It’s rivalry week in the Bay League and Tuesday’s contests between boys and girls basketball and soccer teams will have a bearing on league standings when Mira Costa takes on Redondo, Peninsula faces Palos Verdes and Inglewood squares off against Morningside in the first of two meetings between the schools.
In girls water polo Redondo, ranked No. 8 in CIF-SS Division 3, hosts No. 4 Mira Costa on Wednesday while No. 7 Palos Verdes plays at No. 9 Peninsula.
Boys Basketball
Redondo’s boys basketball team is ranked No. 4 in CIF-SS Division 1AA and bounced back from a two-game losing streak in what Head Coach Reggie Morris Jr. called “an erratic but successful performance over Inglewood.”
The Sea Hawks easily defeated Morningside and after the first week of Bay League action, shared first place with rival Mira Costa.
“We have to learn to be more consistent with our execution on the offensive and defensive end,” Morris said. “I am satisfied with our effort but we have to become more efficient in getting things accomplished.”
Redondo lost its big man, 6-foot-9 sophomore Billy Preston who abruptly transferred to Prime Prep Academy Charter School in Dallas, Texas. But Redondo is still loaded with talent and expects to make another run at a CIF title.
“The best thing about our team is that we have a lot of guys that are capable of having big games, so we can evenly distribute the load,” Morris said. “Leland Green, Elijah Nesbit, Morgan Means, Ryse Williams, and Ryan Reeves are very capable scorers and should frequently score in double figures, giving us a balanced attack.
“We also are looking forward to the return of the Cameron’s to the line up. Both Cameron Williams and Cameron High have missed significant time this season due to injury. Cameron High has missed the entire season, with a heart condition, and Cameron Williams has been in and out over the last month with a strained groin.”
Redondo showed its grit last Saturday, outscoring Foothills Christian of El Cajon 22-12 in the fourth quarter for a 58-57 come-from-behind victory in a game played at Cerritos College.
Means scored 20 points, including four 3-pointers, and Green recorded 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Sea Hawks.
On Tuesday, Redondo once again had to erase a deficit when Michael Munn scored 16 points in the second half to propel the Sea Hawks to a 70-61 win at Peninsula (No. 11, Div. 1A). Green led the scoring with 25 points for Sea Hawks
Redondo (16-4, 4-0) defeated visiting Palos Verdes 68-37 Friday behind Green’s 16-point performance. Munn added 15 points for Sea Hawks who will play at Mira Costa in a 7:30 p.m. game on Tuesday.
“We always anticipate a great environment and battle when we play Costa,” Morris added. “Both teams always get up to play one another, which make for a great high school basketball game.”
Mira Costa (15-5, 3-1) is ranked No. 5 in Division 2AA. The Mustangs enjoyed a huge 75-72 overtime win at Peninsula in its second Bay League game.
Junior guard Quentin Jackson led Mira Costa with 21 points and senior forward Adam Griese added 17 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
Mira Costa Head Coach Jeff Amaral hoped the momentum carries over into the second week of Bay League action.
“We’re playing well,” Amaral said entering this week’s competition. “But we have a tough week playing Inglewood and Morningside.”
Mira Costa held off host Inglewood 60-55 Tuesday behind Dylan Kim’s 22-point, five-assist performance. Jackson added 14 points and six rebounds and Gavin Reagan had nine points and eight rebounds for the Mustangs.
Unfortunately, Mira Costa suffered a hiccup Friday night dropping a 64-59 home game to Morningside. Jackson scored 16 points and Jason Romero added 11 points
Amaral knows the loss puts extra pressure on his team as it prepares for Tuesday’s contest with Redondo in what could be considered a must win situation if the Mustangs want to stay in the race for a Bay League title.
“Redondo is always a tough match up,” Amaral said. “Their quickness and speed will pose problems for us.”
Girls Basketball
Redondo and Mira Costa are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the CIF-SS Division 2AA poll adding additional importance to their 6 p.m. game at Mira Costa on Tuesday.
Redondo (13-5, 4-0) has cruised through league play and Ami Nyingifa’s 17 points not only propelled the Sea Hawks to a 50-10 rout over visiting Palos Verdes on Friday, it also helped Head Coach Marcelo
Enriquez record the 400th win in his illustrious career.
All five of Redondo’s losses came at the hands of top-ten ranked teams and the Sea Hawks have outscored their opponents 263-72 in four Bay League games.
After running over Inglewood and Morningside, Redondo took over sole possession of first place after recording a 63-44 win at Peninsula Tuesday. Peninsula is ranked No. 11 in Division 1A but was no match for the Sea Hawk’s dominating defense.
Kyra Hamlin led Redondo with 20 points and 11 rebounds
Prior to facing rival Mira Costa, the Sea Hawks will play Horizon Christian Academy in the Narbonne Extravaganza on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
After defeating Palos Verdes 51-14 in its league opener, Mira Costa could not answer Peninsula’s three-point shooting falling to the host Panthers 52-33. Peninsula made 11 of 24 3-point attempts to pull away from the Mustangs.
Sophomore Allie Navarette is leading Mira Costa averaging 15.7 points and six rebounds per game. Sophomore Halle Maeda is averaging 7.5 points per game and senior guard Keilani Ikehara runs the offense with her ball handling skills. She is averaging 4.8 steals and 5.5 points per game.
“We have been playing pretty well this season, until a pretty weak performance versus Peninsula,” Mira Costa Head Coach John Lapham said. “But our players are resilient, and I’m sure we will bounce back quickly. Our defense has been pretty good, and our offense has been efficient, even though recently we aren’t shooting as well as we are capable of.”
