JSerra girls basketball trounced by Ontario Christian in Troy Classic final

FULLERTON — For the JSerra girls basketball team, just reaching the championship game of the Troy Classic was a major accomplishment, Lions coach Rachael Ziemann said.

The Lions, who are ranked No. 6 in Orange County, defeated three highly rated teams to earn a berth in Saturday’s championship against Ontario Christian at Troy High School

After the Knights, ranked No. 2 in the nation in MaxPreps and The Sporting News polls, defeated JSerra, 86-58, Ziemann found some successes in the Lions’ performance.

Ontario Christian (9-0) led by 27 points after the first quarter and was ahead 61-19 at the half.

Led by the play on both ends of the court by Vivian Grenald and Kayla Rice, the Lions (8-2) came back to outscore the Knights by 13 points in the second half.

The Lions opened the third quarter on a 17-6 run.

“It doesn’t mean we’re going to win the game, but that style is what we needed to do the first half, actually the first period,” Ziemann said. “They’re a really good team … they’re good shooters and we did not come out on the shooters like we did the second half.”

Grenald finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds and Rice scored nine of her 11 points in the second half and six rebounds.

Both players were named to the all-tournament team.

JSerra opened the tournament with a 60-54 victory over Sage Hill, the No. 2-ranked team in the county.

The Lions then defeated perennial powerhouse Serra Canyon, 67-63, and won, 70-51 over No. 4-ranked San Clemente.

“It’s the biggest week JSerra girls basketball has ever had,” Ziemann said. “In terms of the level of competition and this many highly ranked teams that we’ve beaten in one week, (it) has never happened.”

Grenald averaged 22 points per game over the four games of the tournament.

“We played three really good teams and then we played Ontario Christian in the championship,” said Grenald, who moved to the U.S. from Panama three years ago. “Even though we were losing in the first half today, I think we got better in the second half by getting back on defense and and then trying to stop ball, and then communicating more in defense, and just following the coach’s instruction.”

The Knights, who suited up only seven players, won the tournament for the second year in a row.