The Lightning is all Wright heading into league action

The Lightning girls look to Haywood Wright to lead the way in Academy League after a solid nonleague run.With 6-foot-2 center Haywood Wright leading the charge, the Sage Hill School girls’ basketball team looks primed to make a run at the Academy League title under first-year Coach Jim Perez.

Last year, the Lightning went 8-2 in Academy League action, sharing the league title with Brethren Christian.

This year, the Lightning got off to a 10-4 start in the nonleague portion of their schedule, reaching the finals of the Grizzly Girls’ Classic at Downey Calvary Chapel -- losing to Santa Ana Calvary Chapel -- and the semifinals of the Garden Grove Tournament -- losing to Corona del Mar.

The nonleague portion of its schedule should have Sage Hill well prepared for any obstacles the Academy League may bring.

St. Margaret’s should be a factor with Arezo Yassai leading the charge, while Brethren Christian should be in the title hunt again.

Brethren Christian is led by Kim Kwan, who leads the league in assists with 38, and Niki Wakamiya, who has 171 points -- second in the league only to Wright.

But this could be Wright’s year to shine in the Academy League. Wright leads the league in four categories -- points (192), rebounds (162), steals (71) and blocks (66). Just as impressively, most of those numbers came in games against higher-division schools.

Wright had 33 points, 19 rebounds, 11 steals and seven blocked shots in a 69-20 victory against Anza Hamilton in the first round of the Garden Grove Tournament.

The Yale-bound senior has a solid supporting cast in Katie McKeon, Rebecca Hembarsky, Laura Schaefer and Kaitlyn Tyre.

Schaefer had 18 points in the Hamilton game, making five three-pointers.

Sage Hill opens Academy League action today with a 5:30 p.m. game at Oxford Academy (5-7).

After that comes a key showdown against Brethren Christian on Jan. 10.200601062S1MMLMFNo Caption