The Prairie girls basketball team got the challenge it was looking for Friday at the Surf ‘N Slam tournament in San Diego.
Stanford-bound Haley Jones scored 27 points despite constant double-team from the Falcons, leading Archbishop Mitty of San Jose, Calif., to a 67-51 win over the Falcons.
“She’s the No. 1 player in the nation,” Prairie coach Hala Corral said of Jones. “She scored 27 on us, and they were not easy. We were doubling her, and she still scored. She’s pretty amazing.”
Prairie fell behind 33-20 after a sloppy first half.
“We turned the ball over quite a bit, dumb turnovers,” Corral said. “And we missed about five or six layups, so that really hurt us.”
Archbishop Mitty pushed its advantage to 54-31 after three quarters before Prairie charged back to get within eight in the fourth quarter. But Mitty, which shoots about 59 percent from the free throw line as a team, hit 17 of 20 to seal the victory.
“Our team came back battling,” Corral said. “They didn’t quit. These our the games we need. This is why we get out of Vancouver. We’re in the top bracket here, playing good competition. That’s what is going to make us better in February and the first part of March.”
Cassidy Gardner paced the Falcons (8-1) with 21 points. Prairie faces La Costa Canyon of Carlsbad, Calif., at 3:15 p.m. Saturday for third place in the Surf Division.
ARCHBISHOP MURPHY 67, PRAIRIE 51
ARCHBISHOP MITTY (8-2) — Chalize Andaya 6, Ania McNichols 9, Kate Conaway, Camille Morales, Sydney Bourland 2, Amelia Scharpf, Olivia Williams, Amor Ai 2, Haley Jones 27, Ashley Hiraki 11, Hunter Hernandez 6, Tori Delacroix 4, Katie Springs. Totals 23 (4) 17-20 67.
PRAIRIE (8-1) — Meri Dunford 8, Alli Corral 3, Kendyl Carson 7, Brooke Walling 4, Mallory Williams 2, Cassidy Gardner 21, Claire Heitschmidt 0, Haley Reed 6. Totals 18 (8) 7-9 51.
ABM 19 14 21 13–67
Prairie 15 5 11 20–51
