Kennedy High’s gym has been a house of horrors for Cypress’ girls basketball team, which hadn’t won a game on the Fighting Irish’s floor since 2009.
Cypress made sure that streak came to an end Tuesday night.
Senior forward Justina Yoo scored 11 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter, which included a clutch pair of late free throws that provided the decisive blow in the Centurions’ 41-37 victory in a critical Empire League showdown.
“I haven’t won a game here ever since I started coaching at Cypress,” Centurions coach Nathaniel Rivera said. “This is the first time, so I thanked the girls after the game. It’s a tough place to play at. Hopefully it will propel us to play much better down the road.”
In the first three quarters of play, neither Cypress (14-7, 5-0) nor Kennedy (15-6, 4-1) led by more than four points, and the teams traded the lead on six occasions.
With the score tied at 30 two minutes into the fourth, Yoo scored five consecutive points, sinking a pair of free throws and drilling her lone 3-pointer of the game, to put Cypress ahead, 35-30.
Kennedy’s Kaitlin Matsuguma added to the drama with 30 seconds remaining by banking home an NBA-range 3-pointer that cut Cypress’ lead to 39-37.
After Cypress missed three consecutive free throws on the ensuing two possessions, Yoo buried a pair with 3.4 seconds to play.
“She’s probably one of the steadiest players that we have,” Rivera said. “She doesn’t know it because she barely started playing (the game) here at Cypress as a freshman. She studies all the time, asks questions all the time, but that’s what you want from a player.”
In the Crestview League:
No. 2 Brea Olinda 54, No. 10 Foothill 45: Reili Richardson scored 21 points and Tyiona Watkins added 16 as the Ladycats (17-2, 3-0) won their 11th consecutive game against the host Knights (16-5, 2-1). Sydney Sharp finished with 17 points for Foothill, and Jasmine Rachal scored 10 for Brea.
In the Pacific Coast League:
Woodbridge 47, Beckman 39: Junior forward Lauren Baffo led all scorers with 22 points and pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds as the Warriors (15-5, 4-1) knocked off the visiting Patriots (13-9, 3-2).
In the Academy League:
Oxford Academy 58, Sage Hill 54: Behind freshman Austyn Masuno’s 28 points, the Patriots (16-3, 6-0) overcame a fourth-quarter deficit and solidified sole possession of first place in league with their win over the visiting Lightning (12-6, 5-2). Sage Hill’s Heather Park led all scorers with 32 points.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com