With one thriller and one dominating win this week, the Coronado High School girls basketball team extended its win streak to five, beginning the season 5-0 for the first time in at least 20 years, the farthest back Max Preps tracks results.
On Wednesday, the team needed a last-minute bucket by freshman Gabby Fichter and a block by freshman Siena Kieffer to secure the comeback win 27-26 over Canyon Crest Academy.
On Friday, the Islanders led from tip to buzzer, winning 52-29 over Castle Park. The team scored more than 50 points for the first time since the 2020-21 season.
“We’re in the gym every single day working hard,” said assistant coach Andre Murphy. “The best is yet to come. I am proud of the girls the way they work and the way they show up. The more we practice together, the more we gel.”
Versus Canyon Crest Academy
At Wednesday’s game, the team appeared headed for its first loss after going down by ten at the half, 21-11. Canyon Crest’s Elena Colon opened the second half by making one of two foul shots to increase Canyon Crest’s lead to 11, 22-11.
The Islanders scored the next 14 unanswered to go up by 3, 25-22. During the run, Fichter scored six, Selena Herrera scored five on a three and a two, Lily DeSena contributed a bucket, and Kieffer, playing in her first game ever, made one of two free throws.
With two and a half minutes remaining in the game, Canyon Crest’s Audrey Zao hit a three to tie the game, 25-25. Neither team scored for the next minute, then Canyon Crest’s Colon was fouled and went to the line for two shots. She made one and Canyon Crest took the lead, 26-25.
What happened next was like something out of a movie. Coronado turned the ball over on the next possession, giving the ball back to Canyon Crest with 30 seconds remaining. Coronado’s Kiefer stole the inbound pass, passed the ball to Herrera who found an open Fichter under the basket for a layup and the lead, 27-26.
With time remaining for Canyon Crest to score, the Islanders needed a stop. They got just that with the hard-nosed defense of Kiefer. Kiefer blocked the inbound pass, Canyon Crest tried to regain control but the ball went out of bounds last touched by Canyon Crest. The Islanders threw the ball in and held on to win the thriller, 27-26.
“At halftime we shared ‘constructive criticism’,” said coach John Coolidge, who reminded the players that the coaches believed in them. Coolidge attributed the comeback to strong defense in the second half. “We’ve been trying to do a 3-2 trapping defense and that got us back in the game,” he said.
“We worked as a team at the end,” said co-captain senior Alina Molina. “We moved the ball, kept our spacing, and got our hands up on defense.”
Fichter and Herrera led the team in scoring with 14 and eight points respectively. Fichter contributed two rebounds, four steals, and one block, while Herrera had a team-high eight rebounds to go with four steals and one block.
Versus Castle Park
The Islanders played a scrappy Castle Park team for the second time this season, winning 52-29. Its 23-point margin of victory was the team’s largest this season.
The team had runs of 7-0 in the first quarter, 13-0 in the second quarter, and 11-0 to end the third and begin the fourth quarter. “This year we try to focus on a quarter at a time, and win each quarter,” said assistant coach Murphy. “If something doesn’t work one quarter we adapt for the next quarter. Every game is a game of chess.”
Eight players scored, including three in double digits: Fichter (14), freshman Emily Albin (12), and Herrera (11). Others who scored include senior and first-year player Alyssa McWilliams, freshman Olivia DeSanti, sophomore Akenna Thornton, Kiefer, and Molina.
Great basketball teams often start with superb defense, and that seems to be the case for Coronado. They get defensive contributions from everyone on the floor.
Albin and Herrera led the team in rebounds with seven and six respectively. DeSanti, Charlie Reyman, Mary Chiles, Thornton, and Kiefer also contributed at least one.
Albin, Fichter, and Herrera had four steals each, and Albin, Reyman, Kiefer, Chiles, and Molina all had at least one blocked shot.
Albin was the only player with at least one point, rebound, steal, and blocked shot.
McWilliams is a crossover athlete who plays goalie for CHS lacrosse in the spring and played tennis for the first time this fall. McWilliams is also the team’s DHB, or designated hair braider. “It is so fun,” said McWilliams. “(The players and coaches) are so supportive. It feels like a family instead of a team.”
Home Games Up Next in CHS Gym
Come out to support the team as they aim to keep their winning streak alive. The next six games are all in Coronado’s gym.
Date Opponent Start Time 12/18 Sweetwater 6:30 pm 12/20 Hilltop 6 pm 01/08 High Tech CV 5 pm 01/10 Lincoln 6 pm 01/14 Kearny 5:45 pm 01/17 Mission Bay 6 pm
Behind-the-Scenes News To Keep You in the Know
Coronado High School plays in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)-San Diego section, one of ten sections in the state. CIF-San Diego covers most of San Diego and Imperial Counties.
The Islander girls basketball team is in CIF-San Diego Division 5 this year. Canyon Crest is in Division 3. The most competitive teams are in Division 1, the next most competitive in Division 2, and so on. At the end of regular-season play, the top eight Division 1 teams for each sport are selected as Open Division teams and play in a tournament separate from the CIF-San Diego Division 1 tournament.
In general, a fan would expect a Division 3 team to beat a Division 5 team. However, the Division 5 Islanders beat the odds with its win over Division 3 Canyon Crest. To see the Division breakdown for Girls Basketball in San Diego, check out this spreadsheet.
Additionally, unlike in other states and sections where divisions are determined based solely on the size of the school (so that schools with a large student body play other big schools, and small schools play other small schools), CIF-San Diego places teams in Divisions based on the team’s previous success. This approach to placing teams means that the same school may compete in different divisions for different sports. For example, CHS Girls Water Polo is in Division 1 while Girls Basketball is in Division 5. There are typically 19-24 teams in each division – too many teams to play in one season – so the teams are further assigned to leagues that have anywhere from five to nine teams.
Within the CIF-San Diego Section boundary, there are eight conferences: City, Coastal, Frontier, Grossmont, Metro, North County, Southeastern, and Southern. Coronado High School plays in the City Conference. Within the conference, there are four leagues: Central, City, Eastern, and Western. And, yes, because having Divisions, Conferences, and Leagues isn’t confounding enough, there is both a conference and a league named “City.”
CIF-San Diego tries to align teams that will be competitive within leagues, so Coronado plays in different leagues depending on the sport. For example, this year the Islander girls basketball team plays in the Central League along with football and track & field, but Islander boys basketball plays in the City League, along with softball and boys soccer. The other 15 Coronado High School teams are almost evenly split between the Eastern and Western Leagues. Want to find out which league your favorite team is in? See this spreadsheet and select the City Conference sheet.
What does this mean for Coronado High School? The school plays in different divisions and different leagues depending on the sport, but it is always in the same conference: San Diego City. The variety of divisions and leagues may explain why you have trouble keeping divisions and leagues straight. It’s not you. It’s the system.
