The top-seeded La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) Lady Torreys survived 29 turnovers to defeat the second-seeded Bishop’s School Lady Knights, 44-37, winning their fourth consecutive CIF Division IV basketball championship and sixth straight title overall on Friday, March 3 at the University of San Diego’s Jenny Craig Pavilion.
“We played hard the whole way,” Bishop’s coach John Farrell said. “But they [Lady Torreys] have been coached very well by Terri Bamford.”
However, it was Farrell’s Lady Knights who were found holding leads of 8-5 at the end of the first quarter, 16-14 at halftime, and 23-16 early in the third quarter.
“We played the game all the way through,” Farrell said. “All 32 minutes. Country Day is a wonderful team.”
Then, the Lady Torreys went ahead and proved just how wonderful they are by going on a 17-0 run to go up by a score of 33-23.
“The seniors really stepped up for us,” said LJCD sophomore Janae Fulcher (9 points, 10 rebounds).
“We were right there with them,” said Farrell, whose team also had 29 turnovers in the contest.
Bidding to keep Bishop’s right there was Michelle Brunker. The sophomore guard converted a 3-pointer to close the third period and cut the Country Day cushion to 33-26.
“I’m proud of our kids for the way they played because that’s what we expect of them,” Farrell said.
“Fortunately, we’ve been in big games before,” said LJCD senior Breanna Settles (5 points, eight rebounds, three steals).
Unfortunately for the Lady Knights, it showed down the stretch as the Lady Torreys (19-10), who have only lost to teams ranked either in the state of California or nationally, pulled away for the victory.
“We do the little things it takes to win,” said Seton Hall-bound LJCD senior Ashley Booker (12 points, three assists, four steals).
Junior forward Kathleen Roehrkasse led Bishop’s (25-4) with 14 points and senior center Jessica Barnette added seven rebounds in the losing cause.
In the March 7 quarterfinal round of the Southern California Regional Division IV playoffs, the Lady Torreys beat visiting Westlake Village Oaks Christian, 64-40, to advance to the semifinal.
