Trio of Flintridge Prep girls’ basketball players earn league honors
Throughout much of the season, Tala Ismail, Lacy Coan and Maya Okamoto proved to be a dangerous unit for the Flintridge Prep girls’ basketball team.
Each member of the trio brought something to the court, leading to the Rebels gaining a piece of the Prep League championship before making another deep playoff run.
For their respective bodies of work, Ismail, Coan and Okamoto were selected to the all-league team as voted on by the league’s seven coaches.
Ismail and Coan earned spots on the first team and Okamoto was placed on the second team. Flintridge Prep finished 19-5 and 10-2 in league and reached the CIF Southern Section Division IV-A quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Brentwood.
“All three of them were huge,” said Flintridge Prep co-Coach Kevin Kiyomura, whose team shared the league title with rival Pasadena Poly. “They could all do a lot of things and do them well.”
Ismail, a sophomore forward, paved the way up front for Flintridge Prep. Ismail averaged a team-high 14.5 points per contest. She also averaged 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 steals, 1.8 assists and 1.7 blocks per game.
Coan, a junior, provided some versatility for the Rebels. The guard/forward averaged 9.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game.
Ismail and Coan are two of eight players expected to return next season for the Rebels.
“With Tala, she’s so skilled and she continues to keep growing with her overall knowledge for the game and letting her ability catch up to it,” Kiyomura said. “I’s a real blessing knowing we have her for two more years.
“Lacy is always finding ways to get better. She’s not flashy, but you know what you are getting from her each game. We’ll look to her to be a facilitator, as well as a scorer.”
Okamoto, a senior, guard, again provided the Rebels with leadership on and off the court.
The four-year varsity athlete averaged 7.5 points and 1.8 steals per game.
“Maya is a fierce competitor who took on the leadership role,” Kiyomura said. “She did a lot of things well, including passing on some of the scoring to Tala.
“She’s going to be tough to replace because she was so valuable for us in a lot of areas.”
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Follow Charles Rich on Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich.
