Tologs topple host Prep
LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — Taking a break from playing teams in their respective leagues, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and Flintridge Prep basketball squads found a compatible time to participate in a nonleague contest.
Flintridge Sacred Heart proved to be an opponent anything but compatible for Flintridge Prep, which had a difficult time stopping junior center Lana Haddad.
Haddad was a force in the middle for the Tologs on Tuesday night, as she contributed a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds to spark visiting Flintridge Sacred Heart to a convincing 59-20 victory.
“She had 16 points in the first half and she showed a lot of patience,” said Flintridge Sacred Heart third-year Coach Gino Pacella, whose team improved to 12-7 and is ranked No. 8 in the latest CIF Southern Section Division V-AA poll. “When she can do that, she’s a force to be reckoned with.”
Flintridge Prep second-year Coach Todd Frost said the Rebels (4-12) didn’t have anybody who could match up with the 6-0 Haddad.
That proved to be evident throughout most of the contest.
“They were a very bad matchup for us,” Frost said. “She’s a very strong post player and she got the ball and did whatever she wanted.
“It’s a challenge for us when we face strong post players. We had too many turnovers and our shots weren’t falling.”
Flintridge Sacred Heart held an 18-4 lead after the first quarter and extended its advantage to 34-13 at halftime.
The Tologs received 19 points and five steals from guard Vanessa Romero. Flintridge Sacred Heart, which improved to 4-2 in its last six games, finished with 12 steals.
The Tologs limited the Rebels to seven second-half points. In fact, the Rebels didn’t score in the second half until Katharine Yamamoto made a layup with 16 seconds left in the third quarter to snap a scoreless drought that lasted nearly eight minutes.
Flintridge Prep, which lost its third game in a row, received seven points from Kristin Shum and five from Katherine Bogaard.
Both teams will next participate in league home contests Friday. Flintridge Sacred Heart will face host Harvard-Westlake, ranked first in Division II-A with Anaheim Canyon. Flintridge Prep will meet Mayfield.
