Troy guard Barbara Sitanggan had every intention of playing through her bout with the flu, but by the start of the second quarter, the senior captain returned to the bench and took a seat next to Coach Roger Anderson.
That would be a devastating loss for most teams, but the Warriors simply turned to their star-in-the-making, junior Kianna Smith, to operate the offense.
Smith scored a game-high 14 points as No. 3 Troy reaffirmed itself as the favorite in the Freeway League with a 46-32 victory over No. 10 Sonora on Wednesday night at Sonora.
Two days after suffering a 14-point loss to No. 2 Brea Olinda, the Warriors (12-5, 3-0) rebounded with their CIF-SS-record 193rd consecutive league triumph against a squad that figures to be its top competition for the league title.
“We’re the walking wounded, and it all happened last Friday,” Anderson explained. “We struggled our way through the Etiwanda game (on Saturday). Brea kicked our butt (on Monday). And it showed because we had no energy. So we’re fighting through it now, trying to survive.”
Against Brea Olinda, Troy received a combined two points from talented post players Rebecca Lazuka and Naomi Hunt. They scored 11 points apiece against the Raiders (16-2, 2-1).
Troy used a late 7-1 run in the second quarter to take a 24-15 halftime lead.
Hunt, Smith and Brooke Sinek drained consecutive 3-pointers at the start of the third quarter, highlighting a 14-0 run that swelled Troy’s lead to 38-15.
“It felt good, especially with a win like this to redeem that Brea loss,” said Smith, a transfer from JW North of Riverside. “Everyone (on the team) has been really accepting, and they’ve helped me fit in and find my role.”
Sonora guard Lainie James’ 3-pointer ended the Warriors’ run with 2:15 to play in the third. It also marked the first points the Raiders scored over a nine-minute span in which they went 0-for-8 from the field and turned the ball over six times.
Also in the Freeway League:
La Habra 52, Fullerton 28: Amanda Cuervo scored 13 points, Ashley Bessler finished with 10 and the Highlanders (14-5, 2-1) held the Indians (7-12, 1-2) to single digits in each of the first three quarters.
In the Garden Grove League:
Garden Grove 61, Bolsa Grande 23: Vea Gauta (29 points) and Kylie Nguyen (24) helped the visiting Argonauts (13-6, 3-0) seize control of first place in the league standings.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com