A much-improved Coronado Islander Girls Basketball team fought hard in two recent home games but came up short against league rivals Mission Bay and Madison. The Islanders lost 38-26 to Mission Bay and 38-28 against Madison.
The real story, however, may be in the team’s improvement. In their previous contests, the Islanders lost to Mission Bay by 27 points, 36-9; against Madison, the margin of defeat was even greater at 35 points, 50-15.
“I am proud of them,” said Coach John Coolidge. “Every coach (of opposing teams) has said that they have gotten better and, ‘We don’t want to see you any more.'”
Versus Mission Bay Buccaneers
On Senior Night, the team played stifling defense, with 29 rebounds, six steals, and eight blocked shots. Charlie Reyman led the team in rebounding with nine to go along with three points, two steals and three blocks. Selena Herrera scored ten with six rebounds, while Susanna Pate rounded out the top rebounders with seven of her own, four points, four steals and one blocked shot. Seina Chalioui Fernandez scored all five of her points in the second quarter.
“We played great defense. We played together as a family and as a team,” said Alina Molina-Murrieta, who had two points and three rebounds on the night. “The more that we passed, the more shots we made, and we would take more time (before shooting), and I think that’s very important.” Her picks for players with standout games were Pate, Herrera, and Chalioui Fernandez.
Versus Madison Warhawks
The Islanders had chances to win their final home game of the season. Similar to the game against Mission Bay, at the end of the half, the team was down by one, 19-18, off of seven points each by Selena Herrera and Susanna Pate and a bucket each by Virginia Ryan and Anna Meyer. “We did well in the first half,” said player Mary Chiles. “We were still keeping up with them.”
After being down by six in the fourth, the team scored four off a quick two by Alina Molina-Murrieta followed by Herrera‘s two made foul shots with 5:47 remaining in the game, to get within two, 28-26. Madison scored eight unanswered to extend their lead to 36-26 with 2:16 remaining.
One difference in the game was fouling and foul shots. In the third quarter, of the teams’ combined 12 points, 10 were scored at the line. Madison scored 17 of their total points from the line while Coronado made 10. Islanders got into foul trouble early. By the end of the game, Ryan, Reyman, and Herrera had fouled out.
Herrera led the team with 12 points, six rebounds, and two steals. Pate followed with seven points, two rebounds, one steal, and one block. All-time blocks leader Ryan scored two to go along with five rebounds and three blocked shots.
Charlie Reyman had two points, two rebounds, one steal and one block on the night. When asked about the difference between this game and the previous match-up against the Warhawks, she said, “As the season progressed we connected more as a team. I think that that helped us, not necessarily win, but to play a better game. Everyone played really well.” She then shared that Chiles played well with her ability to box out and fight for rebounds.
Next up: Kearny High at Kearny on Friday, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m.
