By Uy Pham
The Barons ignited their Sunset League campaign with an electrifying offensive performance against their rival Edison High Schools Chargers (3-11) on Tuesday, outscoring the Chargers by 41 points in their first league game.
On the other side of the ball, a strong defensive performance from Fountain Valley girls’ basketball (7-4) held the Chargers to just 23 points in four quarters — including a first quarter that held the Chargers to just two points from free throws.
“This was a great team win. We were able to get everybody into the game, and every single girl on the team contributed,” co-head coach Izabella Om, who is entering her first season leading the Barons, said. “They did what they’re supposed to do on both sides of the floor. They played great defense and great offense .. it was great team basketball.”
Junior Kailey Nishi led the scoring for the Barons, scoring 12 points from four three-pointers in the second quarter, and 12 of 14 Barons put points on the scoreboard. Seniors Candice Tran and Victoria Om facilitated the Barons’ offensive flow, and the team as a whole maintained a firm defensive structure to force countless turnovers and steals throughout the night.
Two three-pointers from junior Sophie Hsieh and sophomore Kaylie Sasaki gave the Barons a fiery start, and a steal from Victoria Om allowed Tran to convert a mid-range jumper for a 8-0 lead in the first two minutes. Defensively, the Chargers struggled to break through Fountain Valley’s defense with steals from Tran, Hsieh, Waite and Victoria Om allowing the Barons to generate continuous offensive opportunities.
Offensive rebounding from senior Karley Waite provided a second chance scoring opportunity for herself. The Barons connected on passing combinations to swing past defenders and find open teammates, and a steal from the inbound led to Victoria Om’s finishing a under basket layup to end the quarters.
With the Barons leading 22-2, the Chargers did not convert any points from the field in the first quarter, with their two points coming from free throw conversions in the final two minutes.
“We need to keep on having good energy from the very beginning. Sometimes we struggle with that, where we start off a little slow, and then we pick it up later in the game,” Izabella Om said. “Today, I think we got it going from the jump, and the energy both on the floor and the bench helped us succeed.”
The arrival of the second quarter meant the arrival of Nishi’s three-pointer show. She opened the quarter’s scoring with a quick three-pointer, and senior Dasani Pham worked through the space to score four points. With 6:09 remaining, Edison’s first bucket from the field came from a forced turnover, followed by another two points from a mid-range jumper.
Quickly responding for the Barons, Nishi converted two more three-pointers for a lead of 33-6.
For the next few minutes, Fountain Valley struggled to get their shots to fall, but were led defensively by junior Avery Jones’s rebounding and senior Julie Duong’s steals. Jones, finding a shot off the glass, ended the Barons’ scoring drought and brought the score to 35-10 with two minutes remaining. Receiving an assist from Hsieh, Jones converted another layup, and Tran dished a ball out for Nishi to score her fourth three-pointer.
A successful and-one play conversion by Victoria Om extended the Barons lead to 43-10 at the half. At halftime, the varsity song team performed one of their performance routines.
Offensive tempo continued with the Barons, including Victoria Om’s drives to the basket and Pham’s three pointer to secure 50 points on the Barons. Defensively, the Chargers struggled to maneuver around the Barons’ defense but secured a three-pointer to bring the score to 50-13.
In the remaining four minutes, junior Kailyn Huynh boosted Fountain Valley’s performance on both sides of the game. Huynh recorded two steals and a defensive rebound, along with two assists to Sasaki and Pham for four more points.
“Somebody that really stepped up was Kailyn [Huynh],” Izabella Om said. “She did a really great job going in, taking [the] lead [and] taking care of the ball. She made her teammates better.”
The Chargers completed the quarter with three more points, bringing the score to 55-16.
To finish the game, the Barons scored nine more points. Sophomore Sidra Siddiqi assisted Pham’s layup, and Tran found senior Amelia Kawaguchi for a three-pointer. Edison responded with a mid-range shot, free throw conversion and a dished pass for layup, but Pham finished the game strong with a block and spin-move to secure the Barons’ 64-23 win.
“[What went well was] definitely our defense. We held the other team to 23 points,” Izabella Om said. “Our great defense led to easy buckets on offense … This is a great win, but we’ve got to keep getting better every single day.”
The girls’ basketball team’s next match up will be at home against Newport Harbor on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
