The Los Alamitos Girls JV basketball team opened its season by making it to the final four in a 12-team tournament bracket before winning third place in a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Brea over Thanksgiving weekend.
Falling behind by 8 points in the middle of the third quarter, the Griffins captured the momentum with a full-court press that saw them erase the deficit and take a two-point lead in the last two seconds of the third period on three clutch free throws by freshman point guard Remy Hoang.
Brea tied the game 26-26 with a basket on the first play of the fourth quarter, but on the very next play freshman guard Madi Real drained a three from the left wing to put the Griffins ahead 29-26. Los Alamitos didn’t trail again on the way to a 40-32 victory on Saturday, November 25, at the El Toro Thanksgiving Classic tourney.
Junior point guard and forward Mikayla Aguayo led the scoring with 12 points to go along with 4 steals and 8 rebounds. Junior guard and forward Kat Contreras added 11 points and 4 steals, Real chipped in 7 points, 3 assists and 3 steals, while Hoang added 6 points, 3 assists, and 5 steals. Leading rebounder was junior center Cat Kolster who grabbed 10 boards.
The Griffins now have a 3-1 record with the only loss being to Portola 43-29 in the semi-final game before the Griffins’ victory over Brea for third place. Los Alamitos also defeated Northwood 57-28 and Trabuco Hills 41-18.
