Keiona Mathews had 25 pts and 19 rebs, and Shawn Kolani had 17 pts, 9 rebs, 8 asts, 3 steals and one huge blocked shot as Canyons rallied from a 19-point deficit to edge #11 Cuesta, 73-66, Wednesday afternoon in Santa Clarita.
Kolani, the 5-foot-4 younger sister of LA Laker point guard Jordan Farmar, turned in the play of the game, and to say the least it was most unexpected. Had her key play been an assist, a long three or even a steal, that would have been nothing out of the ordinary for her. But wth Canyons (13-12, 7-3) clinging to a 69-66 lead, Cuesta PG Melissa Lemus drove into the lane only to have her shot swatted away by Kolani with about 15 seconds left to preserve Canyons' lead.
Mathews got the rebound and was fouled immediately; she made two free throws with 13 seconds left to make it 71-66, and added two more free throws with 2 seconds left to close out the scoring and clinch the win for Canyons.
All that seemed rather unlikely early on as Cuesta (21-7, 6-5) jumped out to an early 25-7 lead when Canyons missed 12 of its first 15 shots from the floor. The lead reached as many as 19 points after a 3-point play by Miriam Zabinsky with 7:04 left in the first half made it 30-11.
Canyons cut the deficit to 12 points at 41-29 at the break, and continued to rally in the second half. A 3-pointer by Brittany Martin made it an 8-point game at 44-36 about four minutes into the second half. A 3-pointer by Mathews made it 46-40 with 14:25 left. A basket by Jordan Oster cut the deficit to three points at 49-46, and Kolani made a long 3-pointer to make it a one-point game at 50-49 with 11:26 remaining. Then Oster was fouled as she made a 3-pointer with 10:40 left, and made the resulting free throw for a 4-point play, giving Canyons a 53-52 lead.
The lead went back and forth over the next several minutes. A steal & lay-up by Kolani made it 63-60 in favor of Canyons with just over 5 minutes left. Oster banked in a 3-pointer with about 3 minutes to go that made it 68-64. And thanks to Kolani's blocked shot, Canyons made that lead hold up the rest of the way.
Mathews led Canyons with her 25 points, and her 19 rebs were easily game-high. Kolani flirted with a triple-double and her 8 assists were game-high. Oster scored all 10 of her points in the second half.
For Cuesta, Zabinsky led all scorers with 32 pts, and added 6 rebs, 2 asts and a game-high 7 steals. Jerrica Crosby scored 12 pts, but all of those came in the first half; she added a team-high 8 rebs and a game-high 4 blocked shots. Lemus did not score - thanks in large part to Kolani - but dished out a team-high 7 asts.
box score
Saturday, February 15, 2014 - 3 pm
at the Cougar Cage, Santa Clarita
WSC-North (women)
Cuesta 66:
10-Katie Rodriguez, PG - 3/9 fg, 2/2 ft, 3 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 9 pts
20-Miriam Zabinsky, SG - 14/24 fg, 3/6 ft, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 7 stl, 4 pf, 32 pts
21-Morgan Liebscher, SF - 0/7 fg, 0/1 ft, 7 reb, 1 blk, 2 pf, 0 pts
23-Kaylee Williams, PF - 4/14 fg, 5 reb, 4 stl, 4 pf, 9 pts
50-Jerrica Crosby, C - 5/9 fg, 2/2 ft, 8 reb, 2 ast, 4 blk, 1 stl, 4 pf, 12 pts
30-Ashley Gamber, F - 1/4 fg, 3 reb, 2 pf, 2 pts
11-Melissa Lemus, G - 0/8 fg, 5 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl, 2 pf, 0 pts
22-Danielle Simpson, F - 1/2 fg, 2 reb, 1 pf, 2 pts
14-Priscilla Kluis, G - 0/1 fg, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 28/78 fg (.359), 7/11 ft (.636), 45 reb, 17 ast, 6 blk, 15 stl, 24 pf, 66 pts
3-pt fg (3): Rodriguez, Zabinsky, Williams
Turnovers (18): Williams 5, Zabinsky 3, Rodriguez 2, Crosby 2, Lemus 2, Liebscher, Gamber, Simpson, Kluis
Canyons 73:
5-Shawn Kolani, PG - 4/9 fg, 6/6 ft, 9 reb, 8 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 2 pf, 17 pts
24-Jennifer Franco, SG - 1/5 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 pts
32-Keiona Mathews, SF - 7/19 fg, 10/12 ft, 19 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 1 pf, 25 pts
33-Ashley Oliver, PF - 0/2 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 0 pts
34-Nayiri Aslanian, C - 1/2 fg, 4/4 ft, 1 reb, 2 pf, 7 pts
13-Amber Evans, F - 0/1 fg, 2 reb, 1 ast, 0 pts
23-Jordan Oster, G - 3/5 fg, 2/5 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 pf, 10 pts
14-Qimmah Russo, G - 0/3 fg, 1 stl, 0 pts
22-Brooke Lohman, C - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 0 pts
25-Vikki Martinez, G - 1/3 fg, 1 pf, 2 pts
44-Brittany Martin, G - 1/1 fg, 1 ast, 1 pf, 3 pts
45-Lysette Perez, F - 1/2 fg, 3 reb, 2 pts
4-Kiana Calderon, G - 1/3 fg, 2 pts
12-Ani Benyamine, F - 1/2 fg, 1/2 ft, 1 reb, 1 pf, 3 pts
team rebounds: 5
Totals: 21/58 fg (.362), 23/27 ft (.852), 47 reb, 15 ast, 3 blk, 8 stl, 11 pf, 73 pts
3-pt fg (8): Kolani 3, Oster 2, Mathews, Aslanian, Martin
Turnovers (25): Kolani 8, Mathews 5, Franco 3, Martin 3, Perez 2, Aslanian, Russo, Lohman, Martinez
Halftime Score: Cuesta 41, Canyons 29
Updated Records: Canyons 13-12, 7-3 in WSC-N; Cuesta (#11-South, #19-Calif) 21-7, 6-5 in WSC-N
Cuesta led 25-7 as Canyons missed 12 of its 1st 15 FGAs, and led 30-11 with 7:04 left in 1st half.
Canyons took a 53-52 lead on a 4-pt play by Oster with 10:40 left.
Canyons held a 69-66 lead when Kolani blocked a Lemus shot with 15 secs left.
Mathews made 4 FTs in the final 13 seconds to clinch the win for Canyons.
