The Los Al High girls basketball team went into its game with Marina looking to hang on to at least a tie for the Sunset League lead. They needed to take care of the third place Vikings to ensure keeping pace with Huntington Beach.
The Griffins (7-1 in league) jumped out to an early lead and never let the Vikings challenge as the Griffins came away with an 88-44 Sunset League victory on Friday at Marina High. The Griffins led 48-21 by halftime and Head Coach Rich Alvarez was able to go deep into his reserves by the end of third.
The Los Al High girls basketball team went into its game with Marina looking to hang on to at least a tie for the Sunset League lead. They needed to take care of the third place Vikings to ensure keeping pace with Huntington Beach.
The Griffins (7-1 in league) jumped out to an early lead and never let the Vikings challenge as the Griffins came away with an 88-44 Sunset League victory on Friday at Marina High. The Griffins led 48-21 by halftime and Head Coach Rich Alvarez was able to go deep into his reserves by the end of third.
With a young team, Alvarez wanted to make sure his team didn’t lose focus after gaining control of the game. The Vikings came into the game with a 5-2 league record and looking to get themselves into the league title race. Alvarez and the Griffins wanted to keep it a two-team race, while working on getting playoff ready. “I told them, don’t get caught up in the score, keep working on our stuff,” Alvarez said.
One of the things Alvarez wants to see his team work on as they head towards the playoffs is communication. The team looks to use a lot of pressure defense and they will need to be on the same page to be successful.
Against the Vikings, the Griffins were led by sophomore guard Cailyn Crocker with 25 points and junior forward Olivia Clark with 10. Freshman guard Asia Avinger and junior guard Kyra Webster each had nine points, while junior guard Kalei Iwami, freshman guard Sydney Gandy and junior center Sam Richardson each chipped in eight.
The Griffins finish the season on Wednesday with a home game against Fountain Valley at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8. They played at Edison on Monday. Huntington Beach closed out the season with games against Marina and Edison.
