Sage Hill girls' basketball gets even with Fairmont Prep

Sage Hill's Emily Eadie goes up for a shot against Fairmont Prep's Misty Twyman.

By Andrew TurnerStaff Writer

Jan. 21, 2022 5:25 PM PT

As winners of three straight and with the cupboard full of talented players, the Sage Hill School girls’ basketball team is gearing up to make another deep run in the CIF Southern Section playoffs.

Zoie Lamkin had a game-high 16 points, including a trio of three-pointers, to lead Sage Hill to a 49-33 win over visiting Fairmont Prep Thursday, the Lightning taking a big step forward in competing for the San Joaquin League crown.

Sage Hill (15-7, 3-1), ranked No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA poll, earned a split of the home-and-home league set with Fairmont Prep (13-10, 3-1).

“I think after beating Orangewood [Academy], we’re definitely going to win the league,” Lamkin said. “We’re definitely going to win a league championship.”

Sage Hill's Isabel Gomez faces pressure from Fairmont Prep defenders Maile Oshita, left, and Siyanda Salter.

While the Lightning are squarely in the race for the league title, Sage Hill coach Kerwin Walters said the team’s goals lie further down the road. That thought process makes sense for the Lightning, who won the Division 3AA championship over Ontario Christian last season and brought back four starters.

“We will want to be league champs, obviously, but we want to be ready to take on our CIF foes,” Walters said. “The great news about our league is that league gets us really prepared to go into a really tough postseason – playing against Fairmont, they always play hard, playing against Orangewood, with the caliber of players that they have.

“Winning the league championship obviously would be icing on the cake, it would be great, but our focus is getting to CIF healthy and just continuing to get stronger in our type of play.”

Sage Hill lost forward Emily Elliott, a three-time Daily Pilot Dream Team selection, to graduation, but with Annabelle Spotts back on the floor, the Lightning are once again a force in the paint.

Sage Hill's Kat Righeimer goes up for a shot against Fairmont Prep's Jaila Pineda in a San Joaquin League game on Thursday.

Spotts, who said she has battled back from a stress fracture in her left foot and a subsequent fracture to her shin, had nine points, six rebounds, three assists and a block against the Huskies. She did not play in the first matchup between the teams, which went to Fairmont Prep 52-36 on Jan. 3.

“I’ve been out for pretty much the whole year, off and on, so just taking little steps to get back on the court and getting used to playing with my teammates again,” Spotts said. “It’s been an overall really good experience. We’re getting used to playing with each other again.”

Emily Eadie scored 14 points to go with nine rebounds and two blocks for Sage Hill. Isabel Gomez contributed five points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, and Kat Righeimer had five points, six rebounds and two blocks.

Madeleine Salud’s 10 points paced Fairmont Prep. Maile Oshita had eight points and five rebounds, Andrea Javier added seven points, six rebounds and four assists, and Misty Twyman chipped in with seven points and six rebounds.