TITANS REMAIN UNDEFEATED BEHIND BIG THIRD QUARTER

Freshman center Johnson scores 16 of her 18 in stanza

Last spring, Poway High started the coronavirusshortened and delayed girls basketball season with a 10-0 overall record. Everything looked rosy heading into Palomar League play.

It all fell apart as the Titans won two of their final 11 games.

So when they came into Tuesday’s second game of the SoCal Holiday Classic with a 10-0 record again, none of the Titans from last season even thought about past history.

With four players in double figures, Poway never trailed in keeping the winning streak alive this time with a 65-56 victory over Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro at Canyon Hills High.

“I believe we’re a much better team this year than last year,” said Poway coach Jay Trousdale, the only coach in San Diego section history to surpass 700 career wins.

“Our returners are a year older, we have some outstanding new players and we learned how to handle ourselves.

“But it was a tale of two games. We were our own worst enemy in the second quarter.”

Poway managed to have a 25-23 lead at halftime.

Instead of falling behind, the Titans turned to freshman center Katelyn Johnson, who scored 16 points in the third quarter as Poway took a 50-30 lead at one point.

When Tesoro (7-8) rallied in the final quarter, closing to within a 3-pointer of tying the game at 59-56 with 1:21 to go, Poway scored the final six points to clinch it.

“We want to make up for last year,” said Poway senior guard Mariah Wingfield, who had 10 points. “Last year was so frustrating because we thought we would do well in (Palomar) league play, but we didn’t.

“This year we have a better team bond and we trust our abilities.”

Johnson’s big outburst in the third quarter led her to 18 points along with seven rebounds.

“Katelyn is a very good player and smarter beyond her years,” Trousdale said. “She really carried us in that third quarter.”

Sophomore Ari Mason added 17 points while senior Kaitlyn Gilbride checked in with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Though the Titans, who were without four players for injuries and one more was snowed in on a family vacation to Lake Tahoe, were seriously pressed a few times by Tesoro, they never surrendered the lead.

“We have more girls who can score this season,” Trousdale added. “That really helps us get out of trouble like we did a few times today.”

Tesoro, missing four players, had only four of their seven players score with Lara Prasad leading the way with 19 points followed by Lindsey Fukushima and Celine Castaneda with 14 points apiece.

Poway faces Whitney at 4:30 p.m. today at Westview High with an eye toward remaining undefeated.

The Titans conclude the tournament at 10:30 a.m. Thursday against Mayfair at West Hills High.