LOS ALAMITOS – Fountain Valley did as well as any team this season in shutting down Dani Iwami, the Sunset League’s leading scorer.
But the best scorers find a way.
After being limited to three points in the first half on 1-of-7 shooting from the floor, Los Alamitos’ standout junior guard scored 12 points in the second half (eight in the fourth quarter) to lift the Griffins to a 47-40 home win over Fountain Valley on Friday.
Both teams entered the game 2-0 in league play, and the Griffins (14-5, 3-0) now sit alone atop the Sunset standings.
“She was always going to get her points,” first-year Los Alamitos coach Rich Alvarez said of Iwami. “She was being patient, trying to get everybody involved and let the game come back to her.”
The Barons (15-4, 2-1) found success pressuring Iwami from the start, mostly with senior guard Michell Wu, but the left-handed guard scored eight of the Griffins’ 11 points in the fourth quarter, including two driving runners in the lane in the final 1:45 to put the game out of reach. Iwami also had five assists, five steals and a blocked shot.
“In the second half, when we needed to get stops, she was too good for us,” Fountain Valley coach Cory Clarke said.
Iwami’s second-half offensive effort put Los Alamitos over the top, but it was the Griffins’ defense that enabled them to sustain a lead for most of the game. Alvarez’s game plan stressed limiting Fountain Valley’s penchant and aptitude for shooting 3-pointers by pressuring the Barons’ shooters on the perimeter.
Fountain Valley made 10 3s in each of its first two league games, but Los Alamitos limited the Barons to just 3-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc.
Other than a pair of NBA-range 3-pointers by Andie Krisnat – who finished with a team-high nine points – in the second quarter, the Barons’ long-distance threats were neutralized by Iwami and fellow guards Chanelle Crocker, Bayley Hagino and Brianna Flynn.
“We wanted to stay extended on the 3 and make them put it on the ground,” Alvarez said. “A couple of times, when we did fall asleep, they made the 3s, so that was a quick reminder of what the game plan was.”
Despite the struggles on offense – Fountain Valley came into the game averaging 55.8 points per game – the Barons cut the Los Alamitos lead to a single point midway through the third quarter and tied the game, 36-36, early in the fourth, before Iwami took over.
“We’re very similar in style – guard-oriented, with girls who can shoot,” Clarke said. “We played a little scared here and there and let that get to us.”
In the Freeway League:
Troy 45, Sonora 31: The Warriors (10-5, 2-0) are a win away from tying the county’s record for most consecutive league wins – held by Brea Olinda at 183 – after a victory over the the Raiders (13-5, 1-1).
Contact the writer: jbalan@ocregister.com