SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – Paralyzing defense? Check. Unselfish offense? Check. Momentum heading into the Trinity League? Check.
All systems are go for JSerra’s girls basketball team.
The Lions, ranked No. 7 in Orange County, scored a 78-30 nonleague victory Thursday over No. 10 San Juan Hills.
It couldn’t have gone any better for the team playing on its home court for the first time this season.
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“We played like it was our last game ever,” said JSerra’s Vivian Grenald, a sophomore who scored 13 of her 22 points in the first quarter as the Lions built a 24-14 lead.
Jserra improved to 9-8, and San Juan Hills dropped to 12-9.
The Lions’ trapping zone defense forced 10 turnovers in San Juan Hills’ first 11 possessions. Mustangs coach Jay Williams knew his team needed efficient possessions to upset the Lions, but they were anything but efficient.
In the second quarter, when the turnovers weren’t so bad, the shooting went south. San Juan Hills was 0 for 10 from the field. The Mustangs’ offensive production was limited to two free throws as the Lions built their margin to 53-16.
The quarter was compounded by the absence of San Juan Hills’ best player, Anna Shreeve, who picked up her third foul 26 seconds into the quarter. That played right into the hands of JSerra, which knew Shreeve was battling a sprained ankle and went at her.
The game plan of JSerra was to hold Shreeve to 10 points or less; the Lions held her to 8. She scored 6 in the third quarter as the Stallions salvaged an otherwise forgettable performance, getting outscored only 16-14 – which is more in line with what both teams were expecting.
“A little burst like that, a little momentum, a little silver lining,” said Shreeve, who has committed to Utah Valley.
San Juan Hills was led by Adelyn Boberg, who scored 15 points, including four 3-pointers.
“We were thinking it was going to be a close game,” said Grenald, who has Panamanian citizenship. “They have a good transition, a good 3-point shooter. We just played our best.”
The score was 69-30 after three quarters, and JSerra needed to add just one point to its lead to enact a running clock. Twenty-three seconds in, Reese Katkin’s 3-pointer from the corner did just that.
San Juan Hills didn’t score in the fourth. Going two quarters without a field goal is going to make for a very long night regardless of the opponent.
“We didn’t shoot well,” Williams said. “We were tired. The third quarter we were a little more like ourselves.”
Shreeve sat out most of the second half to rest her ankle. It was the third game in three nights for the Stallions, who would no doubt love a rematch with fresh legs. They scored 23 points less than their average.
“Our defense at the beginning threw them out of rhythm and we used that to our advantage,” said JSerra’s interim head coach, Phil Talleur. “I’m surprised it got away from them the way that it did. They’re a very good team, well-coached. We have a lot of respect for them. It was their third game in three nights, so they were absolutely feeling it, but our girls were ready.”
Talleur won for the third time in four games since taking over the program from Chyanne Butler, who is on administrative leave. Athletic director Chris Ledyard said “it’s definitely possible she’ll be back this season” but did not expand on the reason for Butler’s absence.
JSerra’s only loss under Talleur was 54-53 to Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa in the San Diego Holiday Classic.
The Lions seem to be rounding into shape. Kayla Rice, a sophomore transfer from Dana Hills, has finished her sit-out period and matched Grenald with 22 points. Shae Talleur – the coach’s daughter – added 14 on the strength of four 3-pointers.
“We don’t really have a best player,” Talleur said of his eight-man roster that includes six sophomores. “It can be somebody different every night. Any one of our five starters could be a high scorer. We play unselfish basketball. This is a team of girls who don’t care about the high scorer. They care about winning basketball games and playing well as a team.”
Winning basketball games and playing well as a team? Check.
