Girls’ Basketball: Edison headed to playoffs
For those of you who are keeping score at home, the coastal cities probably just lost a playoff team.
The Sunset League’s third-place tiebreaker for girls’ basketball on Thursday was far more crucial for the Marina High Vikings than it was for their opponent.
Marina had two chances in 21 hours against Edison to punch its ticket, but an answer never came about to stop the length of the Chargers on the inside.
Ashley Niemand had a season-high 22 points, and Finley Garnett added 14 points and 16 rebounds as the Chargers vanquished the Vikings, 48-41, in a neutral site game at Huntington Beach High.
“I was just mad, and then I realized that I couldn’t be mad,” Niemand said. “I needed to turn it into something positive.”
“I just didn’t want to lose this game. It meant too much.”
Niemand added eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Andie Kristinat had six points, and Shelby Schuesler chipped in with five.
With two swift blows, Edison (16-11, 6-5 in league) knocked down, and then knocked out, the Vikings (10-17, 5-6) from the playoff picture. The sub-.500 Vikings should be out of consideration for an at-large postseason berth.
Marina scored as many points as it had the previous night in the first half, but with a two-point lead before the break, the Vikings’ game management was suspect.
The shot clock was off with 17 seconds to go. Sadie Atwood drove to the basket and was fouled with 11 seconds on the clock. She made one free throw, but the Chargers were able to respond.
Shuesler found Niemand ahead of the play. Her baseline floater was good after contact with Gina Gordon, and the junior center made the foul shot to make it 23-23 going into halftime.
Gordon, one of the few options for the Vikings in the paint, had already picked up her fourth foul with 4:44 remaining in the third quarter.
“Rebounding when you’re in foul trouble is hard, especially when we’re not that deep,” Vikings Coach Kirk Iwami said. “It was hard to stop Ashley [Niemand] in the second half.”
The Vikings kept it close throughout. There were six lead changes in the first quarter.
After the third quarter, Marina was clinging to a 33-32 lead.
The final lead change came when Niemand stole the ball in the front court and spun near the left elbow for a jump shot. Edison took a 34-33 lead with 5:51 left.
Under three minutes remained in a close game with a lot on the line when Vikings point guard Courtney Suruki was called for an unfortunate technical foul.
The senior drew the call for “unsporting behavior” when she believed she had been fouled in the act of shooting on a drive to the basket.
Instead of the reliable shooter heading to the line to cut into a four-point deficit, Edison was able to extend its lead. It topped out at 45-36 on a Garnett layup with one minute remaining.
Suruki had 11 points, seven assists, and three steals. Katie Nguyen had a team-high 15 points with seven rebounds and four steals.
Atwood contributed nine points and Tricia Fukuzawa added six points on a pair of 3-pointers.
This season has seen many sacrifices made by the Chargers. Some saw diminished playing time with several transfers becoming eligible during league.
Others gave up their body. Senior guard Gianna Luna has continued to persevere despite playing with a right hip labral tear this season.
“What drives me is that I just want to play for my team since it’s my senior year,” Luna said. “I don’t want to let down my coach or my family.”
“Even though I’m playing through a torn labrum, I don’t want to know what it’s like to not play with my team.”
The CIF-SS playoff pairings will be released on Sunday.
Sunset League
Edison 48, Marina 41
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Edison – 15 - 8 - 9 - 16 – 48
Marina – 12 - 11 - 10 - 8 – 41
Ed – Niemand 22, Garnett 14, Schuesler 5, Kristinat 6, Nance 1.
3-pt. goals – Schuesler 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
Mar – Nguyen 15, Suruki 11, Atwood 9, Fukuzawa 6.
3-pt. goals – Nguyen 3, Fukuzawa 2, Suruki 1, Atwood 1.
Fouled out – Gordon.
Technicals – Suruki.
Twitter: @ProfessorTurner
