Oxford Academy holds off Edison behind Masuno’s 22 points

By Andrew TurnerStaff Writer

Dec. 29, 2017 8:55 PM PT

The calendar will soon turn to 2018, and with that, the league schedule for girls’ basketball will have arrived.

For the past month, tournaments have served the purpose of preparing teams to execute in a variety of different situations.

Edison High’s girls’ basketball team proved that it is trekking in the right direction. In its final contest before Sunset League play, the Chargers showed the resolve to stand up to adversity.

The Chargers rallied from an 11-point deficit to tie Oxford Academy in the fourth quarter, but the Patriots came away with a 49-47 victory in the fifth-place game of the Larry Doyle/Dan Wiley Orange County Tournament of Champions on Friday night at Marina High.

Junior center Austyn Masuno had 22 points, 12 rebounds, four steals, and three blocks for the Patriots (13-1), who opened the season as the third-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section’s Division 3A poll.

Oxford Academy led 39-28 following a three-pointer by freshman point guard Angie Choi three minutes into the third quarter.

The teams went into halftime tied 24-24, but the Chargers (7-7) had difficulty breaking the full-court press of the Patriots to start the second half.

Edison turned to the fastbreak as a response, and converting on the offensive end allowed the Chargers to set up their own defense.

“We could have responded negatively and folded, but the girls came back, and little by little, chipped away,” Chargers coach Sara Brown said. “I was proud of the way they responded when [Oxford] went on a run because it could have gone one of two ways.”

Senior shooting guard Gabby Samiy (11 points) went on an 8-0 run by herself, tying the game at 43-43 with a pair of free throws at the 5:24 mark of the fourth quarter.

The next two baskets were scored on out-of-bounds plays, with sophomore forward Lainey Johnson finding senior center Ashley Niemand and Samiy near the rim for layups.

Senior shooting guard Sophia Chan made the game-winning shot for the Patriots, a baseline floater, with 1:08 remaining.

Niemand had 15 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, and three steals to lead the Chargers. Senior power forward Finley Garnett added 13 points and 15 rebounds.

After her mom passed away in July, Niemand said she has learned to play through the pain. There are many reasons for which her season has seen a turnaround, and playing for her mom tops them all.

“Something just clicked in my head where I’m able to turn my thoughts into something positive and just stop giving up,” she said. “I think it was totally mental. I knew that I was always capable, but now, I can accomplish what I need to do.”

“I don’t want to disappoint her, so I’m going to play for her. She went to all my games. She was my biggest supporter, so I just want to do it for her.”

Niemand has double-doubles in points and rebounds in three of her team’s last four games.

Edison begins Sunset League play with a road game at Marina on Thursday, Jan. 4.

Oxford Academy 49, Edison 47

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Edison 11 – 13 – 13 – 10 — 47

Oxford Academy 15 – 9 – 19 – 6 — 49

E – Niemand 15, Garnett 13, Samiy 11, Nguyen 5, Johnson 3.

3-pt. goals – Samiy 1, Nguyen 1, Johnson 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

OA – Masuno 22, Chan 9, Choi 8, Madrazo 6, Gagnon 2, Rodriguez 2.

3-pt. goals – Madrazo 2, Choi 2, Chan 1.