They came up a little short in their quest to reach the state final, but it turned out to be quite a season for the La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School girls basketball team.
LJCD (24-8) saw its season end last Saturday night in Fullerton with a 69-62 loss to Los Angeles Marlborough in the SoCal Regional Division IV championship.
The Lady Torreys led 54-50 going into the final stanza and had the game tied at 62 off a pair of Chelsea Burns free throws and one by Dominique Conners, before Marlborough scored the game’s last seven points to ice the win.
Conners (eight rebounds) paced the Lady Torreys with 19 points, with Burns and Janae Fulcher each scoring 10.
“It is always tough to lose a game, but none are tougher than a season-ending championship,” assistant coach Corinne Brunn said. “Our team played three great quarters of basketball and led most of the game. The final quarter was a tough-fought battle with Marlborough making their shots, while ours rimmed in and out.”
While the bounces didn’t go LJCD’s way on this night, Brunn and head coach Terri Bamford are proud of the girls’ efforts.
“This team matured throughout the season; they overcame adversity and injuries to finish the season strong,” Brunn said. “Our freshmen, Ariana Elegado and Chemayne Shipley, developed into outstanding contributors to the team. Sophomore Gizelle Studevent is very athletic and knows how to score. The sensational seven ” Dominique Conners, Jamesha Townsend, Jasmine Edwards, Lindsay Nettinga, Chelsea Burns, Tiffany Hoffman and Janae Fulcher ” led the team with confidence, poise and outstanding basketball skills. Our lone senior, Kiara Stinson, was the glue and experience that held the team together.”