The Los Alamitos Girls JV basketball team clinched its fourth league championship in a row with a 50-29 victory over Marina High and finished the season with an 11-1 Sunset League record and with a 22-6 record overall.
In the first quarter of the January 31 victory, the Griffins raced out to a 19-10 lead behind a balanced offense with six Griffins scoring. The first half ended with Los Alamitos ahead 29-21. In the second half, the stingy Los Alamitos defense and full-court pressure held Marina to only 8 points as the Griffins pulled away to a 21-point win.
Sophomore forward Danira Jones and sophomore guard Ashley Matsumoto led the Griffins’ scoring with 11 points each. Jones also had 4 rebounds and 3 steals, and Matsumoto had 6 steals.
Sophomore center Kara Townzen added 8 points and 7 rebounds, freshman forward Maryah Collier had 5 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, and point guard Mio Emi chipped in 6 points, 3 steals, and 2 assists. Sophomore guard Remy Hoang had 5 steals and 4 assists, sophomore wing Madi Real pulled down 5 boards, and junior center Morgan Oropeza added 4 points and 3 rebounds.
In the final league game, on February 3, the Griffins’ 11-game win streak and chance to have an undefeated league season came to an end as they lost a road game 34-44 to second-place Fountain Valley (10-2). In that game, Matsumoto scored 9 points with 2 threes, Emi added 8 points and 7 rebounds, Collier had 7 points and 9 rebounds, and Townzen had 6 points and 8 rebounds.
“Maybe we let up a bit in that last game because we had already won the league title,” said Coach Patrick Kennedy. “But we had a great season. We won the Sunset League championship and a very tough tournament championship, so no complaints.”
In December, the Griffins won the Annual Millikan Junior Varsity Girls Basketball Tournament with a 38-28 victory over Downey (23-5). Overall, Los Al finished the season winning 16 of its final 18 games.
