By Patrick J. Kennedy
The normally hot-shooting Los Alamitos girls basketball team started out ice cold and fell behind in the first quarter of its first round CIF playoff game last Thursday, February 12, at the Griffin Center, and never recovered, losing to Dos Pueblos, 53-43.
The Sunset League champions missed all of their mid-range and outside shots in the first quarter of the Division 2 playoff game, which ended with Los Alamitos down 11-4. The Griffins’ only two baskets were strong layups in the paint by freshman center Helen Fabian.
After the first quarter, the Griffins’ shots started to fall, and the second quarter ended 30-22, but the Griffins never took the lead the rest of the game.
Late in the third quarter, Los Alamitos closed the gap to only 4 points, 39-35, on back-to-back threes by sophomore wing Torri Yoshida and senior guard Maya Asumbrado, but Dos Pueblos answered with a three, and the quarter ended with the Griffins down 42-35.
To start the fourth, Dos Pueblos went on a 6-0 run to push the lead to 48-35, and although the Griffins outscored the Chargers 8-5 the rest of the way, it was too little, too late.
On Saturday, February 14, in the second round, Dos Pueblos (19-11) defeated San Juan Hills, 52-45, and is scheduled to play a home game in Goleta against Rosary Academy (21-9) on Wednesday, February 18 (which is past our press deadline), in the quarterfinals.
Sophomore guard Maile Heng led the Griffins with 10 points and 4 rebounds, followed by senior forward Lexi Kyriakos with 8 points, including 2 threes, and Torri Yoshida with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocked shots. Freshman center Amber Cosio chipped in 6 points and 7 rebounds.
For Dos Pueblos, senior point guard Carly Letendre led all scorers with 21 points, including 5 threes. Sophomore forward Kindah Ahmad Reda chipped in 16 points, including 8 of 9 from the free throw line, and grabbed 13 rebounds.
“Our shots weren’t falling tonight,” said Coach Maya De Anda, “but we were still close most of the game because the girls played so hard for all 32 minutes. Unfortunately for us, Dos Pueblos got some long-bounce rebounds and hit some big shots to win the game. But I’m proud of the way the girls played tonight and all season.”
The Griffins won their fourth consecutive Sunset Conference league title this year with an 11-1 league record and finished the season with an overall record of 20-8.
In the four years of consecutive league titles under Coach De Anda, the Griffins’ overall record is 83-33.
