Alemany girls basketball routs South Pasadena

SUN VALLEY — Alemany freshman Kyla Lea gave her coach a first quarter to remember, but also one she’s become accustomed to.

Lea poured in scoring with strong outside shooting in the Warriors’ 68-51 win over South Pasadena on Friday at Village Christian School.

Lea finished with 29 points. She had 16 points and made four 3-pointers in the first quarter.

“She’s phenomenal, especially for a freshman,” Warriors coach Shay Murphy said. “She works hard, she loves the game, and you can see that … She keeps getting better each game and has come a long way from the summer. So I’m really proud of her.”

The freshman’s scoring came organically, with no forced shots, as the Warriors’ defense, transition and passing helped the team pull ahead through Lea’s scoring.

Alemany (10-8) started the game down 7-0 before Murphy told the girls on the court, “too soft, too easy” on defense. The Warriors afterwards went on an 8-0 scoring run, with all of the points from Lea.

The team finished the quarter on a 20-3 run and never relinquished the lead after that.

Lea also ended the day with five boards, two blocks and a steal.

South Pasadena (8-7) played better on defense and successfully attacked Alemany’s interior in the second quarter.

The game remained close, but Alemany didn’t lose any of the four quarters, using aggressive rebounding and defense to keep the Tigers at bay.

“We’re just trying to create a culture where we’re competitive and there’s intensity and effort every time, every possession,” Murphy said. “Sometimes I think we get excited, or we kind of settle when we’re up by a large number. So just getting the girls to play hard and compete consistently for 32 minutes, that’s the culture we’re trying to create. I like to challenge them. Sometimes I got to be the bad guy and call it how I see it. So they did a better job of picking up, letting their defense create their offense. It was a collective team win.”

South Pasadena struggled at the free-throw line, where it missed its first six attempts before senior Brylee Woo hit one in the third quarter. Woo added 13 points and six rebounds while Maddie Park led South Pasadena with 15 points.

Alemany also got huge boosts from its senior backcourt duo of Sophia Vazquez Delcerda and Lauren Arce.

Vazquez Delcerda added five rebounds and three steals, all in the first half, while Arce added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.

“Our point guards have done a great job controlling our pace,” Murphy said. “We like to play fast and that’s my style of play. There’s not a shot I don’t like, especially in transition. So our point guards have done a great job of facilitating that, breaking down the press, and just hitting (Lea) when she’s open. And so I think now the timing is starting to click and everyone’s feeling confident and the rhythm is starting to flow, and we look like a really solid team.”

Freshman Khloe Arce added six points and a trio of steals.

Both teams entered the Dave Wilson Classic as winners of just two games in their last six games. Murphy has challenged the Warriors in her second year and has been pleased with how the team is coming along at the halfway point of the season.

“I think the first half of the season went really good actually,” Murphy said. “We’ve come a long ways from last year. That was my first year as a head coach, with a new staff, so I think we’re definitely night and day. We’ve played some really great competition that challenges us and seeing where we are. Whether it’s Summit or going to Oak Park, King Drew, some big games like that, just seeing where we are with the rest of the United States is great for us. We have a lot more to work on, especially because we’re undersized. So I think we’re creating that tenacity and trying to create dogs out there.”

Alemany will look to stay in the win column with one more game at Village Christian. The Warriors take on Granada Hills Charter on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

The Granada Hills game will be Alemany’s final nonleague battle before starting Angelus League play on Tuesday at Marymount.

OTHER LOCAL SCORES FROM THE DAVE WILSON CLASSIC

Village Christian 52, La Cañada 37

Arleta 43, Schurr 24