Fierst Aids Marina in Win Over Esperanza

Karyn Fierst, a senior guard at Marina, missed her last game and most of the previous one when she sprained her ankle.

“We won’t use her,” Marina Coach Pete Bonny said Tuesday, “unless we need her.”

Less than five minutes after tipoff, Fierst was in the game. Two minutes later, her three-point basket put third-ranked Marina ahead to stay in its 56-37 Sunset League victory over No. 10 Esperanza.

Marina is 18-2, 3-1 in league; Esperanza is 12-7, 2-2.

Fierst didn’t have a huge night at Esperanza, only seven points, three rebounds and two steals, but the latter led to second-quarter baskets that helped the Vikings build their 28-15 halftime lead.

“She was pretty gutty,” Bonny said. “She has a calming effect. We were going to try to steal one without her, but obviously, we couldn’t.”

Marina trailed, 8-5, when Fierst entered and sparked a 13-0 run.

Lindsey Helvey’s three-point basket cut Esperanza’s deficit to 22-14 with 3:35 left in the second quarter, but it was the last Aztecs’ field goal for 9 1/2 minutes.

“We got spanked,” Esperanza Coach Marc Hill said of his team’s 14-for-57 performance (24.6%) from the field. “We couldn’t hit a shot. . . . I don’t think the program ever shot this poorly in this gym.”

Bonny gave Chanda McLeod (11 points, 12 rebounds) high praise for holding Marina’s defense together, which “did a good job of keeping [Esperanza] uncomfortable out there,” Bonny said.

No one was more uncomfortable than Esperanza’s leading scorer, Allison Gerber, who missed her first 13 shots. She scored a team-high 11, but didn’t make a field goal until 1 1/2 minutes into the fourth quarter.

Nikki Lee scored 14 for Marina.