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Troy’s girls basketball team issued the boldest sign yet Monday night about the progress of its reunion with coach Kevin Kiernan.
With the acclaimed coach barking out plays, tips on fundamentals and plenty of encouragement to his players, the Warriors raced past Beckman 65-42 to close out pool play in the Marina tournament at Huntington Beach High.
And while Beckman advanced to the final of the Surf City Division on point-differential in pool play, Troy made a statement behind a career-high 20 points by freshman Rilynn Robinson and 10 points off the bench from both freshman Aarna Nagakar and junior post Riley Almendarez.
Troy’s 2-2-1 3/4 court trap and man defense forced almost 20 turnovers, including eight in the critical second period.
“We’ve beaten some decent teams, teams we should have,” Kiernan said. “Tonight is the first night we beat a good team.”
“I have a lot of respect for Beckman,” the coach added. “It’s exciting. This is Warrior basketball.”
Kiernan returned to Troy this season after a long run at Mater Dei as a coach and athletic director.
Troy (11-4) entered Monday coming off a 64-41 loss against Mira Costa on Saturday.
The Warriors opened the second quarter with a 14-0 run to take a 27-10 lead against Beckman (11-3), No. 8 in the last Orange County rankings.
Robinson and fellow freshmen Dylen Lee connected on 3-pointers during the stretch while Troy held Beckman scoreless for the opening 5:19 of the second quarter.
Robinson sank two 3-pointers in the first half as Troy seized a 35-15 lead. She added three more in the second half en route to a career high conversions from beyond the arc.
She said Kiernan’s confidence in her ability helped her emerge from a slight shooting slump.
“He just has so much confidence in me and believes in me and I just know that even through the mistakes, he still believes in me,” Robinson said. “That’s really important.”
Troy outscored Beckman 22-5 in the second quarter despite losing guard Aoki Perry to an ankle injury less than a minute in the period.
Her high-scoring sister Mei-Ling Perry finished with 11 points. Troy’s bench outscored Beckman 23-10.
Nastash Jafari scored 14 points to lead Beckman, which plays St. Anthony in the final at Marina High on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Troy plays North Torrance for third place.
At the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic:
In the Premier Division:
Fairmont Prep 109, Rancho Christian 85: Adyra Rajan scored 37 points, including nine 3 pointers, and freshman Aaliyah Mack added 27 as the Huskies (8-5) reached the finals in San Diego.
JSerra 65, Redondo 40: Vivian Grenald scored 24 points and Rosie Santos and Kayla Rice added 17 and 14, respectively, to lead the Lions (13-2) to the finals.
JSerra and Fairmont Prep will play at Canyon Hills on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
More results to come.
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