La Cañada girls’ basketball downs Corona del Mar again for berth in SoCal semis

La Cañada Flintridge — Fresh off its first-ever appearance in the CIF Southern Section Division III-A title game, the La Cañada High girls’ basketball team began the CIF State Division IV playoffs with a resounding victory in the first round.

Up next for La Cañada was a familiar foe in visiting Corona del Mar, a squad the Spartans needed a buzzer-beating three-pointer to defeat in the Southern Section semifinals exactly two weeks prior on the same floor.

In round two, the host Spartans needed no last-second heroics this time to get the win. La Cañada played aggressively on defense from start to finish, defeating the visiting Sea Kings, 57-39, to advance to the Southern Regional semifinal for the first time on Tuesday.

“I knew we could have had an outcome like this last time,” first-year coach and Spartans alumna Sarah Beattie said. “We just let the nerves and some of the situational elements get in the way. I’m really pleased with how we played today. Its a good showing going into our next game.”

On Tuesday, La Cañada (28-4), the No. 2 seed, will face No. 3 seed St. Paul, once again in the friendly confines of the Hotchkin Family Gymnasium.

“Months ago, I didn’t even think about making it this far,” Spartans senior Sarah Kurdoghlian said. “I’ve thought about it and the fact it is reality now, that it is almost April and I’m still playing basketball, it is like March Madness basically.”

After the semifinal loss two weeks ago, Sea Kings Coach Mark Decker thought the game-winner had come after time had expired and the teams should have kept playing. Corona del Mar (24-8) got its wish in some way Saturday night, but this time, the No. 7 seed could not contend with the hosts’ defensive intensity.

“Their defensive intensity was very good and we didn’t attack it very well. That was totally the difference in the game,” Decker said. “We had a chance the first game. ...In this one, [La Cañada] pretty much controlled it the whole way.”

Sarah Kurdoghlian led La Cañada with 18 points, along with two assists, two rebounds and a steal. Kristina Kurdoghlian, who hit the game-winner two weeks ago, chipped in 12 points while also collecting a team-high eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.

“It wasn’t easier, we just worked a lot harder,” Sarah Kurdoghlian said. “We just didn’t give up. We never gave up.”

Spartan Amber Graves joined the Kurdoghlians in double digits with 10 points. The senior also had six rebounds and two assists. Alexi Nazarian had five points and also tallied three apiece of rebounds, steals and assists. Freshman Brooke Yasuda came off the bench to score five points. Reserve forward Georgia Cervenka had five rebounds and played tough defense inside against the formidable trio of Sea King bigs.

Throughout the contest, La Cañada extended its defense, often into the backcourt, keeping the pressure on the Sea Kings ball handlers and making it difficult for the Pacific Coast League runner-ups to get a quality look at the basket.

“We knew they had bigger posts, so [the Sea Kings] won’t be as good at ball handling,” Kristina Kurdoghlian said. “So we tried to press them and keep them under pressure and it worked. We got steals and we scored points that way.”

In both games against the Spartans, Corona del Mar was led in scoring by Natalia Bruening. On Saturday, the senior had 18 points. Kelly Tam and Kat Hess both scored seven in the season-ending loss.

The Spartans led, 16-9, after the first quarter thanks to a late 8-0 run before the Sea Kings scored the final two points. La Cañada tightened its control of the contest in the second quarter, twice pushing the advantage to 16 before Corona del Mar scored the final six points of the quarter, giving the Spartans a 29-19 cushion at the break.

La Cañada kept at it in the third, extending the lead back to 16 on the final play of the quarter when Nazarian dished it to Emma Stroben, whose layup rolled around the rim before dropping in just before the horn. In the final quarter, the Sea Kings never got closer than 13 points. The final margin of 18 points was the largest lead the hosts held at any point.

“To be quite honest, I never thought we’d be playing this deep into March,” Beattie said. “It’s exciting.”