The near 400-mile bus ride from Phoenix back to Orange County was anything but enjoyable for Orangewood Academy coach Leslie Aragon, as a lackluster 22-point loss to Huntington Beach in a Phoenix tournament replayed on a mental loop the entire trip.
His team was due to start a 15-day break, and it seemed to be the last thing it needed.
“Last year before Christmas break, we were 12-0 and feeling like we could beat anybody,” Aragon explained. “It turned out the break was worst thing that could have happened. This year, we were disappointed how we performed in Phoenix, and we went into the break not feeling like we could beat anyone.”
It turned out, some time off was exactly what the Spartans needed.
Orangewood Academy returned the court Saturday and produced one of the more surprising results of the season, a 52-33 road win over perennial power Brea Olinda.
The Ladycats, who were without their second-leading scorer, Jasmine Rachal, were held to single-digit point totals in three of the game’s four quarters.
Orangewood senior guard Carolina Montes led all scorers with 17 points. Forward Estefania Giner scored 11 and Gabriela Rosas added nine in what should be considered one of the biggest nonleague wins in school history.
“Their confidence will be through the roof now,” Aragon said of his players. “They know this is what they’re capable of. We’re better than how we were playing. We proved that on Saturday.”
DENNING CLASSIC OBSERVATIONS
Observations from the Matt Denning Hoops Classic on Saturday:
• Mater Dei is the healthiest it has been this season, and the Monarchs are trending upward as league play starts this week. A starting five comprised of Jayda Adams, Nicole Freeman, Madison Johnson, Cydni Lewis and Emma Torbert is as athletic as any unit in the area. With all five capable and willing defenders, Mater Dei could ride a smothering ‘D’ to another Trinity League title.
• Troy is young, but a very good ballclub. The Warriors held a fourth-quarter lead over Windward – a team ranked in the top 20 in the state – in the Denning Classic finale before dropping a heartbreaker, 55-54. Troy trailed by 16 points early in the third quarter, but chipped away behind senior stars Naomi Hunt (22 points) and Kianna Smith (19).
“Our learning lesson is how we start games,” Warriors coach Roger Anderson said. “How we play the first half dictates everything, because if we do that, we can play with anybody.”
• Smith’s basketball IQ is off the charts. The Cal-bound guard plays with such a calming presence on the court, and her understanding of when to create for herself and when to create for others is beyond her years. She has the rare ability of making everyone around her better.
• Fairmont Prep’s first possession against Mark Keppel was a thing of beauty Saturday afternoon. Tristen Rollon fed Cierra Hall in the high post, and as soon as the defense collapsed on her, the senior forward whipped a pass to the corner to Anjali Ghadi. The transfer from Woodbridge buried a wide-open 3-pointer for her first official basket since becoming eligible with the Huskies.
It was one of the few bright spots for the Huskies in an otherwise frustrating outing. The Huskies struggled mightily against the Aztecs’ three quarter-court pressure, and never bounced back from a second quarter in which there were outscored, 27-11.
Saturday was the first time Fairmont was playing at full strength. There’s plenty of talent and depth on the roster, but with some new faces, it will be interesting to see how minutes get divvied up moving forward. The Huskies’ next outing is Wednesday night at Windward.
• Sonora’s last two games have come against Trinity League opponents. The Raiders lost to Orange Lutheran, 31-28, in overtime on Dec. 29 in the Larry Doyle/Dan Wiley O.C. Tournament of Champions. On Saturday, it won an eerily similar contest against Santa Margarita, 32-29. While they have trouble scoring at times, Sonora can defend with the best of them, and there might not be a better on-ball defender in the area than Meghann Henderson.
AROUND THE COUNTY
• The CIF-SS released its first Open Division watch list of the season on Monday, and of the 29 teams listed, nine were Orange County schools. In alphabetical order, Brea Olinda, Esperanza, Fairmont Prep, Los Alamitos, Mater Dei, Orange Lutheran, Orangewood Academy, Rosary and Troy were all included.
• Fairmont Prep (1A) and Rosary (2AA) were the only schools ranked No. 1 in their respective divisions in Monday’s latest polls.
• Elsewhere around Orange County: Rosary topped the defending Division 1AA champ, Ventura, on Saturday afternoon, 48-42. The Royals have won 11 in a row and head into Tuesday’s Trinity League opener against JSerra at 13-1 overall. A large part of the Royals success has been the team’s unselfishness spreading the ball. As coach Richard Yoon notes, no one exemplifies that more than point guard Alexandria Iannone. The Rosary senior is averaging 6.3 assists per game and has established herself as one of the elite passers in the county.
• Tustin sharpshooting senior Lilly Ballestero sank 12 3-pointers last week in a pair of wins over El Modena and Capistrano Valley. She finished with 28 and 21 points in those two outings. If the last name sounds familiar, Ballestero is the younger sister of former Canyon stars, JoJo and Anthony Ballestero. The Tillers guard and her teammates are off to a 14-2 start this season in what’s looking to be an intriguing three-horse race between Tustin, Pacifica (13-3) and Kennedy (13-3) in the Empire League.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@scng.com
