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FULLERTON — Sage Hill guard Amalia Holguin and Bishop Gorman of Nevada guard Aaliah “Lizzy” Spaight shared a slight smile as they lined up for the opening tip at the Royal Showcase at Rosary.
The seniors and travel teammates with Why Not Premier signed with Texas in November but the Martin Luther King Jr. Day showcase matchup looked serious Monday.
“That’s my dawg Lizzy,” Holguin said later. “Once you hear that whistle blow, it’s not friends no more. You all enemies if you all wearing different colors. It’s just the competitiveness we both have. We can be friends and all that off the court.”
Sage Hill followed the all-business approach to push its winning streak to new heights in startling fashion.
Holguin out-dueled Spaight and received plenty of support from Kamdyn Klamberg and Eve Fowler as the Lightning handled nationally-ranked Bishop Gorman 88-58 to extend their winning streak to 14 games.
In improving to 14-0 under interim coach Jethro Julian, Sage Hill (19-4) owned the paint and racked up 25 assists against the Gaels (14-2), ranked No. 5 in the nation.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Julian said of the margin of victory. “But the girls were excited. I was excited.”
“It puts them in the conversation where they are nationally ranked,” the coach added. “But if not, it’s OK. We’re still going to keep playing. The most important thing for me is getting them out to the next level.”
Klamberg, a junior forward, scored a game-high 28 points and had nine rebounds. Holguin scored 27 points and added seven assists, six rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Fowler added 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Fowler, a 6-foot-4 sophomore center, helped Sage Hill outscore Bishop Gorman 40-16 in the paint.
She made 7 of 12 field goals as the Lightning shot 49 percent from the floor (49 percent).
Sage Hill outrebound the Gaels 49-31.
“Rebounding and defense are the things that win games,” Klamberg said. “Offense is fun, too, but doing the dirty work down low, that’s the big thing. Shout out to Eve and Addison (Cuff) and Alyssa (Cuff).”
“Everyone was able to grab rebounds and we were able to push in transition,” she added. “That’s what we’re good at.”
Sage Hill pushed toward halftime. The Lightning closed the second quarter with a 10-1 run in the final 1:31 to take the lead for good and lead 43-35 at intermission.
Holguin scored seven points in the stretch. She connected on a fadeaway in the paint, a 3-pointer off an inbound play and jumper in the key with about five seconds left.
Holguin set the stage for the outburst with several sharp assists early in the game.
Holguin said the duel with Spaight, who had 24 points and nine rebounds, provided an extra spark.
“I honestly think that made me play better and made me get my teammates open,” Holguin said. “I just had to turn it on tonight to a different level. I also wanted to get a win.”
Sage Hill, ranked fourth in Orange County last week, outscored Bishop Gorman 18-9 in the third quarter and 27-14 in the fourth.
Spaight sank a 3-pointer to open the second half but Holguin answered with a long perimeter shot. Klamberg followed with a 3-pointer as the Lightning went on a 10-2 run to lead 53-40.
Sage Hill sprinted to the finish.
The Lightning’s combination on man and zone defense held Bishop Gorman to 34 percent shooting from the floor, including 25 percent in the second half.
“This is something we’ve been working toward, especially (with) all the adversity we’ve been facing (in games),” Holguin said. “I’d give us a B-plus. We definitely had some mistakes and some things we definitely need to go back to the lab and work on.”
“We beat them by a lot but I don’t think it’s our full potential yet,” she added.
“We’re just super versatile,” Klamberg added. “And we stick together super good. If you have that, you can do anything.”
Sage Hill hasn’t lost since Julian replaced longtime coach Kerwin Walters after the Troy tournament in early December.
In other games:
Rosary 60, Mark Keppel 59: Emalynn Vong sank a 3-pointer coming out of a timeout with 2.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter to lift the Royals (15-6).
The senior forward sank the go-ahead basket on a sideline inbound plays that featured a cross-court pass from Sophie Lickl to Vong in the corner.
Beckman 63, Yucaipa 37: Natasha Jafari scored 20 points and Aksharaa Prakashchander had 14 points and nine steals to lead the Patriots (17-5).
More coverage to come.