By Bobby Wymbs
Staff Writer
The girls basketball team defeated the Inglewood Sentinels, 62-42, on Tuesday at Mira Costa High School.
The girls are currently 9-2, including a victory over top-ranked Corona Centennial High School. Costa also has second and third-place finishes in the Inglewood and South East tournaments, respectively.
“I felt great going into the game,” junior guard Keilani Ikehara said. “We had a lot of energy and really wanted to win.”
Both Costa and Inglewood started off slow in the first quarter. With a three-pointer from junior guard Haley Tojo, the Mustangs took a lead of 6-2 over the Sentinels. As the clock wound down to end the first quarter, Ikehara hit a three-pointer, giving the Mustangs a 15-6 lead.
“We had high energy that translated into strong defense and smooth transitions,” senior forward Allison Bartak said. “We were able to knock down shots tonight.”
In the second quarter, Costa increased its lead to make it a 10- point game at a score of 23-13. Coming out of a Costa time out, junior center Patience Taylor made two quick lay-ups, extending Costa’s lead to 14. Tojo followed with a three, making the score 34-18 at halftime.
Costa began the third quarter with 10 unanswered points. The Mustangs did not let up, making the score 47-20.
“Going into the third quarter, I felt good about our chances,” freshman forward Alexa Underwood said. “We had a solid lead, and I felt that we were playing pretty well as a team.”
Inglewood held Costa to only nine points in the fourth quarter. Within the first 30 seconds of the quarter, Tojo made her third three of the night. Inglewood followed with a 7-0 run, scoring three lay-ups and a free throw. From then on, each team scored an additional six points, making the final score 62-42, Mustangs.
“Our season has started out well,” coach John Lapham said. “We still need to improve in some areas, but we have great leadership from the returning varsity players and a lot of talent across the board.”
The Mustangs have a tournament in San Diego from Dec. 26-30 and an away game on Jan. 7 against El Segundo High School.
“The rest of our season will have an exciting set of challenges,” Lapham said. “We play in a very tough tournament in San Diego over the holiday break. Bay League will be tough for us this year, as we look to defend our co-championship from last season.”
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