Bishop Diego’s Jordyn Lilly pulls up in transition for an open jump shot.
For a time in Thursday’s CIF Division 5AA girls basketball game, it seemed as though Jordyn Lilly could outscore Calvary Chapel all by herself.
The Bishop Diego junior did just that in the first half and finished with 38 points in the Cardinals’ 64-44 first-round victory.
Lilly scored 21 points in the first two quarters as Bishop Diego started strong and opened up a 34-16 halftime lead.
“That first quarter seemed to take about 20 minutes and I remember looking at my assistant coach Veronica, and going, ‘does Jordyn have all our points so far?’ ” said Bishop Diego head coach Jeff Burich. “It was just unreal.”
Lilly’s final stat line included 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals.
“I just give all the credit to my teammates because everybody was working so hard out there,” Lilly said.
Calvary Chapel rallied in the second half and cut the lead all the way down to six. Bishop Diego saw its lead shrink to 49-43 with five minutes in the game.
Only Lilly and Morgan Wallace were able to score in the third quarter.
“We got a little sloppy defensively, not rotating, definitely not rebounding, and the offense kind of got static,” Burich said. “We lost some creativity and we forced too much.”
It wasn’t until the final five minutes that the Cardinals regained that first-half swagger. The loudest cheer of the night came on the final basket when JV call-up Ann Bentajado scored her first varsity basket.
“We got into some foul trouble which I feel was kind of a bummer but I feel like we came back strong and we finished the game,” Lilly said.
Hannah Rogers scored six points and grabbed eight rebounds. Wallace and Colleen Duley scored seven each.
Calvary Chapel was led in scoring by Ariel Burris’ 12 points. Micayla Lynn was also in double digits with 10. The pair combined for nine of the Huskies’ 17 points in their resurgent third quarter.
The Cardinals advance to Saturday’s second round in the Division 5AA tournament. Bishop Diego, the division’s 7th seed, lost the coin flip and will travel to 10th-seed Silver Valley. The winning team will advance to the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
BISHOP DIEGO 64, CALVARY CHAPEL 44
CC 10 6 17 11 – 44
BD 21 13 9 21 – 64Calvary Chapel – Craft 2, Bermio 6, Welch 6, Lynn 10, DiBacco 6, Burris 12, Kim 2. Totals – 17 FG, 8-23 FT.
Bishop Diego – Everson 2, Lilly 38, Gaasch 2, Wallace 7, Duley 7, Rogers 6, Bentajado 2. Totals 26 FG, 10-14 FT.
