Foothill Is No Match for Redondo

After losing to Brea Olinda in the final last year, Foothill was looking forward to getting another shot at the Ladycats in this year’s Division II-AA title game.

But Redondo Union ended any hopes Foothill had of another all-county matchup, beating the Knights, 71-53, Tuesday night in a girls’ basketball semifinal game at Villa Park High.

Redondo moves on to Saturday’s final at the Pyramid and will face the winner of tonight’s Brea Olinda and Norco game.

“Their speed, athleticism and the way they shoot the ball makes them a dangerous team,” Foothill Coach Ty Watkins said.

Redondo (26-5) used those three facets of its game to break out to an early lead.

Redondo’s full-court press helped force 17 turnovers in the first half. And the Seahawks shot 54.2% (13 of 24) from the field in the opening 16 minutes, including making four of five three-pointers to go ahead, 31-11, at halftime.

Foothill scored just four points in the second quarter. The Knights had more turnovers than shots (17-15) in the first half.

“We wanted to get them into our game, a running game,” Redondo Coach Marcelo Enriquez said. “We wanted to go up and down. We felt we could pressure them.”

Redondo took its biggest lead of the game at 34-11 after Stephanie Wong made a three-pointer 15 seconds into the third quarter. Wong led Redondo with 24 points.

“They were on fire,” Watkins said. “They were on fire like we were against Bellflower.”

Foothill (22-8) shot over 70% in the first half on the way to a quarterfinal win over Bellflower Saturday night.

The Knights finished just 17 of 52 from the floor.

Kristen Mann led Foothill with 17 points and 10 rebounds.