Photos by Josh Thompson

Girls Basketball:

Flintridge Prep is having its best season in program history.

After an undefeated run to regain the Prep League championship, the Wolves have 29 wins and their second CIF-SS title since 2016.

On Saturday, they comfortably defeated top-seeded Los Osos, 68-52, in the CIF Division 3AA title game.

Prep was in control throughout at Colony High School to secure a second championship for co-head coaches Kevin Kiyomura, and his cousin, Jayme Kiyomura-Chan.

Over their impressive postseason run, the Wolves have defeated Corona del Mar (57-46), Sunny Hills (61-44), El Dorado (68-53) and Los Osos (68-52) by a combined margin of 254-195.

And three of the four playoff wins came away from their La Canada campus.

Princeton-bound Ashley Chea led the Wolves with 24 points, six rebounds, and seven assists.

Freshman Akemi Fu had arguably the best and most important game of her high school career.

Fu finished with 15 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Maddie Smith, also a freshman, finished with 14 points, six rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Destinee Knight had a big game with 20 points to lead the Grizzlies’ offense.

Hailey Estrada and Jackie Polk both contributed nine points apiece for Los Osos.

The Wolves and Grizzlies will get their state opponent sometime tonight (Sunday) at www.CIFState.org.

Lastly, in the quotes below, I asked Coach Jayme as well as Chea, Fu and Smith why they won, individual roles and who stepped up in their historic win.

Quotable:

Flintridge Prep coach, Jayme Chan: “We always talk about peaking at the right time, especially in a season with 30+ games, this has to be the most games we’ve ever played as a program. But in hindsight, I truly believe all of the physical and mental preparation last week came into play. Kevin and I felt it was important to set the scene for our young team, making sure that they were well prepared on how we were going to execute the scouting report. We wanted them to feel comfortable with every aspect of what was going to happen on Saturday night. From visualizing themselves in a fully packed insanely loud gym to preparing them to speak with the media if need be. But at the end of the day, it comes to execution. Our team carried out a near-perfect game plan, with multiple players stepping up when Ashley and Maddie were in foul trouble to contribute to the win. Our bench contribution was outstanding, especially on the defensive end, as Olivia Childs and Izzie Chan played a big part in that. Offensively between Ashley Chea, Maddie Smith, Akemi Fu, and the Huie sisters, Kassidy & Pressley, there was never a scoring drop off. We’re hard to defend when we can spread the floor and have multiple threats. It was a true team effort. Defensively, we knew we had to limit scoring productivity from their big three Estrada, Knight, and Polk, and for the most part, we were able to do that. Akemi Fu was the x-factor for sure. She played a complete game on both ends of the floor, giving us the stability we needed when foul trouble arose for Ash and Maddie.”

Flintridge Prep senior, Ashley Chea: “My role within this team is to be a leader that my team can look up to. Even though this team is very young, they are capable of doing so much. With so many different personalities on the team, it was my job as a captain to get to know them all so I could help motivate them and give them advice in a way they could best receive and apply it. Basketball wise, being a pass-first point guard is so important to the way I play. Throughout the season, I’ve seen that we get going as a team by scoring and bringing constant energy, so I try to find my teammates in any way possible. I always tell them, ‘even if you think you’re not open, you’re open,’ meaning that if they cut into the gaps, I’ll find them and give them the ball where they can score, that is what gives us energy and gets us going. Simply put, I had it in mind that we were the underdogs and to come out stronger than Los Osos. We saw this as an opportunity to show everyone what were made of and not just some little prep school in La Cañada. Everywhere we go, we are overlooked and get judged just because we are small and we “don’t look intimidating. That puts fuel into the dog in all of us and that showed in the championship game. I guess overall the main thing in my head was that since we made it to the finals, why not win it all and bring it back home to the people who love us the most. Even if something went wrong, I knew that my team had my back, and same goes for them, so I wasn’t worried one bit about my team’s effort or focus.

At the end of the day, we all had the same goal and I think it shows how much we care about each other. Everyone played a key role in the championship game. I mean everyone did what they were supposed to and more. All of the freshmen stepped up big time. Being the three youngest on the team, they showed that they can hang with everyone else and dominate. Maddie came out with the physicalness we needed and just gave it straight to them every time. Akemi came in defending and rebounding every shot that went up and finished every play. And Pressley went in with the dog in her that shows that when she wants the ball, she’s going to go get that dang ball. Her confidence has grown tremendously, and I am so proud of her for showing that in this game. Kassidy, a junior, played the point guard role for a little and she did absolutely amazing. I was so proud of the way she handled the pressure and got the ball to our teammates, giving them a wide-open layup every time. She always comes out and plays her heart out and that’s so special. Izzie, another junior, stepped up huge on the defensive end. Her hands were always moving, and she went for every single ball that was in her way. She showed all of us that defense leads to easy offense. Our sophomores Gigi and Olivia did so well in screening for the guards and getting rebounds as soon as they boxed out. You’ll never meet another two sophomores who will get every rebound possible. Our bench was phenomenal as well because of the energy that they gave us during timeouts and on the court. Shoutout to the student section as well. No one beats the Pack. Overall, I can’t name just one or two players that stepped up because they all contributed to our win.”

Flintridge Prep freshman, Akemi Fu: “On the offensive end, I saw my role as to be very involved not only by finishing my shots but moving the ball as well for my teammates to look for their own. On defense, I wanted to be able to hold down the fort on the inside by making shots harder for the other team and boxing out so my team could get more rebounds for transition. I believe that our defense was a very crucial part to our win. We were able to limit the number of threes taken by the other team, as well as rebounds and put backs. On the other end, we were also able to finish all around the rim and we moved the ball around really well getting us multiple open looks. Pressley Huie, Kassidy Huie, and Izzie Chan all played a huge role in the win. They helped limit the amount of shots taken at the three and slowed down #35 Jackie Polk, who is a very impactful player on Los Osos. Pressley Huie handled the ball really well, especially since she had to take over controlling the defense due to Ashley having to sit with foul trouble. Pressley also hit key shots along with her sister Kassidy, who also hit very impactful threes that turned our game around. Overall, the bench also brought so much energy as well as our crowd and it definitely gave us more motivation.”

Flintridge Prep freshman, Maddie Smith: “In this victory, I did whatever my team needed. When Ashley went out because of foul trouble, we collectively had to step up our game. If it was scoring, getting rebounds or bringing up the ball. We all had our roles and we knew that at any time we had to fill them. I knew from the start that I wanted to help my team in every aspect of the game I could.  Taking care of the ball and finishing plays was key. Staying focused and discipline. It was a large, loud environment, and focusing on us was one of our #1 keys going into it. If we stayed the course and played our game we knew, we would be OK.  Multiple players stepped up, but Olivia and Kassidy come to mind. Olivia came in and got crucial rebounds and an important layup. Kassidy overall just brought the intensity on the defensive end that we all had to match, and she hit huge shots.”

Up next: The Wolves host Scripps Ranch of San Diego tonight (Tuesday) at 7.

The Falcons (20-6) are coming off a 49-point loss on Saturday to La Jolla Country Day High School.

Prep enters the contest on a 13-game win streak.

Box Score:
FP: 20-15-17-16-(68)
LO: 16-7-11-18-(52)

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Flintridge Prep scoring: Ashley Chea 24, Akemi Fu 15, Maddie Smith 14, Pressley Huie 7, Kassidy Huie 6, Olivia Childs 2

Los Osos scoring: Destinee Knight 20, Hailey Estrada 9, Jackie Polk 9, Taylor Rosado 6, Tiyana Saunders 3

Records: Flintridge Prep (29-2); Los Osos (24-5)