Mira Costa (15-4, 3-1) rebounded with a 62-18 win at Inglewood on Tuesday. Patience Taylor led the Mustangs with 11 points and Maggie Hackney added six points and eight rebounds in the win.
Led by Alexa Underwood’s right points, Mira Costa routed visiting Morningside 51-5 Friday.
Mira Costa rotates 10-11 players with all capable of being major contributors and Lapham hopes to spread the scoring around to keep Redondo off balance.
“I’m sure the game with Redondo will be a tough one,” Lapham said. “They’re very well coached, they play defense extremely well, and they’ve got a number of offensive threats. The last few games with them were all decided in the last couple of minutes, and this one will likely be no different.”
Peninsula (12-8, 3-1) remained in the hunt for a league title with a 58-15 win against Inglewood on Friday. The Panthers are ranked No. 11 in Division 1A.
Boys Soccer
Redondo’s boys soccer team jumped out to an early lead in the Bay League race with wins over Inglewood and Morningside before dropping a 3-2 contest in double overtime at Peninsula on Tuesday then falling to visiting Palos Verdes 4-1 on Friday.
Justin Leavitt scored Redondo’s lone goal against Palos Verdes (13-4-2, 4-0) on a penalty kick putting the Sea Hawks in a must-win situation when they travel to take on rival Mira Costa Tuesday at 3 p.m. Redondo’s record dropped to 11-7-2 and 2-2 in league.
“Our team played well during the preseason,” Redondo head coach Ignacio Lopez said. “We had a slow start but slowly pick up the rhythm, intensity and chemistry started to build.”
After going 1-2-2 in the South Bay Tournament, Redondo posted 4-1 records in the South Torrance Holiday Classic and the Marina Tournament.
Lopez said forwards Azuma Sugahar, Manuel Carrillo, Adam King and Leavitt are keys to the Sea Hawk’s success and Angel Borja and Ryan Wadhams also play vital roles.
“The games against Mira Costa are special games,” Lopez said. “They bring their A game with intensity and passion. Mira Costa plays a very physical game with us and put high pressure on us all over the field. It seems like they don’t get tired. We have to be mentally and physically prepared for it and meet the demands of the game.”
Mira Costa (7-4-3, 2-1-1) struggled with the teams from the hill during the first week of Bay League competition, dropping a heartbreaking 1-0 game to visiting Palos Verdes before tying host Peninsula 2-2.
Anand Sarathy gave Mira Costa an early lead against Peninsula and Adam Bedingfield’s goal put the Mustangs ahead 2-1 in the second half before Jamie Black scored with two minutes left in regulation to tie the score.
“We began league with a record of 0-1-1 and Redondo was 2-0-0, but we both have two games before we meet and our records could very well be the same by then,” Mira Costa head coach Gary Smith said at the beginning of the week. “We are strong defensively. We have struggled to score, but that may change in the next two games.”
Mira Costa edged host Inglewood 2-1 on Tuesday behind goals by Kevin Vartan and Jason Schwartz and the Mustangs recorded a 6-2 win against Morningside on Friday. Ricky Angiolini and Max Steinmetz each scored twice and Christian Lopez and Sarathy added one goal apiece.
Goalkeeper Justin Fairchild has kept Mira Costa in most games as the Mustangs have given up more than two goals only once this season.
Senior captains Caley Berney and Connor Vosberg and junior Sean Fabian have been standout defenders. Griffin Douglas and Steinmetz have also excelled in midfield.
Peninsula (8-5-1, 3-0-1) remained in the Bay League race with a 4-0 win at Inglewood on Friday.
Girls soccer
The battle for the Bay League girl’s soccer crown will likely be decided in the final week of the regular season as three of the six teams are ranked in the top ten in CIF-SS Division 2.
Mira Costa (11-3-4, 2-1) is ranked No. 5 and reached the finals on the South Holiday Tournament before winning the North Orange County Tournament leading up to Bay League action.
After a 1-0 loss to host No. 4 Palos Verdes in the league opener, Mira Costa rebounded to shutout No. 6 Peninsula 3-0 behind the strong play of goalkeeper Nonie Frishette.
The Mustangs shutout Inglewood 7-0 Tuesday and will travel to Morningside Friday before facing host Redondo Tuesday at 3 p.m.
“When Costa faces Redondo it’s always a challenge,” Mira Costa Head Coach Patty Perkinson said. “The other Bay league teams are strong but when playing our rival anything can happen. Our team needs to focus on how they have been playing and take the game step by step. I am feeling very confident on how our team is playing. Although Palos Verdes beat us in the opener of league, the girls got their mojo back with beating Peninsula so we are ready to face Redondo and as always, it should be fun soccer. Nonie Frishette has been recording a lot of shut outs and McKenna Doyle has been scoring many hat tricks.”
Redondo (8-2-2, 2-0-1) defeated Inglewood and Morningside in the first week of league play before playing to a 1-1 tie with visiting Peninsula on Tuesday.
“We’re playing well and with good team chemistry,” Redondo Head Coach Shelly Marsden said. “We are technical and quick, especially on the wings with Sarina Ferlazzo and Ashley Humphrey taking a break from track to play soccer. Our central mid field is very strong with Callie Hokanson, Kristina Williamson, and Callie Maddie Kennell setting the tone. Our defense, led by Katie Stein and goalkeeper Marissa Marshall plays with a lot of strength and heart. We have two fantastic new comers who are making a big impact with Ashley Herm in the front and Jesse Loren in the back.”
Prior to taking on rival Mira Costa, the Sea Hawks play at Palos Verdes Friday at 3 p.m.
“The match up with Costa is always exciting,” Marsden said. “They are a strong team and well coached. We are looking forward to being at full strength and giving them all they can handle. We are committed to playing as a team and never letting up. At the end, it will come down to who can put away their chances.”
