Girls’ Basketball: Edison wins key Sunset League matchup
HUNTINGTON BEACH – No team wants to leave its playoff hopes to chance.
That is the position that Edison High’s girls’ basketball team would have been in had the result not gone its way on Wednesday night.
The Chargers are not interested in taking that risk.
Andie Kristinat had 13 points and six rebounds, and Ashley Niemand added 12 points with seven rebounds as the Chargers beat Marina, 44-23, in a critical Sunset League game at Edison High.
The league’s third automatic playoff bid was at stake, with the Vikings (10-16, 5-5) having won the first matchup between the two teams.
Before taking the court for warmups, Vikings coach Kirk Iwami expressed a desire to contain Edison’s post players.
Foul trouble for Niemand helped Marina accomplish that goal in the first meeting, but it was a different story in the first half on Wednesday night.
Niemand had nine points and six rebounds as the Chargers (15-11, 5-5) took a 22-10 lead into the halftime locker room.
The early lead was a big deal for Niemand, who gave special consideration to the fact that it was senior night. Although an all-senior lineup was trotted out at the start, the junior center wanted to make sure they got ample playing time.
“I wanted make sure everyone got to play, so we had to make sure that we got that lead before,” said Niemand, who had nine points in the first half. “I just felt that I owed it to my team to try to get that lead.”
Finley Garnett also had 12 rebounds at the break. The junior forward had 21 rebounds to go with three assists and three steals for the game.
“It’s all just about wanting it,” Garnett said. “How bad you want it is how much you get it.”
Siena Ontiveros, Tayler Nance, Ryane Bradbury, Anna Krause, and Gianna Luna got the starting nod on senior night. Nance hit a 3-pointer in the final minute for her only points of the game.
Marina has gone cold at a bad time, especially for a team that is on the bubble for a playoff berth. The Vikings’ chances quite literally come down to a do-or-die playoff game for the league’s third seed.
Edison and Marina will play at Huntington Beach High at 3 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. Marina’s sub-.500 record does not bode well for its at-large berth consideration.
The identity of the Vikings offense has been to drive and kick, but over their last three games, the team has converted just four 3-pointers.
“We are in a shooting slump right now, but with our height, we have to rely on our quickness,” Iwami said. “If they’re packing the paint inside where we can’t drive, then we have to rely on our shots outside.”
Vikings point guard Courtney Suruki went 0 for 10 from the field.
Sadie Atwood provided most of Marina’s offense. She scored 11 points with nine rebounds. Katie Nguyen added four points and 12 rebounds.
Prior to the game, Edison held a moment of silence for former coach Dan Wiley.
“As long as I’m here at Edison, I will honor him on senior night,” Chargers coach Sara Brown said. “I want to make sure that he is never forgotten. If it wasn’t for him, Coach Justin (Johnson) and I would not be here today.”
Sunset League
Edison 44, Marina 23
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Marina – 4 - 6 - 7 - 6 – 23
Edison – 11 - 11 - 8 - 14 – 44
Mar – Atwood 11, Nguyen 4, Fukuzawa 3, Lin 3, Suruki 2.
3-pt. goals – Lin 1, Fukuzawa 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
Ed – Kristinat 13, Niemand 12, Luna 5, Bradbury 4, Garnett 3, S. Ontiveros 3, Nance 3, Schuesler 1.
3-pt. goals – S. Ontiveros 1, Nance 1, Kristinat 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
Twitter: @ProfessorTurner
