Gardena dominates Fremont to win City Division IV championship

TORRANCE >> The emotions going through the head of Gardena's Lauren Tobin-Williams as the clock wound down in Friday's CIF L.A. City Section Division IV title game were enough to make her cry.

“This took a lot of hard work, a lot of practice,” Tobin-Williams said. “Every day there were long practices and a lot of blood, sweat and tears.”

Behind a dominant defensive effort, Gardena earned its second City championship and first since 2018 with a 54-12 victory over Fremont

at El Camino College.

“We needed to go in knowing we're going to dominate and we had to keep that mindset,” said Tobin-Williams, who finished with 12 points and four steals. “We took that mindset and did what we needed to do.”

Gardena (16-9) came up with 22 steals in the contest.

Coach Tracey McNeil said he knew the Panthers' defensive rotations would be a huge key to slowing Fremont.

“We had some concerns about defensive rotation but once we got that down, it was all about our pressure,” McNeil said. “We wanted to make (Fremont) play our game, speed them up and play defense.”

Not only did Gardena's defense speed Fremont up, it also found a way to shut the Pathfinders offense down.

Fremont (10-8) scored eight points in the opening quarter and four points the rest of the way.

McNeil said the key to the defensive focus was going back to the drawing board.

“There's been an increase in energy and about the girls learning. We've come from so far down and just went back to the lab,” McNeil said. “We kept working, focused on skill and player development and growth mindset, and that's what we showed. No one gave us a chance, and we put the work in.”

The third-year coach danced her way to accepting the championship trophy.

“I was over the moon,” McNeil said. “I expect a lot. We could win by 20 and I'm happy, lose by five and I'm happy. It's about how they play the game.”

Gardena utilized its defensive pressure to jump out to an early lead, ending the first quarter on a 10-4 run. Gardena continued to be relentless not just on the defensive end, but on the glass too. The Panthers came down with 38 rebounds.

Tobin-Williams grabbed 10 rebounds, and Saniya Keyes had eight, but it was the quiet play of Sanaya Hubbard that McNeil pinpointed as being the key to Gardena's defense.

Hubbard scored 10 points and added four steals and three rebounds. India Cage added 12 points and five steals, and India Session scored 11 points.

“(Hubbard) is our energizer. She makes our defense go and is the straw that stirs the drink,” McNeil said. “We're always competing in practice so we know what's going on during the games.”