By Patrick J. Kennedy
Los Alamitos senior point guard Tamlyn Yoshida, last season’s co-MVP of the Sunset League, added another notable accomplishment to her already impressive list when she scored 15 points in a victory over Edison in the last regular season game and passed the 1,000-point milestone in her standout career.
A four-year starter known for clutch performances, Yoshida was honored for reaching 1,011 points by her coaches and teammates in a brief pregame ceremony on Thursday, February 12, before the first-round game of CIF playoffs at the Griffin Center.
Her list of other honors includes an All-Surf-League-First-Team award that she won as a sophomore in 2024 after she averaged 11.2 points and 2.3 assists per game, the co-MVP award that she won in 2025 after averaging 14.8 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, and hitting 62 threes, and her placement on the 2025 “All County Third Team” by the Orange County Register newspaper.
This season’s league and county awards have not been announced yet.
Yoshida undoubtedly would have passed the 1,000-point mark much earlier this year had she not severely sprained her ankle in preseason, which limited her to only 19 games and compromised her overall averages as she worked her way back into shape during the season.
Her average of 8.4 points per game this season is her lowest since her freshman year but is still the third highest on the team, and she also averaged 3 assists and 3 steals per game. Yoshida scored in double figures 7 times, including in two close and crucial late-season victories over league rivals Marina (11 points) and Fountain Valley (12 points).
Yoshida’s career has been distinguished by numerous clutch performances, including a dramatic three-pointer she made as a freshman with the Griffins clinging to a 1-point lead with only 47 seconds left in the championship game against Corona del Mar. Her all-net shot from the right wing pushed the Griffins’ tenuous lead to a two-possession, 4-point margin with time running out and helped secure the first of the Griffins’ four consecutive league titles.
In the Griffins’ surprising upset tournament championship at Sunny Hills in December of 2024, Yoshida was the team’s leading scorer, averaging 14 points per game as the Griffins defeated Desert Christian Academy and the highly ranked teams of Lakewood and El Dorado. In the championship game victory over El Dorado, Yoshida hit a three-pointer with only 18 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and force overtime, and then with only 9 seconds left in the overtime, she scored the winning point by driving into the paint, getting fouled, and sinking one of two free throws to win the game.
Late in the 2024-25 season, in the crucial victory over Marina that guaranteed a Sunset League co-championship, the Griffin’s third title in a row, Yoshida again led the way, scoring 21 points with 3 threes.
“It’s a team sport and everyone contributes,” said Coach Maya De , “but Tam has been an outstanding player, a great teammate, and a unique leader for us, and obviously without her we wouldn’t have been nearly as successful. I’m happy that she passed the 1,000-point mark, but her game is more than just scoring. She’s an unselfish player who makes assists, gets steals, and plays great defense. We will definitely miss her both as a great player and as a great person.”
