San Clemente Finishes Off Troy’s Undefeated Run

Kevin Kiernan said he was afraid of San Clemente’s Debby Caine and Colleen Turnbull, all-county players who led the Tritons to last year’s Southern Section Division I-A final.

What Kiernan, Troy’s coach, didn’t realize was that he was dealing with a three-headed monster.

It wasn’t Caine or Turnbull, but Whitney Jones who had the greatest impact in ending Troy’s 27-game unbeaten season on Wednesday. Jones, a quiet junior forward averaging 6.5 points, scored a very noisy 21 points--17 in the second half--to lift San Clemente to a 55-49 victory at Troy.

San Clemente (21-8) will play top-seeded Riverside North in Saturday’s quarterfinals. North defeated Silverado, 89-42.

The Tritons avenged their most humiliating loss of the season, a 56-39 setback in December in which San Clemente--at the time ranked No. 2 in Orange County--trailed in the first quarter, 19-2, and by 23 in the third.

“They did what they have to do,” Kiernan said of San Clemente and Jones. “If you shut down their main people, someone else has to step up.

“It was a risk we’d take again.”

Turnbull scored only eight points--six in the second quarter--but wasn’t much of a factor because of foul trouble. Yet when Turnbull went to the bench after getting her fourth foul with 6 minutes 6 seconds left in the third quarter and the score tied at 24, San Clemente didn’t let down. The Tritons stretched the lead to five, 39-34, going into the fourth quarter, and led 41-39 when Turnbull returned for the final 6:22.

After Kristin Arnold tied the score at 41, San Clemente’s Jones drove the baseline for one basket, scored off her rebound on another, and made a layup in transition to put her team ahead, 47-41.

“If we didn’t have her. . . .” said Caine, pausing to reflect on the importance of Jones’ contribution. “She played awesome.

“We have to have someone step up. The rest of our players are ready to do that.”

Jones wasn’t alone. The defense of Cassie Kruger, who had six steals, and two key third-quarter baskets by 6-foot-3 Marissa Ficklin (who had two blocks) added to Troy’s pain.

The smothering defense prevented Troy from getting many good looks from three-point range. The Warriors have the county’s three leading three-point shooters, but Troy made only four of 16.

Troy pulled within 47-45, but Jones and Caine made free throws to hold off the rally. San Clemente went 13 of 14 from the free-throw line, and made 20 of 37 shots from the field.

Arnold’s putback of her own missed shot made it 51-49 with 20 seconds remaining before Caine made her final two free throws; she made four in the final 45 seconds. Turnbull added a layup with two seconds left.

Caine finished with 16 points. Troy got 13 from Arnold, 12 from Katie Hardeman and 10 from Veronica Johns-Richardson (six steals).

San Clemente did to Troy what Troy did to most teams in winning 27 games. Troy committed 27 turnovers after not making more than 12 during the season.

In other Division I-A games:

Edison 52, Santa Barbara 50--Michelle Zylstra had 17 points for third-seeded Edison (24-5). Christina Patterson scored 12 for the Chargers. Zylstra and Patterson each had nine rebounds. Lisa Willet scored 15 for Santa Barbara (16-12). Edison will play Mater Dei on Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Mater Dei 58, Alhambra Keppel 40--Lindsay Pavlik led Mater Dei (21-5) with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Kristian Kirkpatrick scored eight points in the fourth quarter.

Marina 68, Riverside Poly 41--Reserve Miranda Emde scored 15 points to spark Marina (25-3). Chanda McLeod scored 24 points and had 11 rebounds to lead the Vikings. Marina will play fourth-seeded Buena, a 61-41 winner over Simi Valley.

In Division I-AA:

Ontario Chaffey 63, Westminster 58--Chaffey’s Tamara McDonald scored 18 of her 33 points in the second half. Tara Moore scored 28 points and Erin Arganda had 10 rebounds and eight points for Westminster (22-6).

In Division II-AA:

Brea Olinda 73, Sonora 24--Jackie Lord scored 18 points, making four three-pointers, and had four steals and four assists to lift the top-seeded Ladycats (26-3). Lindsey Davidson scored 12 and had seven assists. Lillian Hewko scored 11 and Mindy Clark 10 for Sonora (19-9). Brea will play Canyon in Saturday’s semifinals.

Canyon 66, Norco 47--Meghan O’Neil had 29 points, including five three-ponters, to lead Canyon (24-5). Trish Christian had 13 points for Canyon.

In Division II-A:

Santa Margarita 41, Glendora St. Lucy’s 39--Colleen O’Leary made a three-pointer with two seconds left to lift fourth-seeded Santa Margarita (20-9). Daniell Bennett scored 17 points, including three three-pointers for the Eagles. The Eagles will play La Puente Bishop Amat, a 74-38 winner over Laguna Hills.

In Division IV-A:

Calvary Chapel 55, Ventura St. Bonaventure 39--Senior Cathy Joens recorded her first triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 steals. Calvary Chapel will play Playa del Rey St. Bernard Saturday.

In Division V-AA:

Capistrano Valley Christian 41, Simi Valley Grace Brethren 28--Senior Melissa Sands scored 15 points for fourth-seeded Capistrano Valley Christian. The Eagles will play Woodcrest Christian.

In Division V-A:

Hemet Baptist Christian 45, Liberty Christian 23--Leslie Dekiewiet had 12 points to lead Hemet (20-0). Stephanie Wu scored 10 points for Liberty Christian (13-11).