Irish looking solid and not just Thomas
LA JOLLA, CA – In the first of four quarterfinal games of the 14th annual La Jolla Country Day Sweet 16 Invitational on Thursday it was the Irish girls from Northern California once again showing they can play well in Southern California.
Sacred Heart Cathedral-San Francisco led 20-9 with two minutes left in the first quarter but let Mater Dei Catholic-Chula Vista hang around until a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter put it away in a 75-52 victory.
Several of the coaches that raved about the play of Cincinnati-committed 6-1 senior IImar’I Thomas on day one were joined by a couple of new ones that weren’t there the first day when Thomas was like a girl possessed against Helix. She followed up the 30-point, 22-rebound effort against Helix with 27 points and 18 rebounds versus Mater Dei Catholic.
“Sometimes they get homesick,” mused a California D1 coach that must remain un-named. “If she changes her mind I’d offer her a scholarship.”
Senior guard Edina del Rosario had a second consecutive solid outing and finished with 11 points, the same number she had in the Helix win. Gianna Silvestri had nine points on three 3-pointers.
Sacred Heart Cathedral (2-0) meets Lakewood (CO) at 6:15 p.m. on Friday in the first semifinal.
New Dynamic Duo at Mission Hills
A somewhat new look Mission Hills-San Marcos powered its way to the semifinals of the La Jolla Country Day Sweet 16 with a 67-31 dismantling of Modesto Christian-Modesto.
The Grizzlies still feature Washington-bound 6-1 power forward Khayla Rooks but the No. 2 girl on the team last year that won the CIF San Diego Section Open Division title, Madison Adams, has graduated.
Much to the delight of Coach Christopher Kroesch and the Grizzlies faithful Hailey McCoy and her family moved to the area.
Now a 5-10 junior McCoy picked right up where she left off as the leading scorer last season for Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills where she averaged 13.8 points and 6.2 rebounds a game.
McCoy had 22 points in the Grizzlies opening win over Ribet Academy-Los Angeles, and although she didn’t need to score in a game against Modesto Christian the Grizzlies controlled from the outset, she finished with six points, five rebounds and three assists.
Mission Hills was led by Olivia Perez with 15 points and five 3-pointers. Rooks had another day at the office with a double-double 14 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Sparkplug point guard Katelynn Nguyen had 12 points and three assists, and Nikki Mayoral chipped in with nine points.
Modesto Christian (1-1) was led by Alyssa Sandoval with seven points.
“Playing with Khayla has been fun,” said McCoy, who is actually living in the same building as Rooks. “She’s been a huge help to me in the adjustment and getting acclimated to the team – and we’ve become friends.”
“It’s a little different feel than playing with Madison but she’s fun to play with. She’s cash,” was Rooks’ opinion of her new teammate.
Mission Hills (3-0) will now play Highlands Ranch (CO) at 8 p.m. on Friday.
“Birdy” grounded as host La Jolla Country Day falls
With 5:30 left on the clock in the first quarter Alaysia “Birdy” Styles was whistled for her third foul, and although La Jolla Country Day fought hard without their 6-3 Cal-committed senior able to play her game the Torreys fell 48-44 to the big front line of Lakewood, Colorado.
Styles played to midway through the third quarter before getting her fourth foul, and although she never fouled out she seemed to lose some intensity with turnovers and missed free-throws. Styles still finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds with two assists.
The girl that tried hard to carry the team was Kiera Oakry but the size of Lakewood (2-0) was a big match-up problem for the other Torreys girls. Oakry, a 5-10 guard tied Styles for team-high with 16 points and added six rebounds.
Country Day (1-1) closed to 38-36 on a 3-pointer by Oakry with 4:40 left but Hannah Renstrom (team high 16 points) hit three straight 3-pointers to make it 48-40 and the Torrey ran out of time in their comeback effort.
The biggest problem Country Day faced was matching up with the 6-4 Emsbo twins, juniors Camila Emsbo and Kira Emsbo. Camila had 13 points and eight rebounds and although Kira only had two points, she snagged 10 rebounds and had three steals.
Pinewood comes up short
The way Pinewood-Los Altos Hills started it looked like they were going to run away and hide from Colorado power Highlands Ranch after bolting out to a 20-6 lead, however a 19-3 run wiped out the lead and in a game that was fairly close the rest of the way they fell 50-49 when a layup by Akayla Hackson rolled off the rim at the buzzer.
Pinewood (1-1) only trailed 39-37 entering the fourth quarter but quickly fell behind 46-37, and although they played all out until the final buzzer 10 missed free throws, with two in the final 25 seconds, and a horrific shooting night coupled with the size of Highlands Ranch was a bit too much to overcome.
Highlands Ranch (2-0) got a monster game from sophomore sensation Autumn Watts. Pinewood’s biggest girl, 5-10 Aisley Njssang, fouled out trying to defend Watts. The 6-0 forward finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds. Courtney Humbarger added 15 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Tommi Olson chipped in with 14 points for a Falcons team that basically only plays five girls.
The way it stands now there are three combinations for the finals, an all California affair, an all Colorado match-up, or a combination California/Colorado title game on Saturday night.
