Merc...
The inside-outside combination of freshman Stella Kailahi and
senior Marissa Hing combined for 47 points to help Pinewood beat West
Bay Athletic League rival Eastside Prep 58-48 on Friday in a showdown
between two of the top girls basketball teams in the area.
What
made that inside-outside combination all the more noteworthy is due to
Pinewood usually being all outside. The emergence of Kailahi provides a
whole different dynamic.
"Now we have another option,'' Pinewood
coach Doc Scheppler said. "We never had a post to feed before. I'm going
to have to come up with some new sets for her.''
Hing, an
all-Mercury News first-team selection as a junior when she helped lead
Pinewood to its sixth state championship, bombed in five 3-pointers.
"My shot had really been off lately,'' Hing said.
Nice time to break out.
"She loves playing in big games,'' Scheppler said. "When the bright lights are on she goes to work.''
Pinewood
(8-2, 2-0), the Mercury News' No. 3-ranked team, led 16-6 after one
quarter and was never seriously threatened. No. 4 Eastside (11-3, 1-1)
cut an 11-point halftime deficit to four at 36-32, but that was as close
as it got. Pinewood went on an 11-2 run to extend its lead to 47-34
before Eastside rallied again to draw to within 50-45 early in the
fourth quarter.
"One thing you know about Eastside,'' Scheppler said. "They'll come after you.''
But then Kailahi, who finished with 24 points, scored the next seven to make it a 12-point Pinewood lead.
"I was lucky enough to get some easy baskets,'' Kailahi said.
Freshman point guard Kayla Tahaafe led Eastside with 17 points. Chacitty Cunningham had 14.
