In the final round of pool play in Trinity’s Classical Academy’s “reason for the season” tournament,” the Knights defeated the Hart Hawks off a big fourth quarter in the gold division while the Wildcats defeated Simi Valley in the silver division.
In the Wildcats’ 56-23 win over the Pioneers, the team advanced to the bracket championship set to be held against Burbank at the Newhall Church of the Nazarene.
After the win, West Ranch head coach Paul Gross spoke on the importance of winning tournament games during the non-league portion of the season and how it helps with momentum into league play.
“Every time we come out, we’re just trying to find little ways to get better,” he said. “We just want to get as good as we can get, and if we win great, if not, you know, whatever it takes.”
The Wildcats opened the game with an emphasis on defense against Simi Valley as they held the Pioneers to three points in the opening quarter.
Gross added that in the first half, the Wildcats didn’t shoot the ball that well, but the team’s defense helped keep their lead when the shots weren’t landing.
“We started off not shooting the ball very well, but then our defense kept this around and we played a good solid defensive game the whole time,” he said.
The Wildcats improved to a 12-3 overall record behind freshman forward Arianna Corona’s 15-point game.
Corona led all West Ranch players in scoring as the Wildcats were set to play Burbank in the silver division championship.
As for the Knights, it was an intense matchup between Trinity and the Hart Hawks as both teams were only separated by four points heading into halftime.
Trinity head coach James De Monbrun added after the team’s 50-29 win that although the final score reflected it was a big win, the matchup was tight the whole way.
“It’s a privilege to play a Foothill League team because these kids grow up in the same community, but they don’t have the chance to compete in league,” he said. “When we finally got the chance to play the game, I think we were too juiced up and took us a while to settle down. I don’t think we made a 3-pointer until the fourth quarter.”
By the end of the third quarter, the Knights held a 7-point lead over the Hawks and in the fourth quarter, went on an 18-4 scoring run highlighted by timely threes from Noa Peña and Elli Carlson.
Peña finished the game with 14 points, but the Knights were led in scoring by freshman guard Gracie Fillmore, who ended the night with 18 points and 11 rebounds to record a double-double.
“Noa has to do so much. She’s earned that responsibility, because she’s an incredible player. She works really, really hard. So, I used her all over the court tonight,” De Monbrun said. “And Gracie and Ellie Calrson, those are two ninth graders that are playing gigantic minutes and big roles for our team. And everything that they do at the varsity level is the first time they’ve ever done it at the varsity level.”
The Hawks fell to 4-11 overall with their leading scorer in the loss to Trinity being Naomi Aina, who finished with 8 points.
The Knights improved to a 10-4 overall record with wins over El Camino Real and Verdugo Hills in the tournament.
The Knights also finished pool play unbeaten and advanced to the gold division’s championship, set to be held against Granada Hills.
“Last year we hosted our first-ever tournament and lost in the first round,” De Monbrun said. “Going undefeated in our pool this year against three good basketball teams and getting to compete against a very good, very well-coached, very veteran Granada Hills is going to be exciting.”
Update: In the gold division championship on Tuesday, Trinity was defeated by Granada Hills, 49-46. In the silver division championship, West Ranch defeated Burbank, 57-55.
