SANTA ANA, Calif. – If Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana) junior Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis is indeed the best player in the country, as her coach Kevin Kiernan claims, then teammate Jordan Adams isn’t far behind.
Jordan Adams drives toward two of her 21 points.
Photo courtesy of James Matthews
The superlative, sometimes spectacular do-everything 6-foot-1 sophomore point guard showed all of her skills – even leaping up to tip away a ball wedged between the backboard and rim in the final minute – during an entertaining 71-58 victory over Whitney Young (Chicago) in the premier game of the Nike Extravaganza between national powers Friday night.
"When she plays aggressively like that offensively, we're pretty hard to beat," Lewis said. "She was pretty phenominal tonight."
Lewis, a 6-foot-1 forward, wasn't bad either. She scored a game-high 22 points and added 10 rebounds, but it Adams who had the monumental responsibilities of taking care of the ball against Young’s brutal pressure.
Adams, considered the top sophomore in the country, also made a point to make points, driving to the hoop for the game’s first basket, setting the tone for a 21-point outing to go along with five rebounds.
"I knew coming into the game I would have (to be a little more aggressive)," Adams said. "The main thing was to be consistent and play hard."
They had to in order to keep Young at bay and knock No. 7 Dolphins (22-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Mater Dei (24-1), ranked third in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings, received another huge game from underappreciated 5-11 junior Jessica Duarte (19 points and 12 rebounds) and solid efforts from 5-8 guard Alex Thomas (six points, four assists, two steals) and Alexas Williamson (six rebounds).
It helped offset spirited efforts from 5-6 junior guard Kiana Johnson, 12 points from 5-9 freshman Linnae Harper and 11 by super quick 5-6 senior Janee Thompson.
Kiana Johnson never stopped driving.
Photo courtesy of James Matthews
The and Mater Dei, ranked third in MaxPreps’ Xcellent 25 national rankings, were able to knock No. 7 Young (22-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten. The Dolphins hung tough despite winning the Chicago City championship the night before in Illinois and not arriving to Orange County until noon.
Also the game started at 11 p.m. CST.
Johnson and Young coach Corry Irvin refused to use that as an excuse.
"Overall I wasn not pleased with our effort, especially early," Irvin said. "I didn't see our usual hustle."
Said Johnson: "We can play much better than that. Even though this was different for us and we played yesterday we should have been able to shake that off."
Once Irvin found out that the Chicago championships conflicted with the Extravaganza she considered cancelling the California trip. Ultimately, she thought it would benefit the Dolphins.
"Obviously this wasn't ideal," said Irvin, who has done a superb job since taking over Young eight years ago with one state title, a second-place finish and two third-place finishes. "And I probably shouldn't be so hard on the girls now. But hopefully this will prepare us for the post season."
The Dolphins certainly looked ready early during a tremendous first quarter that featured six lead changes and six ties, the last one on a putback by Young's Gillan Asque (six points, 10 rebounds) tying the score at 16-16 at the end of the first half.
Another putback, this one by Alexis Loyd, gave Young its last lead 22-20 midway throught the second, before Mater Dei rattled off eight straight started with two free throws by Lewis, a flying fastbreak hoop by Adams, two free throws by Duarte, who finished things off with a tough inside layup.
From there, the Dolphins were swimming up stream but always within striking distance. A 15-4 run keyed by a 3-pointers by Adams and Duarte and finished off with a spectacular end-to-end drive and layup by Thomas, give the Monarchs a 56-40 lead with 7:20 left in the game.
Janee Thompson sparked Young off bench.
Photo courtesy of James Matthews
The Dolphins looked sauteed.
But despite the jet lag and giving away ton of size up front, they closed to 58-52 with 4:53 remaining after two free throws by Johnson, a jumper by Janee Thompson and a putback by Vicky Thompson.
But Lewis started a 12-3 run with a tough floater in the lane and added a 3-point play and two free throws.
Young, without a player taller than 5-10, played gallantly but came up short – no pun intended.
"I was most pleased with our toughness," Kiernan said. "If we can bottle that toughness and use it the rest of the season we'll be in good shape."
Adams' toughness might have been most noteworthy. She's been playing on a sprained ankle for weeks.
"She's maybe 80 or 90 percent," Kiernan said.
That's probably hard to imagine for Whitney Young girls.
"She's got a lot of game," Johnson said. "We got her tired a couple times but she always seemed to come up and make big plays."
Mater Dei 71, Whitney Young 58
MATER DEI (24-1): Jordan Adams 7-14 4-6 21, Alex Thomas 2-4 2-3 6, Alexas Williamson 1-3 1-2 3, Kaleena Lewis 8-18 5-5 22, Jessica Duart 7-18 3-4 19, Alyse Biechele 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-61 15-20 71.
WHITNEY YOUNG (22-1): Kiana Johnson 6-18 5-6 19, Vicky Thompson 2-6 0-0 4, Janee Thompson 3-11 5-10 11, Linnae Harper 6-10 0-0 12, Bryeasha Blair 1-5 1-1 3, Alexis Lloyd 1-3 1-2 3, Gillan Asque 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 22-58 12-19 58.
