Flintridge Prep outlasts Westridge
Erik Boal
Kenny Fisher approached Tuesday night’s battle for Prep League
girls’ basketball supremacy as if it were a prize fight.
The Flintridge Prep coach was hoping his squad could stay within
striking distance long enough against Pasadena Westridge to wear the
Tigers down in the game’s final minutes.
So, Fisher relied on the experience of four of his seniors to hold
Westridge in check through regulation, before two of his freshmen
stepped up to deliver the knockout punch in a 48-44 overtime victory
on the road.
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BOX SCORE
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Flint. Prep 9 6 11 10 12 -- 48
Westridge 7 10 7 12 8 -- 44
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FLINTRIDGE PREP
Toyama 16 and 6 steals, Watson 15 and 10 rebounds, Costner 8, Kimble 6, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks, Quan 2 and 6 steals, Wayne 1. * Three-pointers: none.
PASADENA WESTRIDGE
Weissman 18, 10 rebounds and 7 blocks, White 8 and 7 assists, Chang 7, Clark 5, Barnardo 4, Bridges 2. * Three-pointers: Chang 2, Weissman 2.
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Ninth-graders Jordan Toyama and Christina Watson combined for 31
points, including 10 of the Rebels’ 12 in the extra period.
“It’s big to win at their house,” said Toyama, who tallied a
team-high 16 points -- including a 14-of-18 effort from the
free-throw line -- to lead the Rebels (16-4, 8-1 in league) to their
11th straight win.
“We realized that this could be our year, and that we need to do
this for the seniors. We’ve grown a lot as a team [since losing to
Westridge, 42-35, on Dec. 15] and we really mesh together.”
And it was that type of chemistry and maturity that enabled
Flintridge Prep to rally from a three-point deficit with 2:07 left in
regulation to force overtime.
“The girls have been anxious to get it done and they were ready
for this one,” said Fisher, whose squad ended Westridge’s (12-2, 8-1)
11-game win streak.
“[Westridge] has a fine team, and we knew we had to play an almost
flawless game to get it done. But we’ve come a long ways, and this is
a good group.”
A group that was sparked by the defensive efforts of seniors Lily
Costner and Jami Quan, who took turns guarding Tigers’ leading scorer
Maddie Weissman.
“I started getting a little bit more confidence as the game went
on. And just the calmness of Jami and the other guards helped me a
lot,” said Costner, who held Weissman (18 points) without a shot in
the fourth.