YORBA LINDA — The Corona del Mar girls basketball team used clutch free-throw shooting and stout defense to hold off Yorba Linda for a 38-31 victory Thursday night in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 2A playoffs.
Kayly Honig scored 13 points and Sawyer Blumenkranz added 12 points to help the Sea Kings advance to the second round. They will host No. 3 Chino on Saturday.
“Overall, we’re just happy to get the win, on the road, against a good team,” Corona del Mar coach Brason Alexander said. “They’re way better than their record. They’ve played nothing but good teams, well coached and they play so many kids that play hard. They really keep the pressure on you, but I’m super excited for our kids.”
Honig went 7 of 9 from the line, including 4 of 4 in the fourth quarter to help put the game away.
The senior point-center also had a nice assist to Alexa Rokos for the Sea Kings’ only field goal of the fourth quarter.
“She’s been a rock for us all year,” Alexander said of Honig. “She’s really good at positioning and moving herself, but we ask a lot of her, so it’s kind of like playing point-center but she’s been so tough inside and the girls found her.”
Alexander also praised Blumenkranz for her performance, especially her ability to get to the basket.
“For a sophomore point guard, who was a 2-guard, I thought she was excellent,” he said. “When she gets downhill she’s tough, she’s shifty, she’s got this weird array of shots. It’s a little bit old school with the angles she likes.”
Blumenkranz scored 10 of her 12 points in the second and third quarters with most shots coming near the basket.
Kelsey Ikemoto was the only Mustangs player to finish in double figures with a team-high 13 points.
Yorba Linda trailed 30-25 entering the fourth quarter and, despite getting some decent looks, they were only able to muster up six points in the decisive frame.
Ikemoto scored all six of those points as the Mustangs’ comeback attempt fell short.
The Sea Kings shot 19 free throws to Yorba Linda’s 7, a stat that Yorba Linda coach Teiko Ikemoto could not ignore.
“Despite the foul trouble we went out there, we’re pressuring, scrambling,” Teiko Ikemoto said. “They got the good looks but it’s tough when you’re driving in and you’re not getting the calls that they were getting down there.”
Yorba Linda’s Serina Patel chipped in six points but was plagued by foul trouble most of the night and fouled out.
Teiko Ikemoto was hoping for a victory to set up a rematch with Chino, which the Mustangs played earlier this season.
“We played Chino without Serina and Kelsey,” Ikemoto said of their first meeting against the Cowboys. “I wish the seniors could’ve had one more game, and that’s my UCLA teammate.”
Ikemoto and Chino coach Sandra Van Embricqs were Bruins teammates in the late 1980s.
“I liked our chances there but we needed to get by this team first,” Ikemoto said.
Meanwhile, Alexander is looking for some redemption after last year’s season-ending loss to Chino.
The Sea Kings lost to Chino 61-18 last year in the first round of the Division 2A playoffs and are hoping for a different result this postseason.
“They gave us a butt kicking last year at their place,” Alexander said, “so they’re going to have to come to our place and we’re looking forward to it, but they’re good.”
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