FULLERTON – There was plenty of attention thrown at Troy’s Kianna Smith this week, and deservedly so.
The senior guard was selected to the McDonald’s All-American game on Sunday, was announced as such during pregame warm-ups Friday night, and shortly after tip-off, found herself shadowed by Sonora defenders trying to deny her the basketball.
With all eyes on Smith early, it was Troy’s Michelle Lee who cashed in on a handful of wide-open opportunities, catching fire early to lead the Warriors charge.
Lee scored all 16 of her points before halftime, and Smith played the role of closer, scoring 18 of her game-high 22 in the second half, as No. 2 Troy again asserted itself as the team to beat in the Freeway League with a 58-46 win over Sonora at Troy High.
The Warriors (12-5, 4-0) pushed their league winning streak to 204 games, and their Feb. 2 game at Sonora (13-6, 3-1) appears to be the only expected challenge standing in the way of another unbeaten march through league play.
“Proud of our kids for the desire to stay in it,” Warriors coach Roger Anderson said. “They could’ve easily folded when (Sonora) took that run back at us in the second. We let them have a 7-0 run at the end of the quarter, and we were in a game.”
Behind Lee’s red-hot 6-of-7 shooting in the first half, the Warriors led by 15 with two minutes left before halftime, but that’s when Sonora’s late run made it a 28-20 ballgame.
“Michelle Lee is just about gaining confidence,” Anderson added. “She has one of the prettiest jump shots you’ll ever see and she showed it tonight. We’re hoping this is a building block for her.”
Raiders senior Meghann Henderson scored a team-high 21 points and tirelessly put her head down to attack the basket, and she provided Sonora with its only reliable form of offense.
The Raiders shot just 5 of 18 from 3-point range. Lacking a consistent outside threat, they were never able to trim Troy’s lead to less than five points in the second half, and the Warriors trailed by double digits for all but one possession in the final quarter.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@scng.com
