Offensive struggles doom Edison in fight for first at Los Alamitos

The challenger is always the underdog until they finish the job.

The Edison High girls’ basketball team threatened the status quo of the Sunset League in its first meeting with Los Alamitos.

Back on Jan. 9, the Chargers held a nine-point halftime lead at home, but the Griffins rallied to avoid the upset.

Los Alamitos did not have to dig deep for another dramatic performance. The Griffins gained control early and cruised to a 50-38 victory over the visiting Chargers on Tuesday night.

Edison (12-10, 5-2 in league) was hoping to draw even with Los Alamitos (18-5, 7-0) in the league standings. Instead, the Griffins strengthened their case to become four-time defending league champions.

The Griffins used an all-around effort to defeat the Chargers. Eight players scored for Los Alamitos.

Sophomore shooting guard Sydney Gandy had a game-high 16 points. Sophomore point guard Asia Avinger added nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

The door appeared to be open for the Chargers to get even when Avinger picked up two early fouls. It was a 2-2 tie when Avinger left the game at the 4:14 mark of the first quarter. From there, the Griffins went on an impressive 19-0 run without their top scoring option.

“Our defense was really good,” Gandy said. “I think with Asia out, that just means that we all have to step up another level. Her defensive intensity is by far the best on the team.”

Edison struggled to produce good shots, as Los Alamitos emphasized pressure on the ball. The Chargers were not shooting well from the perimeter, allowing the Griffins to double team Ashley Niemand in the paint.

Playing Finley Garnett as a point-forward worked well for the Chargers in the first meeting, but the Griffins took time away from the senior by meeting the ball as it crossed the half-court line.

“We thought about slowing it down because they like to speed us up,” Garnett said. “We don’t run well when teams are speeding us up.”

Edison coach Sara Brown said her team shot itself in the foot with too many turnovers early on. The Chargers committed eight turnovers in the first quarter. They matched that total the rest of the game.

“We had the game,” Brown said. “They didn’t press. Asia started off with two fouls. We were getting good calls. Everything seemed to be going our way. It’s just that we were hurting ourselves by throwing the ball away.

“We’re just giving them possessions after possessions. We can’t do that against anybody.”

Edison showed flashes of the team that scared the Griffins in the first meeting.

Niemand had a tremendous second half. She pulled down 13 of her 16 rebounds after the break. She also had 15 points and four blocked shots.

The Chargers used an 11-2 run to begin the fourth quarter to cut Los Alamitos’ lead to 41-31 with four minutes remaining.

Garnett had 14 points and eight rebounds for Edison, with senior guard Gabby Samiy adding eight points.

Los Alamitos’ biggest lead was 20 points, a margin opened up by the Griffins on three separate occasions.

Edison, which is second in league, hosts Newport Harbor (8-13, 2-5) on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Chargers remain home on Saturday to take on Aliso Niguel (14-6) in a nonleague game.

“We like playing against tough teams because it will help us in the playoffs, so that when we get there, we’re ready to go,” Garnett said. “When we get to those other tough teams, we know what to look forward to.”

*

Los Alamitos 50, Edison 38

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Edison 2 – 7 – 9 – 20 — 38

Los Alamitos 13 – 16 – 10 – 11 — 50

E – Niemand 15, Garnett 14, Samiy 8, Nguyen 1.

3-pt. goals – Samiy 2, Garnett 1.

Fouled out – Nguyen.

Technicals – None.

LA – Gandy 16, Avinger 9, Iwami 7, O. Clarke 7, Burdette 4, M. Clarke 3, Richardson 2, Miller 2.

3-pt. goals – Gandy 2, Iwami 1, M. Clarke 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

andrew.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner