their final possessions and the Tritons sealed the win.

Nolan scored a team-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-7 from beyond the three-point line.

Sophomores Rosie Santos and Kayla Rice each added 14 points.

Sophomore Shae Talleur tallied 10 points.

The Lions finish the season with a record of 18-11.