Tustin girls basketball team avenges first round loss, defeating Crean Lutheran 61-43

Tustin’s girls basketball team avenged a first round loss to Crean Lutheran, defeating the Saints 61-43 Tuesday night in an Empire League game at Tustin.

“We have lost some tough games recently and just tried to get our kids back to the mentality and drive that they had when we only had two losses on the season,” said Tustin Coach Claire Gocke.

“We had to move forward from the idea that we were no longer competing for a league championship, but now playing for second place and trying to get some momentum going into playoffs.”

Tustin (20-5, 4-3) was led by Caylee Hermanson (26 points) and Alyssa Norada (23 points).

“They were huge offensive threats for us – they executed well and earned theirs the right way by moving the ball, making the extra pass, and finishing when it came back to them,” Gocke said.

“Ahzira Faletoi had a quiet six points, but handled her defensive assignment, posting six steals and 14 rebounds. It just clicked for us that game and we wanted to handle our unfinished business against a good Crean team in the second round of league play.”

Crean Lutheran (20-4, 5-2) won the first round game 73-66 on Jan. 7.

Tustin will look for more solid play from Hermanson and Norada in the CIF playoffs. Tustin is currently tied with Cypress for third place in the league behind Crean Lutheran and league-leading Kennedy.

“As a senior Caylee has been someone we can consistently count on for solid offense and defense – she has really grown into a phenomenal player,” Gocke said.  “As a sophomore, Alyssa Norada has started to become a more consistent scoring threat, which is tough to do as a point guard while still balancing the facilitation of our offense. A lot of times point guards don’t get that recognition, but she is a huge asset for our team.”