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.