Girls’ Basketball: Edison stays hot
Having options sure can make coaching a lot easier.
Edison High girls’ basketball coach Sara Brown is in such a scenario, and her team is flourishing because of it.
Each of Edison’s eight active players scored on Tuesday, and the Chargers rolled past visiting Yorba Linda, 55-34, in their nonleague home opener.
“This is the first time that I’ve been able to look down my bench and feel confident putting kids in that are [our] six, seven, eight, nine,” Brown said. “Our bench is very, very deep. I could play one through 13 honestly, so it’s nice to have that.”
The Chargers (5-0) opened the year by winning the Gold Bracket of the Redondo “Battle at the Beach” Tournament.
Starting the year on a hot streak is a new experience for center Ashley Niemand. The junior has been on varsity since her freshman year, and she attributes the five-game winning streak to the team’s depth.
“It’s just different, but I’m glad that we have a good start because, before, we never did,” Niemand said. “We have some senior leadership, but it’s not stars. It’s more cumulative.”
“Everyone is doing their part, so that’s more exciting.”
The Chargers are working well together, although they will soon have to integrate new players into their scheme. Finley Garnett and Hope Nguyen are serving their mandatory 30-day sit-out periods for transferring.
Combine those additions with a couple of players making their way back from injury and Edison’s bench is only going to get deeper.
That depth was beneficial on a night that Edison’s team didn’t give an inch defensively. The aggressive play got a couple of the Chargers into foul trouble.
Niemand (eight points) played most of the first half with two fouls before picking up her third with 2:25 left in the second quarter.
With the 6-foot-3 center forced to play carefully, Yorba Linda’s Baylee Weston and Lindsey Sullivan were able to exploit the Chargers on the interior.
Weston had six rebounds in the second quarter, and the duo combined for five points to aid the outside shooting of Shelby Emami.
Gianna Luna also had three fouls before the break.
Still, with 14 turnovers forced in the first half, Edison went into halftime with a 27-19 lead over the Mustangs (0-6).
A 3-pointer by Yorba Linda’s Paige Weingarten early in the third cut the lead to 27-24.
The Chargers surrendered just five points the rest of the period, and they headed into the fourth with a 41-29 advantage.
With a double-digit lead, the first few possessions of the final frame were going to be important.
Shooting guard Andie Kristinat, who had started the night 2 of 11 from the field, came to life. Her 3-pointer to open the fourth made it a 15-point lead.
Kristinat finished the night with a game-high of 17 points. She had five 3-pointers and 11 rebounds.
“I got pretty down in the first half, I’m not going to lie,” Kristinat said. “I didn’t want to let my teammates down, and I have confidence in my shot, so I knew that it would come back.”
Nonleague
Edison 55, Yorba Linda 34
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Yorba Linda – 7 -12 - 10 - 5 - 34
Edison – 15 - 12 - 14 - 14 - 55
YL – Weingarten 8, Emami 8, Sullivan 7, Ko 4, Weston 3, L. Liu 2, Angagco 2.
3-pt. goals – Weingarten 2, Emami 2.
Fouled out –Weingarten.
Technicals – None.
Ed – Kristinat 17, Niemand 8, Samiy 7, Luna 6, Bradbury 6, Nance 5, Schuesler 3, Ontiveros 3.
3-pt. goals – Kristinat 5, Luna 1, Nance 1, Schuesler 1, Samiy 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
