ORANGE COUNTY GIRLS’ BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Edison Rallies for Victory Over Compton

To fully appreciate Edison High School’s 60-56 victory over Compton Saturday night in a girls’ 4-A quarterfinal, you have to understand the obstacles the Chargers overcame.

It was no ordinary road game for the Sunset League champions. Because of a gas spill on the 405 Freeway, the Chargers were on a bus for 1 hour and 15 minutes and arrived late at a hostile gym to face a 25-2 team that was not only fast but tall.

Not surprisingly, Edison suffered through a dismal first half and seemed relieved to trail only by nine, 34-25, at halftime.

“Things weren’t going our way,” Edison Coach Dave White said. “We played hard, but we weren’t playing that well.”

Compton, the 4-A champion in 1985, appeared to be headed for a blowout when it extended its lead to 50-36 late in the third quarter before Edison’s Denise Ogburn rallied her team.

Ogburn led a 7-1 Edison run to close out the third quarter and a 10-0 burst to start the fourth as Edison came back to earn a semifinal berth against Santa Barbara, an upset winner over Lynwood.

“I didn’t want this to be our last game,” Ogburn said.

Ogburn, a 5-foot 4-inch senior guard, scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half, including two foul shots with nine seconds remaining. She had a crucial three-point play with 26 seconds left in the third quarter and had a blocked shot and defensive rebound in the final 2:11.

Kristi Smith, Edison’s 6-1 center, led all scorers with 22 points. Stacee Johnson added 17 for the Chargers (28-1).

“The girls were incredible,” White said. “We picked up intensity in the fourth quarter, and that helped us get our fast break going.”