The Griffins’ Sunset League championship girls basketball team has pulled in four prestigious individual post-season awards, including the co-MVP award, which was won by sharpshooting senior guard Maya Asumbrado.
Also honored were senior Tamlyn Yoshida and sophomore Maile Heng, who were both named to the all-league first team, and sophomore Torri Yoshida, who was named to the all-league second team.
The Sunset League honors were decided by a consensus of the league coaches and were announced at the Griffins’ basketball banquet on March 22, at the Grand event center in Long Beach.
On March 25, Asumbrado also was honored by the Orange County Register newspaper, which placed her on the All-County Fourth Team.
Asumbrado shared the league MVP honors with Marina’s high-scoring senior guard Rylee Bradley, who averaged 23.9 points in league games. Marina (20-15) finished in third place in the Sunset League with a 7-5 league record. The Griffins (20-8) won its fourth consecutive league title with an 11-1 league record.
In the 12 league games, Asumbrado led the Griffins in scoring at 11.1 points per game and in made three-pointers with 39, an average of 3.25 threes per game. On January 31, versus Newport Harbor, she had a season high 24 points and hit 8 threes, tying a career high. In the overall 28-game season, Asumbrado knocked down a team-high 73 threes and averaged about 10 points per game.
“Maya hit big shots for us all season and is an excellent defender as well,” said Coach Maya De Anda. “Tam, Maile, and Torri also stood out this year. They all definitely earned their league honors.”
Heng, who mostly played point guard and wing, averaged 10.1 points per game in league to go along with 4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.8 steals per game. On January 8, versus Huntington Beach, she had a season-high 20 points, including 4 threes, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds.
Tamlyn Yoshida, last season’s Sunset League co-MVP who spent much of the season working her way back from a severely sprained ankle, mainly played shooting guard and point guard. She averaged 8.2 points per game in league and also averaged 4.2 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game. In games on January 17 and February 2, both versus Edison, she had her highest-scoring league games with 15 points in each game.
Torri Yoshida, Tamlyn’s younger sister, mostly played small forward and wing and averaged 4.4 points and 4.2 rebounds during league games. Her best league game was on January 31, versus Newport Harbor, when she scored 9 points, on 3 threes, and had 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals.