Flintridge Sacred Heart girls’ basketball solves Village Christian
Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy’s Kelly Fradet goes for a shot between Village Christian’s Leslie Aguilar and Iselle Santiago during a nonleague game on Tuesday. The Tologs won, 57-44.
With just one loss on the season, there’s plenty for Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy basketball Coach Ty Buxman to like about his team.
In the first month of the season, the Tologs have won a tournament and defeated several top-10 teams in different divisions.
Flintridge Sacred Heart looked to continue its winning ways when it met host Village Christian in a nonleague contest Tuesday night.
Backed by a huge first quarter from Kelly Fradet and a big second-half effort from Jenna Tran, Flintridge Sacred Heart posted a 57-44 victory.
PHOTOS: Tologs earn 57-44 victory over Village Christian
“We have a lot of things going well, starting with good chemistry and offensive spacing to give us even more options,” said Buxman, whose 10-1 team is ranked eighth in CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA. “We’re starting to see what our team is made of and we’ve beaten some good teams, like Flintridge Prep, Providence and Village Christian.
“We’ve still got things to work on. It’s great when you can count on a lot of our players to contribute.”
Flintridge Sacred Heart received 13 first-quarter points from Fradet to put Village Christian, ranked seventh in V-AA, in an early hole. Fradet scored the first eight points for the Tologs and finished with 13 points in the opening quarter.
Fradet, who helped the Tologs win the Pasadena Poly Tournament on Dec. 12 against Providence, said the Tologs needed a quick start against the Crusaders (6-4).
“I had a good stride with my shooting and I just got more confident,” said Fradet, who made four three-pointers. “We were able to go out there and take full advantage on making our shots.”
Tran, a reigning All-Sunshine League selection, had 13 points in the second half. Tran made a layup to give Flintridge Sacred Heart a 52-41 lead with 3:29 remaining in the game.
“I was able to drive to the basket a lot,” Tran said. “They made a little bit of a comeback early in the fourth quarter, but then we made some shots.
“We like where we are right now. We’re doing well, offensively and defensively.”
A three-pointer by Fradet gave the Tologs a 55-44 advantage with 2:39 to go.
Fradet, a guard, provided Flintridge Sacred Heart with some confidence in the first quarter. A three-pointer gave the Tologs an 8-4 lead with 5:37 remaining.
Flintridge Sacred Heart got nine points from Casey Johnson, nine rebounds from Mary Laurance and eight rebounds from Camilla Homans.
The Crusaders were led by Leslie Aguilar, who collected 21 points. Village Christian also got 10 points and eight rebounds from Micaela Cacho-Negrete, a La Crescenta resident.
Flintridge Sacred Heart will compete in the La Cañada Holiday Tournament, beginning at 7 p.m. Monday in a pool-play game with Royal. The Tologs will also compete against La Cañada and Canyon Country Canyon in pool-play matchups.
“There will be some more good tests for our team,” Buxman said. “We know we’ll have to continue to step it up.”
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Charles Rich, charles.rich@latimes.com
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
