This may not have been as dominating a performance as in the past, but the La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School girls basketball team still came away with the gold last Saturday morning in the Division IV title game at the University of San Diego.
With Janae Fulcher and Jamesha Townsend sitting on the bench late in the game after fouling out, several other Lady Torreys stepped up to help LJCD secure its section-record seventh straight crown, with a 45-38 win over Francis Parker.
LJCD has now won five in a row in Division IV, having won the first two crowns in its streak in Division V for head coach Terri Bamford.
Early on, it looked as if the Lady Lancers might just put a halt to that streak as Parker went into halftime down only 18-17.
“We made some adjustments to our press defense, which allowed us to get three quick steals and conversions,” Bamford said, as LJCD opened a 25-19 lead early in the third quarter.
LJCD used an 18-11 third quarter to try and pull away and held a 36-28 advantage heading into the final eight minutes, only to see two of its top players hit the pine with five fouls late in the game.
That’s where starter Chelsea Burns came into action.
Burns banged the boards and came up with several key rebounds to steady the ship for LJCD, which also got a nice effort off the bench from Gizelle Studevent.
“Yes, it was a total team effort,” Bamford noted. “Having our two post players foul out was tough, and it shows how a true team can still get the job done.”
Parker got to within 41-36 with a minute and a half remaining, but the Lady Torreys made just enough free throws in the final stanza (5-of-10) to hold off their opponents and seal the deal. Dominique Conners tallied 14 points in the winning effort.
“Our pre-game speech was to win championships you have to do the little things better, such as rebounding, diving on loose balls and executing your plays,” Bamford added.
LJCD seemed to have just enough extra effort to do that and keep a gritty Parker team at bay.
Next up for LJCD, which topped The Bishop’s School 52-33 in the Division IV semifinals, will be a state playoff game this evening, March 8, at home versus Whittier Christian (24-6) at 7 p.m. A win there would move the Lady Torreys into the next round on Saturday.
In other local women’s playoff action, the University City (UC) Lady Centurions suffered a tough 83-39 loss to the Grossmont Lady Griffins in the CIF Divsion II quarterfinals at Grossmont on Friday, Feb. 23.
Five-foot-4 senior Tianna Coleman led UC with 16 points. She was followed in the scoring column by 5-9 junior Jamie Vermillion (8), 5-7 senior Lia Vyas (4), 5-11 sophomore Delea Pursel (4), 5-10 junior Jolene Walter (3), 5-4 senior Malinda Richard (2), and 5-9 junior Karimah Hicks (2).
The Lady Centurions will lose Coleman, Vyas and Richard to graduation. But Vermillion, Pursel, Walter, Hicks, 5-foot sophomore Jamila Jordan, 5-5 sophomore Joy Deleon, 5-7 junior Brittany Olivares, 5-7 junior Tifinni Britt and 5-9 junior Jessica Funk will all return next year to a UC team that improved its overall record to 17-13 this season.
” Rob Stone contributed to this story.