Ziemann Rescues Edison

Sometimes, it’s good to shoot without conscience, as Edison sophomore Bianca Ziemann did Thursday.

Trailing by a point, Ziemann didn’t hold back while her teammates were struggling with their three-point shots. She made consecutive three-point baskets in the final two minutes to shoot sixth-ranked Edison past fifth-ranked Esperanza, 56-52, in a Sunset League girls’ basketball showdown at Edison.

It was a big victory for Edison (12-7, 3-0), which lost to Esperanza (12-5, 2-1) three weeks ago, 70-52. The Aztecs, who battled from a nine-point deficit in the first quarter to a seven-point lead in the third, 39-32, appeared ready to seize control of the league race from the defending champion.

But three-point baskets by Edison’s Michelle Zylstra and Ziemann salvaged the third quarter, and Ziemann’s two free throws in the final seconds provided a 40-39 lead. In the fourth, Edison went nearly five minutes without a field goal. Bethany Blair scored six of her 13 during an 8-1 run, and Esperanza led, 49-46, with 3:06 left.

Zylstra hit two free throws, but it was Ziemann’s bomb from the corner with 1:52 left that gave Edison the lead for good. Forty seconds later, she added another for a 54-51 advantage.

“I still had faith in myself to make the shot,” said Ziemann, who connected on only five of 16 shots but was four of five on three-point attempts and finished with a game-high 18 points. “When you start making three-pointers, everyone forgets about the 10 you missed.”

It’s also easy to forget about Edison’s early struggles. The Chargers have recent victories over three top-10 teams, El Toro, Mater Dei and Esperanza.

“Our December schedule was a killer,” Coach Dave White said, “and we were sitting at [7-7] wondering if we were any good.”

That question was answered Thursday as Edison got double-figure scoring from four players, including Zylstra (12 points, 15 rebounds), Ashleigh Noda (11 points) and Rachael Ziemann (11 points, six assists).

Noda, averaging six points, had three three-pointers, one each in the opening minutes of the third and fourth quarters.

“Noda’s shots were as big as Ziemann’s,” Esperanza Coach Marc Hill said. “They were momentum-breakers for us.”

Esperanza, which got 13 points apiece from Ashley Van Kurin and Blair and 12 from Kristin Peters (10 rebounds), managed only one field goal in the final 3:06--Van Kurin’s three-pointer with 52 seconds remaining.

In other Sunset League games:

Marina 49, Huntington Beach 47--Nikki Lee had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Miranda Emde added 12 points for Marina (14-5, 2-1). Amy Sanders had 19 points for the Oilers, who had a 12-foot shot at the buzzer fall short.

Fountain Valley 61, Los Alamitos 47--The Barons (8-11, 1-2) got 10 points from Lauren Uchizono and broke open a two-point game with an 18-8 advantage in the third quarter.