Foothill’s Mann Gets the Job Done Against Compton Dominguez

Foothill sophomore Kristen Mann was surrounded by young girls after Wednesday night’s Southern Section Division II-AA girls’ basketball game. The Knights had just defeated Compton Dominguez, 58-45, in the quarterfinals at Compton High and some local girls came up to compliment Mann.

One girl described it perfectly. “You’ve got game. You can shoot, dribble, rebound, you do it all.”

Mann just smiled, accepted a few hugs and said, “Thank you.”

The Foothill forward, double-teamed for most of the night, was able to drive the baseline, fill the lane, all the while defending Dominguez’s leading scorer Dominque Montoya. Mann finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, four steals and five assists.

“This is fun,” Mann said. “This is my first year playing in CIF and I think we are going to get to the finals.”

Foothill (26-3) led throughout, building a 30-15 halftime lead, paced by guard Kelsi Sousa, who scored 10 of her 16 points in the first half, making four of four from the field.

In the second half, Dominguez came out in a full-court press and the Knights seemed to get frazzled, committing eight turnovers in the third quarter as Dominguez closed the gap to 38-30 with 2 minutes 11 seconds left.

But with less than a minute left in the quarter, Montoya sprained her ankle while fouling Mann and didn’t play again. She left with 10 points and eight rebounds, and after that things fell apart for the Dons.

“She was eating us up. We were having a big problem with her and her post moves,” Foothill Coach Ty Watkins said. “They probably relied on her so much that when she went down they began to struggle.”

After Montoya left the game, Foothill went on a 16-4 run, to take a 56-34 lead with 1:56 left. The run was finished by a basket by Chavaughn Brown, who had 16 points and 13 rebounds, grabbing eight in the second half.

Guard Jacky Williams was key in the run, driving to the basket and getting to the line. She made five of five free throws in the final quarter, scoring seven of her nine points.

Foothill will play second-seeded Moorpark in the semifinals on Saturday.