LJCD Girls Get Untracked in 2nd Half, Beat Bishop's

It took a half for La Jolla Country Day to shake off the cob webs from its tough loss to nationally ranked Mater Dei last week. And when the Torreys did, it was literally and figuratively lights out for the Bishop’s School Friday night.

La Jolla Country Day had a mere two-point lead at the half, 33-31. However, sparked by Malina Hood, the Torreys went on a 27-12 run to start the second half, with Hood scoring 13 of her 16 points in that stretch. And seconds after Brianne Yasukochi drained a 3-pointer, the lights went out completely at the Eva May Fleet Athletic Center.

After the lights came back on, LJCD went on to finish up a 78-54 victory that gave the Torreys their 10th Coastal League title in 11 years.

La Jolla Country Day is 21-4 overall and 5-0 in the league while Bishop’s dropped to 14-10 and 3-2 in league.

“We didn’t bring the intensity that first half and I think the Mater Dei game was a factor,” said Torreys coach Terri Bamford. “They (Bishop’s) were beating us to loose balls, the rebounds and we were getting beat in transition. And those are the little things in a game that we should take care of.”

Bishop’s, which trailed 33-23, closed the first half on an 8-0 run keyed by Alissa Campanero and Bryn Stark, who combined for 21 first-half points. Stark picked up her fifth foul early in the second half, which hurt the Knights’cause.

“You prepare for a game like that (against Mater Dei) and all your emotions and energy go into it,” said Bamford. “We had a pretty good outing against a national team like that (LJCD led 41-36 before losing 68-54). And we were not ready to play tonight.”

“We kind of had that attitude that we were going to come out here and blow them out,” said Malina Hood. “But at halftime we realized that we had to forget about the Mater Dei game and play the way we can play.”

Joining Hood in double figures were Maya Hood, who had 19 points, and Kelsey Plum with 15.