The CHS Islander Girls’ Basketball team won games over Kearny and Mission Bay this week, bringing their record to an impressive 10-1 overall, and 2-1 in league play. The team bounced back from their first loss of the season versus Lincoln, a team ranked #4 overall in the CIF-San Diego Section.
Versus Kearny
CHS earned a hard-fought win over the Kearny Komets on Tuesday, 38-32. Division 4 Kearny had a 10-6 record before the match-up. The Islanders were without bigs Emily Albin, Akenna Thorton, and Sienna Kieffer, and so relied on teamwork, their signature defensive play, and a stellar 22-point performance from freshman Gabby Fichter.
CHS went down by one at the end of the first quarter, 10-9, and Kearny stretched their lead to four in the second, 13-9. The Islanders then went on an 8-2 run to take a 2-point lead into half time, 17-15.
By the end of the third quarter, the Islanders kept their 2-point advantage up 24-22, but Kearny tied the game twice during the quarter, at 17-17 and 18-18.
Co-captain and senior Selena Herrera scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, and the Islanders went up by six, 28-22. They eventually stretched the lead to ten, going up 38-28 off of a now-signature Islander play where Herrera grabs a rebound and throws a long pass down the court to an open Fichter who finishes for the layup. Kearny scored the final four points of the game, and the Islanders won by six, 38-32.
With the team missing three players, stepping into new roles were two first-year players and freshmen Lily DeSena and Selena Hohuan-Fabius. “Two girls that I thought played really really well were Lily and Sel,” said head coach John Coolidge. “And Charlie (Reyman). Charlie is the glue that holds everybody together. She plays hard.”
“We finished strong,” said Herrera. “We are learning how to finish games.”
After Fichter‘s 22 points, Herrera followed with seven, freshman Olivia DeSanti had five, and senior co-captain Alina Molina and DeSena scored two each.
The team continued its diverse, consistent defensive play. Herrera and Reyman led the team in rebounds, and Mary Chiles, DeSanti, DeSena, Fichter, Hohuan-Fabius, Alyssa McWilliams and Molina all contributed defensively.
Versus Mission Bay
Against Mission Bay, the Islanders won convincingly, 34-20. The team led from tip to buzzer, with a 13-0 run from the end of the first to the beginning of the second quarter, followed by a 12-0 run to start the third.
The team had its most evenly distributed scoring of the season. Freshmen Gabby Fichter scored nine, senior Alina Molina scored her season-high of seven, senior Selena Herrera and freshman Emily Albin each scored six, sophomore Charlie Reyman had four, and freshman Lily DeSena contributed two.
Freshmen Albin and Siena Kieffer led the team with four and three blocks respectively, and senior Alyssa McWilliams, sophomore Mary Chiles, and freshman Sarah Goren contributed defensively.
The team was missing Thornton, DeSanti, and Hohuan-Fabius.
Coach John Coolidge explained that the coaching staff made some adjustments to the team’s play, knowing that Mission Bay had especially tall competitive players that the Islanders hoped to contain.
For the first time this season, the Islanders started the game with two bigs down low, Emily Albin and Sienna Kieffer.
“We knew that they had one or two big girls who might end up being a challenge so we knew that we had to prepare,” said Albin.
That move meant that they could bring in Alina Molina off the bench so she could analyze the opponent’s play before entering the game. The change worked, as Molina scored two twos quickly in the first quarter, and a three in the third, sparking her best offensive play of the season.
Herrera‘s club coach is the father of one of the players on Mission Bay and she was excited about playing in front of him.
“They were our first wins in league,” said Herrera, referring to the week’s games, and sharing her excitement about the possibility of the team’s success in league and CIF tournaments. “I know that we have to put in the work to think about anything in (league) playoffs.”
Outlook
The Islanders are ranked first in Division 5 in the CIF-San Diego section, and 29th overall of 112 teams, an unusually high ranking for a Division 5 team.
They are one of six teams in the Central League. The others include Canyon Hills, Clairemont, Kearny, Lincoln, and Mission Bay. The teams play each other twice, once at home and once away. After playing nine consecutive home games from Dec. 3 through Jan. 17, the Islanders will now go on the road for six.
The team will return home for the final two league match-ups, on Feb. 11 versus Canyon Hills at 5:45 pm and Feb. 13 versus Clairemont at 6 pm. Mark your calendars now!