Mater Dei 16 12 24 19 - 71
Young 16 8 16 18 - 58
3-point goals: Adams 3, Lewis, Duarte 2, Johnson 2. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Mater Dei 43 (Duarte 12), Young 33 (Asque 10). Assists: Mater Dei 13 (Thomas 4), Young 10 (J. Thompson 5). Turnovers: Mater Dei 16, Young 14.
La Jolla Country Day 77, Villa Park 42
One word: wow. La Jolla Country Day put on a clinic in all facets.
First thing to know is Villa Park (17-6) is a very good team. Last week the Spartans played No. 2 Brea Olinda close, lose by just 14.
But the Torreys (18-3), with superior quickness, athleticism and on this night, shooting, they ran and hid as five players scored in double figures led by a remarkably athletic 5-8 freshman Briteesha Solomon with 17 points.
Another freshman, 5-9 Kelsey Plum, added 16 points, Kaylah Miller, a 5-7 junior had 15, Maya Hood 13 points and 11 rebounds and Malina Hood 11 points and eight rebounds.
The team’s only senior, 5-6 Cal Poly-bound point guard Ariana Elegado had an off shooting night but she had six assists, at least four of the spectacular variety.
La Jolla Country Day dominated in all facets, not only causing 27 turnovers with constant fullcourt pressure, but they drilled 8 of 16 3-pointers, including five by Miller. The Torreys made 30 of 63 shots and outrebounded the Spartans 36-26.
Brianna Salvatore had 11 points and six rebounds for Villa Park.
La Jolla Country Day coach Terri Bamford, who has the Torreys to a pair of state small-school titles, said though it was one of her team's better games, it's been reflect of how well they've played in the last month.
Due to injuries and a 6-2 starter leaving the team to focus on volleyball, the Torreys have just eight girls on the roster.
"The chemistry among them is very, very good," Bamford said. "This is one of our more athletic teams and we're good in transition. If we can shoot like we did tonight we're capable (of a state title)."
The Torreys are Division IV by CIF standards.
La Jolla Country Day 77, Villa Park 42
VILLA PARK (17-6)
Brittany Bauman 2-4 0-0 6, Jennifer Calderon 1-2 0-0 2, Caitlin Buntin 0-0 1-2 1, Janai Ruiz 0-1 0-0 0, Shomari McCorkle 3-4 1-2 7, Brianna Salvatore 5-13 0-1 11, Nicole Ballestero 1-6 2-2 4, Connie Ballestero 1-7 3-4 6, McKayla Harris 1-4 3-4 5. Totals 14-41 10-15 42.
LA JOLLA COUNTRY DAY (18-3)
Ariana Elegado 1-12 2-4 5, Briteesha Solomon 7-13 3-4 17, Kaylah Miller 5-9 0-1 15, Kelsey Plum 7-12 1-1 16, Malina Hood 5-7 0-0 11, Brianne Yasukochi 0-1 0-0 0, Maya Hood 5-9 3-4 13. Totals 30-63 9-4 77.
3-point goals: Bauman 2, Salvatore, C. Ballestero, Elegardo, Miller 5, Plum, Hood. Rebounds: Villa Park 26 (Salvatore 6), LJCD 36 (Hood 11). Assists Villa Park 4 (Salvatore 2), LJCD (Elegardo 6). Turnovers: Villa Park 27, LJCD 15.
Orange Lutheran 46, Cajon 40
Natalie Luzar, a 5-8 junior, had 20 points as the Lancers (20-5) won a grinder. Cajon (22-3) took 13 more shots, but made just 25 percent (16 of 64). The Cowboys stayed in with a big edge on the boards led by Angelica Guardado and Rashida Simpson, who had 12 and 11 rebounds respectively.
Cajon took a 12-5 lead after one quarter, but managed a single bucket while being outscored 12-2 in the second quarter. The Cowboys would never recover, despite 10 points from Simpson. Leading scorer Kori Walker had nine points and nine rebounds but was just 4 of 22 from the floor.
Woodbridge 51, JSerra Catholic 38
Ashley Ward, a 5-10 senior, had 22 points and Erin Beadle, a 5-6 senior added 10 points, six rebounds and four steals as the Warriors improved to 20-5.
Serra got 10 points from Erin Butler but no one else scored in double figures. The Lions committed 24 turnovers and took just 42 shots.
Santa Margarita 55, Long Beach Wilson 46
Melissa Zornig, a 5-9 senior headed to Santa Barbara, had 25 points and eight rebounds as the Eagles (19-5) used a 25-14 third-quarter run to cruise to victory.
Denise Fernandez, a 5-5 senior, added 13 points for the winners who limited Wilson (11-14) to just 28 percent shooting. Tiffany Bailey, a 6-1 senior, had 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Bruins.
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