SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – Rosary’s outside shooting and defense in the paint were the keys to their 58-38 victory over JSerra in a CIF-SS Division 2AA semifinal Saturday night at JSerra High.
The Royals (24-5) advance to face Camarillo in the championship game next weekend at a site to be determined.
Rosary set the tone with five 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished with 12.
“We really shot the ball well tonight,” Rosary coach Richard Yoon said. “We were really focused. We really wanted it.”
Even though the Royals had defeated JSerra twice in Trinity League play, Yoon said he was concerned about Saturday’s game because of how well the Lions had performed in the playoffs.
But points didn’t come easy for JSerra, mostly because of Rosary’s 6-foot-3 center, Becky Obinma, who had six blocks and grabbed 13 rebounds.
The Royals had 32 rebounds as a team.
“Becky is the difference in the middle for our defense,” Yoon said. “When she is in, it’s hard to get a layup.”
Tealani Carbullido opened the game with a 3-pointer, giving the Royals the lead, which they held for the entire game.
The Royals led, 19-13, after the first quarter and then held the Lions to seven points in the second, enabling them to take a 13-point lead at the half.
In the third quarter, Rosary held JSerra to just six points and took a 22-point lead into the fourth.
Rosary’s Allie Iannone hit four 3-pointers and led all scorers with 14 points, and teammate Allison Lou scored 12 points, all on 3-pointers.
Lexi Vail and Kabreah Anderson scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, to lead the Lions.
