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Sports

Girls Hoops: Wildcats Clinch League Title With Rout of South Pasadena

Monrovia finishes 10-0 in Rio Hondo League play.

The Rio Hondo League girls basketball title was up for grabs tonight as South Pasadena faced off against Monrovia. However, the Tigers’ fast, scrappy style of play was no match for Monrovia. The Wildcats were too big, too tall, and too physical, taking the game and league title with a 54-34 win.

The Wildcats finished the regular season with an overall record of 16-6 and a perfect 10-0 mark in the Rio Hondo League.

Size differential has been an issue for the South Pasadena all season, but on Thursday night it wasn’t uncommon to look on the court and see the Tiger’s tallest player the same height as Monrovia’s smallest.

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“I think their athleticism intimidated us,” Tigers coach Rich Kitigawa said. “We can’t simulate that. We can’t practice against it.”

As always, South Pasadena countered with an aggressive defense of full court pressure and trapping of guards at the high post. Initially, this strategy worked well. Monrovia only scored eight points in the first quarter.

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But success on defense was paired with a team-wide failure on offense. The Tigers simply could not get the ball into the basket. Team scoring leaders Kelsey Lee and Kelsey Nakamura were ice cold. Nakamura went for four points, while and Lee just added three. The team’s 34 point total was also a season low.

“It just wasn’t our night tonight,” Lee said.

Monrovia started the second half with a 25-17 lead and proceeded to break the game wide open. The Wildcats were led by guard Gina Henderson, who had 11 of her game-high 17 points in the third quarter. Henderson would make three consecutive 3-pointers, one of which came from way behind the arc.

“(Henderson) just went off on us tonight,” said Kitigawa. “She’s a special player.”

The Tigers’ sole effective weapon on the night was forward Katie Nakamura who had a team-high 11 points. Nakamura was the only Tiger player who was able to work the ball inside against the taller, stronger Monrovia players.

In the end, though, Monrovia was a force that could not be stopped, and the Wildcats showed why they went undefeated in league.

The Tigers end the regular season with a 16-8 overall record and an 8-2 record in league play.

“They wanted to win. They wanted league title,” said Kitigawa. “But I can’t be disappointed with what they accomplished.”

“We’ve grown tremendously through the season,” said Katie Nakamura. “Our bench is deeper. We have more people to rely on.”

South Pasadena and Monrovia will find out their respective seedings in the CIF-Southern Section playoffs this Sunday.

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