San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
RETURN OF THE CHAMPIONS
The drought is finally over.
Despite winning 10 San Diego Section girls basketball championships in the last 16 seasons, La Jolla Country Day hadn’t won a title since capturing the Division IV crown in 2013.
The last six years are a memory now as the No. 1-ranked team in the nation kept its eye on the prize the entire game Saturday to claim a convincing 54-37 win over No. 3-seed and defending champion Cathedral Catholic in the Open Division at UC San Diego’s RIMAC Arena.
For the Torreys, now 30-1 with that lone loss coming to Long Beach Poly in the Socal Holiday Classic finals, it marked the 21st time a La Jolla Country Day team has played in the Open Division in any sport.
But it’s the first time any of those teams came away as a champion.
“It’s about the game, the journey for the kids,” LJCD coach Terri Bamford said. “When you win state and CIFS and then fall short like we have, you feel like the year wasn’t a success.
“When this year started, I knew this team was special. Everyone accepted their roles and this is what you get.”
Senior Te-hina Paopao played her role to perfection, leading the Torreys to a 9-0 start in a game in which they never trailed.
Paopao took game scoring honors with 26 points to go with 13 rebounds.
Freshman Breya Cunningham added 15 points and junior Jazzy Anousinh had 11 points.
In a meeting between the teams in December, La Jolla Country took a 66-63 win in triple overtime.
“We tried to give them a different look,” said Paopao, who had 10 first-quarter points. “This is a blessing for sure.
“We had some ups and downs, but the coaches told us to keep working no matter where we were ranked.”
La Jolla Country Day led 22-21 at halftime, outscoring the Dons (19-11) by a 32-16 margin in the second half for a 14th consecutive victory.
“Coach told us run our stuff,” said Paopao. “She also told us to start knocking down shots.”
Sophomore Ice Brady topped the Dons with 16 points and 13 rebounds.