Led by the play of 5-foot-9-inch sophomore Kelsey Plum, the La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) Lady Torreys defeated the Horizon Lady Panthers 79-33 in their Coastal League basketball opener at Country Day on Jan. 14. “We had a great scouting report,” said Plum. “Horizon is a good team. They did a good job in the first quarter.” In the first quarter Plum produced four points, and 5-foot-7-inch senior Kaylah Miller and 5-foot-10-inch junior Malina Hood got six points apiece. LJCD jumped out to a quick 19-9 lead at the end of the period. “We played really hard as a team,” said Plum. “We were focused. We played with a lot of energy and hustle.” In the second quarter, all of the hustle resulted in the Lady Torreys going on a 15-1 run to open up a 34-10 advantage. Plum paced the scoring spree with 13 points. It was now the Lady Panthers turn to go on a mini 5-0 run of their own. Junior Khadijah Brandon converted a free throw from the charity stripe, while junior Alonia Clay junior Kimbreli Flournoy knocked down field goals to cut the Country Day cushion to 34-15. “They (Horizon) have got some very talented players,” said LJCD coach Terri Bamford. “But, you never know which way the ball is going to bounce.” For the Lady Torreys, it was still bouncing their way as they headed off to the locker room at halftime with a 40-17 edge. After the intermission, Country Day outscored the Lady Panthers 28-4 in the third quarter to take a commanding 68-21 lead. That pretty much sealed the win for LJCD, which improved its record to 14-3 overall and 1-0 in the Coastal League. With the loss, Horizon falls to 10-7 overall and 0-1 in Coastal League play. On Monday, Jan. 17, the Lady Torreys defeated the San Diego Cavers 52-42 in the Martin Luther King Elite Eight Showcase Tournament. Plum led Country Day with 23 points, seven rebounds and two assists, and Maya Hood added 15 points and 13 rebounds.