Marymount proves to be tall order for Flintridge Sacred Heart basketball

LA CAÑADA — From the early going Thursday against Marymount High, it was apparent that the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy basketball team was going to have trouble dealing with its opponent’s height advantage.

The Sailors boast a pair of players — 6-foot-3 Michaela Keefe and 6-2 Caitlin Keefe — that give the team length that many opposing squads just can’t match up against. The Tologs’ tallest player is 5-10.

As a result, Flintridge Sacred Heart was out rebounded by a sizable number in the Sunshine League contest. Add to that a poor shooting night by the Tologs and that spelled a 47-37 loss at home.

The win completed a season sweep by Marymount (14-5, 5-0 in league) – ranked No. 5 in CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA – which defeated Flintridge Sacred Heart (16-7, 3-2) – tied for seventh in Division IVAA – by 17 points earlier in January.

It was a dominant effort on the boards by the Sailors, who out rebounded the Tologs, 59-33.

“It has been a concern for us all season with our rebounding,” Flintridge Sacred Heart Coach Ty Buxman said. “But the main concern for me is how we weren’t able to handle the physical style of play in this game. Things got very physical and we didn’t adjust our game to it. The other team was just more physical than we were. We didn’t hold our position and we didn’t give the refs a chance to call fouls and they didn’t get called.”

The Keefes, senior twin sisters, were forces who the Tologs had problems containing. While Michaela finished with 18 points and 19 rebounds, Caitlin had 12 points and 26 rebounds.

Flintridge Sacred Heart, which prides itself with having a host of proficient outside shooters, had its trouble from long range, connecting on just three of 36 three-point attempts.

“We had some good looks and some open shots,” said Tolog Jenna Tran, who had 11 points. “We really weren’t rushing our shots, but we just weren’t making them. Sometimes that just happens.”

Kelly Fradet added 10 points and seven rebounds and Casey Johnson had nine points.

The first quarter saw the Sailors jump out to a 13-10 lead as the Tologs were out rebounded in the frame, 16-5.

Sacred Heat fell behind by 12, 24-12, with 5:07 remaining in the second quarter. However, the Tologs battled back and cut the deficit to just four, 25-21, with a 9-1 run with 36 seconds left. The Sailors sank two free throws late in the frame and went into the half with a 27-21 lead.

“The way out girls kept fighting, it was a good defensive effort by us,” Buxman said. “For us to hold a team like that to 37 points is an accomplishment. We only had five turnovers in the game, so that was a big positive for us.”

It was a strange third quarter in which just two field goals were scored, both by FSHA. The teams combined to miss their first 15 shots from the floor. Marymount was outscored, 5-3, with all its points coming on free throws. After three, the Tologs cut the lead to four, 30-26.

But the Sailors seized back the momentum early in the fourth and had a 13-point lead, 39-26, with 5:33 left. The closest Flintridge Sacred Heart would come the rest of the way was eight at 35-43 with 2:44 remaining.