SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS : DIVISION II-AA GIRLS’ BASKETBALL : Freshman Leads Edison Past Canyon

Because she’s a freshman, Marie Philman must carry her team’s ball bag.

But after her outstanding performance Wednesday, co-captain Leila Ryan carried it for her.

Philman scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, blocked three shots and came up with three steals to help visiting Edison score a 64-51 first-round victory over Canyon in a Division II-AA girls’ basketball game at Canyon High.

Philman, who missed nine games this season because of knee surgery, has averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds since she returned to the lineup. She was coming off a 16-point, 17-rebound performance against Huntington Beach, indicating that she might finally have returned to top form.

It comes at a good time. The Chargers (14-11), the fifth-place team in the Sunset League and an at-large team in the playoffs, are considered by Coach Philip Abraham as a spoiler, as they were last year, when they reached the Division I-A quarterfinals.

“I think we will build off this,” Abraham said. “(Because of Philman’s absence) it took this team a little longer to develop.”

Edison plays Saturday against Tustin, which upset fourth-seeded Cerritos.

Canyon (14-9), second-place in the Century League, got 17 points and 14 rebounds from Rona Rathod.

Philman scored 14 of her 17 points in the second half as Edison overcame a 30-29 halftime deficit. She tied the game at 36-36, and Sonya Bryant’s basket gave Edison the lead for good with 4 minutes 46 seconds left in the third quarter.

Philman and Ryan (18 points) had six points each in the third period, as Edison outscored the Comanches, 19-11. Joan Paje, who had five in the quarter, finished with 17 points.

“I didn’t talk a lot of X’s and O’s at halftime,” Abraham said. “I just asked the girls who was going to step up and make the plays.”

Ryan sparked the third-quarter outburst with her aggressive defensive play.

“I was in a groove,” Ryan said. “I like to key on defense, and I was a little more pumped up than usual.”