There were contrasting styles battling on the basketball court Wednesday night as Sonora and Corona del Mar met in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 3AA girls basketball playoffs.
The smaller Raiders relied on their speed and quickness, which they used to create chaos with an in-your-face, full-court press.
The Sea Kings started two players in the post taller than 6-feet. They got this far by slowing games down, throwing the ball to their talented bigs near the basket.
Speed prevailed early, but by night’s end, size ultimately proved to be the difference.
Natalia Bruening scored a game-high 16 points and two other Corona del Mar players also scored in double figures as the Sea Kings beat visiting Sonora, 57-47.
CdM (22-7) will travel to play top-seeded North Torrance on Saturday night in the semifinals.
“We just had to get over our nerves early,” Sea Kings coach Mark Decker said. “They put a lot of pressure on. Once we were able to calm ourselves down, I think we did a pretty good job.”
The Raiders (21-7) used their pressure to force the Sea Kings into turning the ball over eight times on their first 10 possession. With an up-tempo style, Sonora led 10-7 at the end of the first and held that lead up until the 1:40 mark of the second.
After touching the ball only once in the opening quarter, CdM fed the ball to Bruening down low in the second, allowing the 6-foot-4 center to score 11 points before the break.
“She’s unstoppable down there,” Decker added. “We just need to make sure we take our time to move the ball long enough to get her the ball, and you can see what she can do out there.”
The Sea Kings grabbed a 22-21 edge by the break, and never relinquished that lead after half. With Katherine Hess’ 12 and Brianna Westrup’s 10, CdM led by 14 in the fourth.
Sonora used a late 13-2 run to cut the score to 49-46, but it was unable to score again in the last 68 seconds of the game, ultimately ending its run for a CIF title.
Lainie James led the Raiders with 14, while Meghann Henderson finished with 10 points and eight steals.
Also in Division 3AA:
El Dorado 71, Northwood 37: Senior forward Jaylin Jones finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds, while teammate Brooke Salas chipped in with 23 and 10, giving the Golden Hawks a spot in Saturday’s semifinals against South Hills.
In Division 3A:
Orange Lutheran 40, El Segundo 29: The Lancers overcame an early deficit on the road to advance to the semifinals. Taelor Griffin scored a game-high 21 points and added five rebounds and five assists.
In Division 4AA:
JSerra 70, Estancia 37: The Lions rolled at home behind Lexi Vail’s game-high 19. Coco Miller and Julia Ackerman both finished with 18 points for JSerra.
In Division 4A:
Fairmont Prep 78, Maranatha 55: Samantha Clement (20), Maud Ranger (20), Tristen Rollon (18) and Cierra Hall (13) each ended up in double figures for the Huskies.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
