State playoff run ends for Redondo’s girls basketball team
Junior forward Kyra Hamlin was a force in the paint, leading Redondo in both points (14) and rebounds (8). Photo
Redondo’s bid to play for the CIF State Division 2 title came up a little short Saturday when the second-seeded Sea Hawks fell to top-seeded Mark Keppel 48-44 in the Southern California Regional Championship at The Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State.
Redondo (27-7) had its opportunities to pull out the win in the closing moments but just couldn’t finish the task.
Trailing 46-44, Mica Enriquez attempted to put the Sea Hawks ahead with her fourth 3-pointer of the game but, after bouncing off the rim, the ball was grabbed by Redondo forward Amiete Nyingifa who was fouled with 11 seconds remaining.
Nao Shiota inbounded the ball to Kyra Hamlin with 9.8 seconds left, but Hamlin’s pass slipped through her teammate’s hands and grabbed by Keppel’s Sophia Song who went the distance for a game-finishing layup.
The loss snapped Redondo’s 11-game winning streak and will send Keppel (26-7) to the CIF State Division 2 championship game where it will face Northern California champion Archbishop Mitty (25-6) at 2 p.m. next Saturday at Haas Pavilion at UC Berkeley.
Nao Shiota played a vital role for Redondo recording 10 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. Photo
Keppel held a 9-4 lead after a low-scoring first period but Redondo closed the gap by one to trail 21-17 at halftime.
Enriquez’s 3-pointer with about 4 ½ minutes left in the third quarter gave Redondo its first lead game at 26-25 and a see-saw battle ensued.
Keppel pulled ahead 36-32 with 43 seconds left in the third quarter but Shiota’s three-point play of a basket and free throw closed the gap to one point. When Enriquez tried to beat the buzzer with a long 3-point attempt, she was fouled and the junior guard made one free throw to tie the score 36-36 entering the final frame.
Enriquez nailed her third trifecta to give Redondo a 41-38 lead before Keppel scored six unanswered points. With 52 seconds remaining, Redondo’s McKenna Peneueta tied the game 44-44 with a 3-pointer but Keppel’s Lauren Saiki put the Aztecs ahead for good with 27 seconds left.
“It was a great game, a hard-fought game by both teams,” Redondo head coach Marcelo Enriquez said. “We definitely had our opportunities. The first half I thought we were a little tight. We had our opportunities in the fourth. We were up by three with a couple and had a couple opportunities back-to-back to extend it to five and we had a couple turnovers. We couldn’t take advantage of that situation and they came back and we just couldn’t counter.”
Junior Mica Enriquez hit three 3-pointers for the Sea Hawks. Photo
Redondo junior forward Kyra Hamlin had a strong game in the paint recording a team-high 14 points and eight rebounds. She was one of eight players who returned from last year’s squad to win the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA championship this season.
“I feel for our (five) seniors,” Hamlin said. “I really wanted to win a State Championship for them.”
Shiota, who had been a 3-point machine during the State playoffs, was limited to one trifecta but contributed with 10 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. Mica Enriquez finished with 10 points.
Keppel’s defense kept Nyingifa in check allowing only two points but the senior did grab seven rebounds for Redondo, six at the defensive end of the court.
Song finished with 14 points and five rebounds and Saiki added 13 points for Keppel.
“Our girls played with composure which was a key and down the stretch. We put the ball in our leader’s hands and she came through making all the right decisions and our defense played tough,” Keppel head coach Joe Kikuchi said of Saiki. “We tried to get the ball inside to our post players but the decisions were left up to Lauren and she was able to drive or give the ball to our bigs and it was successful.”