December 17, 2024
By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X
SANTA ANA-The fast start to the season now seems like a distant memory for the Cerritos High girls basketball team following another heartbreaking loss. For the third time this season, the Dons lost by six points or less, this time to Los Alamitos High 48-44 in the last of four games played in the Santa Ana Elks Classic at Segerstrom High School last Saturday afternoon.
Cerritos led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter but was outscored 26-18 in the second half and shot six of 31 from the field after halftime. The Dons had previously lost to Corona Del Mar High on Dec. 10 to begin pool play of the tournament, and to Santa Margarita High 59-41 the next day before knocking off University High 49-34 last Thursday.
“We didn’t take care of the ball,” said Cerritos head coach Marcus Chinen. “We had a couple of crucial turnovers which…this game is a game of momentum, and we just lost the momentum a little bit in the third quarter due to a couple of turnovers, a few missed layups and maybe a couple of rebounds that we didn’t get that we should have had. But other than that, this is something that we can learn from going forward and hopefully we’ll be ready for league when it starts in January.”
The Dons never trailed in the first half and the game was tied only once, which was at 4-4 almost two minutes in. Up 9-8 late in the stanza, sophomore Kalana Nguyen hit a three-pointer for her only points of the game, to start a 7-0 run that lasted 32 seconds into the second quarter. A three-pointer from senior Megan Wallace followed by a basket from senior Sophie Watanabe a minute later pushed the score to 21-10 with 3:44 left in the half.
However, Cerritos would attempt five shots the remainder of the half, connecting on two of them while the Griffins went on a 12-5 run to close out the half. Los Alamitos would keep its momentum going, scoring the first six points of the second half, the last four of them coming from Sydney Asumbrado as it would not trail for the final 12:04 of the contest.
The Dons would get to within two points twice in the fourth quarter, the last coming with 3:24 left in the game when sophomore Jordin Pulley nailed a three-pointer. A steal and basket from junior Cameron Lacorte with under 50 seconds left made it 47-44, but a missed perimeter shot from Lacorte and two long range misses from senior Miya Scammahorn cost the Dons a chance to tie, or even win the game. Bryn Paget’s free throw with 7.1 seconds left sealed the win for the Griffins. For the game, Cerritos was 16 of 59 from the field and shot 50 percent from the free throw line.
“Any layup that we have offensively, or defensively, is crucial for us,” said Chinen. “On the offensive side, if you’re right under [the basket] and you can get an and-one, great. If you can get to the free throw line, we’d like that too, whether you make it or miss it. But that’s one thing that could change the momentum of the game.”
Pulley came off the bench to lead Cerritos with 16 points, had five rebounds and two steals while senior Ambar Multani added eight points and 14 rebounds. It’s the second time this season Pulley has led the Dons in scoring. Scammahorn, who had five points, was named to the all-tournament team.
“She’s going to be crucial coming in for us,” said Chinen of Pulley. “We don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, whether someone gets sick or injured, and I think she’ll be ready either way. Even if she’s coming off the bench or if we need to call on her to start a game, I think she’ll be ready to go.”
Cerritos will host Downey High on Friday and face Rancho Cucamonga High on Saturday at La Salle High before heading to San Diego for the Southern California Holiday Prep Classic where it will play Beckman High on Thursday in the first of three pool play games in the WNBA Gold Division. The Dons are one of 100 teams from four states plus the District of Columbia and British Columbia that will be playing in the prestigious girls basketball tournament. Their pool play games will be at three of 10 sites throughout San Diego County.