Kate Eguchi poured in 17 of her 20 points in the first half, connecting on seven of her first eight shots as North Torrance (Calif.) routed the host Eagles 59-35 on the final day of the HBA Winter Classic on Friday morning.
The 8:45 a.m. tip-off had no effect on the squad from the Golden State, playing its fourth game in four days. The Saxons (6-6) were at a high-energy level with fullcourt pressure from the start.
“That’s a sign of our team maturing a little bit, being able to play at all hours of the day. Learning to take care of their bodies, going to bed early, eating the right foods,” Saxons coach Lauren Kamiyama said. “And just feeding off each other. We’ve been trying to tell the bench, they have to bring the energy to our kids on the court, and the kids on the court will feed off that. It’s just collectively bringing energy together. Our bench played well today, and we made shots today.”
Guard Careah Baitlon led HBA with 12 points and hustled for a team-high nine rebounds. Joey Lin added eight points.
The Saxons finished 2-2 in the tourney, losing to No. 7 Kamehameha 38-33, beating No. 4 Punahou 69-58 and losing to No. 2 Konawaena 51-48 prior to facing the Eagles.
Eguchi connected on three treys against the Eagles’ man-to-man defense. North Torrance raced to a 14-2 lead behind its tenacious fullcourt press and a fast break that seemed to be a step or two quicker than the host team.
After Eguchi hit a runner in the paint and a straightaway 3, the Saxons had a 21-4 lead with 4:35 to go in the first half.
HBA got the lead down to eight in the third quarter, but the torrent of turnovers — 19 in all — and 30% shooting from the field (11-for-37) kept a lid on a potential comeback. HBA had just five offensive rebounds.
In addition, Sage Misumi caught fire in the second half. After taking just one shot before halftime, the versatile guard shot 4-for-5 from the arc and finished with 14 points.
“Sage is becoming a better shooter. She’s only a sophomore, but her defense has been getting her in the games the last few days. She’s been stellar on ball,” Kamiyama said.
The Saxons didn’t have to rely on their posts, Bailey Enomoto (four points) and Reese Noa (four). Kamiyama used her bench extensively as the Saxons pressed fullcourt for three quarters.
After Misumi hit back-to-back 3-pointers, the Saxons led 48-29 with four minutes remaining.
No team in the islands has played more games than HBA, which is 12-7. The Eagles are 2-0 in ILH D-II play. Their next game is against Sacred Hearts on Jan. 3.
