Saturday, January 18, 2025

LJ g BB 22, OLP 46 - Eastern League

Vikings A.J. Jacoby (25) and Elena Farrar (10)
battle Pheris Fiaseu (22) of OLP for the ball
in the second half.
(Photo by Ed Piper)


By Ed Piper

Sydney Thomas, a lefty, scored several points for OLP, including a flurry of threes from long range, in the first half to the point where Coach Sean Panado took her out to avoid making the game a travesty.

As a result, the Pilots led host La Jolla 27-12 at halftime.

Meanwhile, Viking coach Nia De la Pena-Thompson benched her scoring star, Reagan Bennett, in the first half and La Jolla struggled to score any points without her 19.6 points per game on the floor.

A funny thing happened in the second half. With Bennett, whose twin sister Drew is a defensive specialist, back in the lineup and making two free throws starting the fourth quarter, the red-and-black only trailed 34-21, and they were back in the game.

OLP couldn't regain the momentum they had in the first half, when nearly every basket seemed to go in. The Pilots went into a buzz of activity with the threat of Reagan on offense making upset a faint possibility.

Thomas, averaging 16 points a game, hit from long distance with 1:28 left to make it 44-22. And by the time she scored on a layup on a fast break with 1:12 left, the threat was put to sleep, the final score of 46-22 reached.

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