Just when La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School seemed lost without injured 6-foot-3 senior center Janae Fulcher, other players stepped up and the No. 2-ranked Lady Torreys defeated the Francis Parker Lady Lancers, 56-45, in a Coastal League basketball game at Country Day last Friday, Feb. 2.
“We came out focused and ready to play,” LJCD coach Terri Bamford said. “We got a big jump on them early.”
Indeed they did. Behind four baskets by 6-foot-2 junior guard /forward Jamesha Townsend and one by 5-8 junior guard Lindsay Nettinga, the Lady Torreys raced out to a quick 12-0 lead in the first quarter.
“I noticed a big jump in our level of play,” Bamford said.
Francis Parker’s Lady Lancers needed to step up their level of play if they were going to have any chance of staying with Country Day. The Lady Lancers did get two buckets from 5-9 senior guard Leela Harpur, but still trailed LJCD 21-4 at the end of the first period.
“We looked great,” Bamford said. “I saw some real strong leadership out there.”
One Lady Torrey who showed strong leadership was Dominique Conners. Although LJCD only scored eight points in the second quarter, the 5-10 junior guard accounted for five of them.
“Dominique’s all the way back,” Bamford said of Conners, who was out last season with a torn ACL. “She’s running through passing lanes and diving on loose balls. Her emotional energy makes our team go.”
Meanwhile, Harpur was making Francis Parker go, converting four of the seven Lady Lancer baskets in the second period. That made the score Country Day 29, Francis Parker 15, heading into the locker room at halftime.
“It’s been an adjustment playing without Janae,” Bamford said. “We have to play more team basketball. We’re learning to do that and learning to score in other ways.”
After the intermission, Harpur and 5-10 senior forward Ali Pia found other ways for the Lady Lancers to score. Behind the play of Harpur and Pia, Francis Parker outscored the Lady Torreys 14-9 to close the gap to 38-29 at the end of the third quarter.
“We lost to Long Beach Poly (61-33) and Horizon (49-48) in our last two games,” Bamford said. “But sometimes losses are learning experiences and good for a team’s growth.”
LJCD showed it had grown by going up 50-31 early in the fourth quarter to pretty much seal the victory. The Lady Torreys improved their record to 16-7 overall and 4-1 in the Coastal League, while the Lady Lancers fell to 9-11 overall and 2-3 in Coastal League play.
Townsend and Nettinga led LJCD with 13 points apiece, and 5-10 sophomore guard Gizelle Studevent added 12 of her own. They were followed in the scoring column by Conners (11), 5-3 senior guard Kiara Stinson (4), and 5-5 freshman point guard Arianna Elegado (3).
Harpur led Francis Parker with 22 points, while 5-7 junior guard Adelle Walton added 15.
On the boys side, the Torreys went overtime before dropping a 39-37 decision to the Lancers. With the loss, LJCD fell to 14-9 (1-4 Coastal League) on the season.
In a close game, University City (UC) defeated La Jolla Feb. 2, 55-53. Senior forward Brooks Dougherty and junior center Davy Hart scored 13 points apiece in a balanced UC effort. Andrew Heap led the Vikings with 19 points, followed by Peter Sefton and Jerrell Agnew with 10 points apiece.
” Dave Thomas contributed to this story.