Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now
FULLERTON — JSerra’s girls basketball team played spoiler at the Troy Classic on Wednesday night by notching one of its biggest victories in years.
The Lions upset nationally-ranked Sierra Canyon 67-63 for its second eye-popping result in as many nights at the early-season tournament at Troy High.
Vivian Grenald scored 19 points, Rosie Santos tallied 18 points and Kayla Rice added 13 as the Lions — ranked sixth in Orange County — beat the No. 6 ranked team in the nation, according to MaxPreps.
Sierra Canyon (3-1) played without standout senior Jerzy Robinson but remains loaded with Oregon signed center Emilia Krstevski, highly-recruited sophomore Rosie Oladokun, UC Irvine signed point guard Delaney White and sophomore guard Cherri Hatter, a touted transfer from Arizona.
The Trailblazers blitzed O.C. No. 3 Fairmont Prep 71-50 last week at the Pacifica Showcase without Robinson.
JSerra, without one senior on its roster, rose to the challenge and cooled off the pregame chatter of a Sierra Canyon-Ontario Christian final Saturday.
“That’s why we came here,” said Grenald, who scored 12 of her 19 points in the second half. “We want to show everybody that we can win.”
“We just have to work hard and don’t give up,” the junior forward added. “This win is everything for us.”
JSerra (7-1) pulled out the victory in the fourth quarter.
After Hatter sank a 3-point to tie the score at 55-55 with 3:19 left, Santos responded with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc for the go-ahead basket.
Grenald followed with a reverse layup and the Lions added another basket to lead 62-58 with under two minutes left. The Trailblazers were forced to foul late in the fourth but the Lions improved to 2-0 in the tournament.
Santos, a junior point guard, led JSerra to the CIF-SS Division 3A title as a freshman but said beating Sierra Canyon was bigger.
“It’s got to be top one,” Santos said of the victory. “(They’re) one of the best teams in the nation. They didn’t have Jerzy Robinson but they’re still a great team without her. We just came into the game ready and prepared and believing in ourselves and not being scared of anyone.”
Rice set the tone in the fourth by opening the scoring with a 3-pointer for a 47-41 lead.
Shae Talleur, another junior, sank three 3-pointers in the first half as the Lions trailed 33-30 at intermission.
On Tuesday, JSerra knocked O.C. No. 2-ranked Sage Hill 60-54 after losing junior guard Addie Nolan to an injury.
“The girls were gritty. They just really wanted it,” said first-year JSerra coach Rachael Ziemann, who is assisted by her twin sister Bianca. “They were hoping for these moments. That’s why we’re in this tournament.”
JSerra closes out pool play against San Clemente on Friday.
In another game:
Sage Hill 74, San Clemente 55: Texas signee Amalia Holguin scored 20 points, including six 3-pointers, and Addison Uphoff added 16 points, including four 3-pointers, as the Lightning (5-2) bounced back from a loss to JSerra.
“This is a really important bounce-back,” Holguin said. “We were kind of in a slump but this helps us to continue to grow and see what we actually are.”
Holguin opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer and assisted a basket by Alyssa Cuff to ignite a 10-0 run for a 67-48 lead.
Juniors Izzy Sims and Kiley Husbands scored 16 and 13 points, respectively, for the No. 4 Tritons (5-2), who trailed by five early in the second half.
“We’re finding our identity,” San Clemente coach Kerri Husbands said. “We want to play with edge, which is energy, discipline, grit and excellence. That’s our theme.”
Sage Hill plays Sierra Canyon on Friday.