Girls basketball: Eagles lose in finals

Tony Altobelli

MISSION VIEJO - In a game of offensive spurts, Sonora High’s girls

basketball team “out-spurted” Estancia in the championship game of the

Jim Hill Basketball Tournament en route to a 58-46 win for the Raiders.

“These are the games that hopefully we’ll learn from as we prepare for

league play,” Eagles’ Coach Paul Kirby said. “We couldn’t get a break or

a bounce out there to go our way.”

A 9-0 run in the first quarter and a 10-0 run in the second quarter

put the Eagles (7-2) in a hole early and despite a strong effort in the

second half, they could not climb all the way back.

A major force in the Eagles’ path was Sonora’s Brandi Davis. The

tournament’s Most Valuable Player scored 28 points, grabbed seven

rebounds and had six assists for the Raiders (6-4).

Lauren Cassity, an all-tournament selection, led the Eagles with 18

points.

In fact, Cassity scored the Eagles’ first nine points of the game and

almost single-handedly gave Estancia an early four-point lead.

That’s when Davis hit five straight points and dished off back-to-back

assists to lead Sonora on a 9-0 run, giving the Raiders the lead for

good.

“They really shot well in the early going against us,” Kirby said of

Sonora’s shooters. “They were probably the second-toughest team we’ve

played all year, with Rosary being the toughest.”

Sonora led, 19-16, early in the second quarter before the Raiders

ripped off 10 straight points and 14 of the next 16 points to open up a

15-point bulge before halftime.

“Our execution was poor on offense and our defense was lacking,” Kirby

said. “But I know it’s still early and, like I said, hopefully, we’ll

learn from this.”

Whatever Kirby told his troops during intermission worked, because the

Eagles opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run of their own, cutting the

lead to 33-30.

The Eagles’ defense did not allow a point for over four minutes of the

third quarter.

“We knew that Sonora couldn’t keep shooting as well as they were

shooting and we just needed to turn up the defense,” Kirby said. “We did,

and we got back in the game.”

Leading the surge was Xochitl Byfield and Erika Avalos, who each

scored four points during that run.

Sonora survived the Eagles’ onslaught and stretched the lead to seven

after three quarters, 42-35.

Davis opened the fourth with a three-pointer and a free throw to bring

the lead up to 11. Cassity, who scored only four points in the second and

third quarters, ripped off five straight points to cut the lead back to

six.

From there, Estancia went cold, while Sonora went on a 10-2 run to put

the game away, led by Davis and Cathy Ngo. Ngo scored five of her 11

points near the end of the game.

For Estancia, Byfield finished the game with 11 points.

Despite the loss, Kirby was pleased with the effort of his team and

the overall play shown in the first nine games of the season.

“We’re just trying to get ready for league,” Kirby said. “Our

intensity and work ethic is there and I’m happy about that.”

Estancia will host Valencia Thursday at 7 p.m. in a nonleague matchup.

“Hopefully, we’ll keep getting better and better and by the time

league gets underway, we’ll be running on all cylinders,” Kirby said.

JIM HILL BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Championship game

Sonora 58, Estancia 46

Sonora 14 19 9 16 - 58 Estancia 11 9 15 11 - 46

Sonora - Davis 28, Ngo 11, Neabiors 8, Baca 4, Desousy 4, Singer 2,

Crowther 1.

3 pt. goals - Davis 3.

Fouled out - none.

Estancia - Cassity 18, Byfield 11, Matsufuji 5, Hirata 4, Avalos 4,

Barrera 4, Leinhart 0, Ollila 0, Orellana 0, Rodriguez 0.

3 pt. goals - Cassity 1, Byfield 1, Matsufuji 1.

Fouled out - none.