Griffin point guard Kayli Liew and center Kassidy Beach have received the ultimate league honor as Surf League co-MVPs while guards Megan Lee and Tam Yoshida were honored with “First-Team All-Surf-League” awards.
The awards were decided by a consensus of league coaches and were announced at the team banquet on March 21 at The Grand event center in Long Beach.
Liew also won co-MVP last season, sharing it with Kenedie Mathews of Corona del Mar, while last season Beach earned a First-Team All-Surf-League honor.
This season seniors Beach and Liew helped lead the Griffins to a 24-6 record overall and an undefeated (6-0) Surf League championship. In six league games, Beach averaged 16 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 4.3 steals, and Liew averaged 14.7 points and 4.5 assists.
In league games, sophomore Yoshida averaged 12 points and 3.2 steals and senior Lee averaged 9.8 points, 4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game.
“Kayli and Kassidy were our leaders in league games and for the entire season,” said Coach Maya De Anda. “Megan and Tam also had great seasons. All four players earned these awards, and I’m very happy for them.”
At the team banquet, Beach and Liew also were awarded the team co-MVP honors for the full 30-game season, which included the Griffins’ winning two tournament Runners Up trophies and an Elks Classic Tournament Championship trophy. For the entire season at point guard, Liew ran the offense, averaged 12.1 points, 4.2 assists, and hit 45 threes, while at center the 6’1” Beach was an intimidating stopper on defense and averaged 12 points and 10.4 rebounds and had a whopping 13 “double-double” games with double figures in both points and rebounds.
Yoshida received the team’s “Top Three-Point Shooter” award for making 55 threes, and Lee (who hit 53 threes herself) received the “Griffin Award” for her clutch shooting and veteran leadership. Sophomore standout Maya Asumbrado received the team’s “Most Improved Player” award for her instant offense coming off the bench. Asumbrado averaged 7.3 points per game, scored in double figures 8 times (including a season-high 16 points against Fountain Valley), and hit 44 threes.
The Griffins JV team (18-5) also won the Surf League Championship and at the banquet presented co-MVP awards to junior point guard Karla Buenrostro, who led the team with a 10.3 points-per-game average and hit 29 threes, and versatile junior Mikayla Aguayo, who played 4 positions and averaged 6.4 points and 9.2 rebounds. For the Frosh / Soph team, freshman post player Caitlyn Rother was named the team MVP.
For the varsity Griffins, this is their second consecutive league championship. Last season, in 2023, Los Alamitos (20-10) was co-champions with Corona del Mar, each having 5-1 league records.
This 2024 season, the Varsity Griffins also defeated the other four Sunset Conference teams (which play in the Wave League), so the team was not only undefeated in the Surf League (6-0) but also in the overall Sunset Conference for an undefeated 10-0 record in January.
Next season (2024-25), the Surf and Wave leagues will be replaced by having the teams play in a larger “Sunset League” of 7 high schools, each playing a 12-game season.
In CIF playoffs this year, the Griffins made it to the second round by defeating Pioneer 64-49 before falling to Beckman 42-54.
“We had a successful and enjoyable year,” said Coach De Anda. We will miss our graduating veterans, but we already are back in the gym preparing for next season.”
