Dons subdue Sea Kings in 14-point loss
Bryce Alderton
A swarming full-court press caught the Corona del Mar Sea Kings in
a whirlwind Tuesday night.
The Cerritos Dons (2-0) pressured the Sea Kings from the opening
tip until the final 20 seconds when they could hold the ball and
defeat CdM, 59-45, in a first-round matchup in the Western Tournament
at Western High.
Corona committed 37 turnovers, 22 in the second half, despite
shooting and rebounding better than Cerritos. The Sea Kings connected
on 16 of 40 attempts (40%) compared to Cerritos’ 21 for 63 effort
(33%) and outrebounded the Dons, 30-27. CdM senior guard Kelliann
Klein led all scorers with 19 points
A smothering defense exhibited by the Dons, particularly on Sea
King inbounds passes, thwarted CdM’s bid for its first win.
“We can’t (duplicate) that type of speed in practice,” said
first-year CdM Coach Jim Barkalow III. “We weren’t strong with the
ball in making good passes. (Cerritos) wanted to trap us and we let
ourselves get trapped, particularly throwing the ball in.”
Corona started the second half strong, getting five quick points
off a Lauren Snell put-back layup and a Klein three-pointer to cut
the Cerritos lead to 27-25. But a slow Sea King transition allowed
the Dons’ Kathryn Lee to penetrate the lane for a layup, and
following a Sea King turnover, Lauren Kamiyama nailed two free throws
to increase the lead to 31-25.
Corona plays tournament-host Western today at 6 p.m. in the second
round of pool play.
Western Tournament
Cerritos 59, CdM 45
Score by Quarters
Cerritos 11 14 11
13 -- 59
CdM 9 11 13
12 -- 45
Corona del Mar -- Dimas 5, Snell 3, Klein 19, McCoy 5,
C. Marks 0, Otterbein 9, Heeschen 3, Skalla 1, Stern 0.
3-pt. goals -- Klein 1.
Fouled out -- none.
Cerritos -- Convento 12, Lee 4, Genisauski 7, Nozawa 11,
Kamiyama 8, Basilan 10, Polk 4, Ewals 3, Davis 0, Asami 0, Moon 0.
3-pt. goals -- Nozawa 1, Ewals 1.
Fouled out -- none.
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