Providence girls’ basketball not able to stop streaking Flintridge Prep
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BURBANK — Ashley Chea made her presence known with an all-around showing to emphasize a dominant win on the road.
Whether it was scoring, finding her teammates for open shots or locking down her opponents on defense, the Flintridge Prep freshman girls’ basketball player was unstoppable at both ends of the floor.
Behind Chea, Flintridge Prep extended its Prep League win streak to 48 with a 75-34 win against host Providence on Friday.
“I think I led the team pretty well, both offensively and defensively,” Chea said. “It got my teammates hyped up so we all were on the same page.”
The Rebels have taken care of business for the last five years in league, winning five straight titles, and showed no signs of slowing down.
“We stayed true to what we’ve been doing,” Flintridge Prep co-coach Kevin Kiyomura said. “We got good shots and we got stops.”
Even with a tough loss, Providence (11-6, 1-1 in league) coach Andrew Bencze found a silver lining within his rebuilding squad.
“We lost four starters from last year, so we’re trying to make up experience this year,” Bencze said. “This was the team’s first experience with really wanting to win against a good team and the nerves got to them, but that’s something that can be fixed.”
Chea led the Rebels with 23 points, while Audrey Sayoc scored 12 points and dished out three assists for the Pioneers.
Flintridge Prep came out against the Pioneers with the same tenacity it has all season long. The Rebels offense was fast-paced and their defense gave no breathing room to the struggling Pioneers.
Sofia Gonzalez set the tone for the Rebels with four steals in first three minutes of play. That led to two easy transition baskets for senior captain Alex Kyriakakis, who ran the floor well.
As Providence settled in defensively, a scoring drought by Flintridge Prep (12-4, 3-0) turned a 17-point lead to a nine-point deficit for the Pioneers. Katie Karroum contributed six points off the bench to give Providence a spark, while Audrey Sayoc found a rhythm hitting consecutive jump shots.
“We’re still working on trying to stay focused the entire time,” Kiyomura said. “Sometimes outside influences start to creep in, so we need to learn how to stay within ourselves and play together.”
Kiyomura called to his bench to reignite the offense, and a three-point play by Emma Stellar did exactly that.
Chea and Kaitlyn Chen got it going, combining for 23 first-half points to give Flintridge Prep a 37-15 lead heading into the third quarter.
Flintridge Prep’s momentum carried into the second half with a 10-0 run to accumulate a 47-15 lead.
It was rinse and repeat for the Rebels, as Kyriakakis scored the first two baskets before the rest of the team began to chip in.
It was then smooth sailing for Flintridge Prep, as it outscored Providence, 38-19, to finish the second half.
