NATIONAL NO. 1 LJCD SURE TO DROP AFTER TOURNEY LOSS
La Jolla Country Day’s time as the No. 1-ranked girls basketball team in the nation is sure to end after Monday’s bad shooting night.
The undefeated Torreys were on the short end virtually the entire game.
Except for two scoring surges, shots did not fall as La Jolla Country Day, ranked No. 1 by ESPN and Maxpreps, fell to Long Beach Poly 45-39 in the Premier Division final of the 16th annual Socal Holiday Prep Classic at Del Norte High.
With five state championship to its credit, Poly is no
Long Beach Poly 45, La Jolla Country Day 39
slouch with a No. 24 ranking in the state by Maxpreps.
“You have games like this,” LJCD coach Terri Bamford said. “Poly did a great job on defense, especially against Te-hina (Paopao).
“The other players stepped up, but it seemed like we trailed all night.”
Paopao, who signed to play next year at Oregon, scored five first-quarter points, the last basket coming with 6:18 left in the period.
Her next and last basket came with 24 seconds left in the game.
In between, Paopao missed 15 straight shots.
“I’ve never missed 15 straight shots in my life,” Paopao said. “This is a great learning experience for us and me.
“They put a long defender on me and I have to learn how to deal with that.
“I think we needed a loss to be humbled.”
Paopao finished with seven points. Freshman center Breya Cunningham had 11 points and seven rebounds with junior guard Jazzy Anousinh contributing nine points.
Cunningham and Paopao were named to the all-tournament team for the Torreys (16-1), who have three state titles to their credit.
Poly (10-2) got 12 points from Nala Williams and 10 points and seven rebounds from Lily Buggs.
Williams was named to the all-tournament team along with Kaci Scott, the game’s MVP.
Phoenix Sandra Day O’connor 39, San Marcos 36: San Marcos (9-4) had its three-game winning streak snapped despite rallying from a 10-point halftime deficit to within a point at 37-36 with six seconds to play in the NCAA East Division final.
The Knights outscored the Eagles 22-13 before allowing a layup by Paris Atuahene with two seconds to play.
Izzy Flores led San Marcos with 14 points and Megan Roberts added 10 points and eight rebounds. Both players gained all-tournament honors.
Sandra Day O’connor (14-1), whose lone loss this season was in the tournament to Poway, was led by Jocelyn Erickson’s 10 points.
Newport Beach Sage Hill 62, El Camino 57: Sophomore
Aliyah Anderson was named to the all-tournament team for El Camino (9-5), which lost in the NAIA Division final.
Minden (Nev.) Douglas 55, Vista 49: Vista senior Evelyn Terraza was named alltournament after the Panthers (7-8) were defeated in the FIBA Division final.
Westview 73, Las Vegas Shadow Ridge 36: Ariana Williams of Westview was named MVP of the NCAA West Division final. Wolverines teammate Sarina Dacio was chosen all-tournament as well.
Monahan is a freelance writer.