Marina rallies to get past South Hills girls basketball in regional semifinals
By Orange County on March 4, 2023
HUNTINGTON BEACH — The Marina girls basketball team needed some kind of spark to continue its breakout season.
The Vikings trailed by six points in the third quarter against South Hills before freshman Rylee Bradley led a huge second-half surge as the Vikings rallied to defeat the Huskies 62-47 in the CIF Southern California Division V Regional semifinals Saturday night at Marina High.
Marina (20-15) will play at San Pedro on Tuesday in the regional final, with the winner of that game advancing to the CIF State Championships in Sacramento.
Marina guard Tiana To, center right, celebrates with teammates, with guard Rylee Bradley, left, and forward Sydnie Smith enjoying the moment, after Marina defeats South Hills during a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
South Hills forward MaryJane Contreas, center, has trouble with an inbound pass with Marina guard Maria Tejeda, right, and guard Rylee Bradley defending during the first half of a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Marina guard Rylee Bradley, left, shoots past South Hills guard Victoria Bell during the first half of a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Marina guard Rylee Bradley, left, and South Hills guard Jaylynn Year vie for the ball during the first half of a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
South Hills guard Jaylynn Year, left, shoots against Marina forward Sydnie Smith during the first half of a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
South Hills head coach Daniel Sevilla, left, laments with his team during the last time out in the second half of a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals against Marina in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Marina guard Rylee Bradley, right, attempts to steal the ball away from South Hills forward MaryJane Contreas during the second half of a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
South Hills forward MaryJane Contreas, right, drives to the basket against Marina center Rhianna Alaniz during the first half of a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
South Hills guard Giselle Griego, right, knocks the ball away from Marina guard Kim Nguyen during the second half of a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
South Hills guard Jaylynn Year, left, shoots against Marina forward Sydnie Smith during the first half of a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
South Hills forward Audrey Gallegos, left, shoots against Marina forward Sydnie Smith during the first half of a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
South Hills forward Selah Greener, center, drives past Marina guard Emely Gomez during the first half of a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Marina head coach Daniel Roussel reacts on the sidelines with players on the bench after a shot is made against South Hills during the second half of a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Marina guard Sydnie Smith, right, shoots over South Hills forward Audrey Gallegos during the second half of a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
South Hills forward Audrey Gallegos, right, looks to pass the ball with Marina guard Kim Nguyen defending during the first half of a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Marina guard Rylee Bradley, right, attempts to steal the ball away from South Hills forward MaryJane Contreas during the second half of a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Marina guard Rylee Bradley, left, controls the ball against South Hills guard Jaylynn Year on a steal attempt during the first half of a CIF State Southern California Division V regional girls prep basketball semifinals in Huntington Beach, on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
Bradley scored 20 of her game-high 30 points in the second half. She and sophomore teammate Sydnie Smith propelled a 18-0 Marina run to end the third quarter that turned a 33-27 deficit into a 45-33 lead.
“We’ve never come this far,” Bradley said. “Before I came here, and I haven’t experienced it, but (the seniors) told me they’ve had rough seasons.”
The Vikings won only six games last season and 17 total in the previous three seasons before this year’s turnaround.
“They worked hard in the offseason,” Marina coach Daniel Roussel said of his players. “Coming off of last year we challenged them and they responded with a lot of hard work, lot of early mornings, some late nights and they just continued to believe in each other and work hard.”
Marina advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division 5AA semifinals before losing a heartbreaker to Gahr 39-38.
Marina avenged that loss by knocking off top-seeded Gahr 49-33 in the regional quarterfinals earlier this week.
The 18-0 run that broke the game open Saturday started halfway through the third quarter when Smith hit a jumper. That was immediately followed by a layup from Bradley and a 3-pointer from Smith that gave Marina a 34-33 lead.
South Hills (23-11) called a timeout but that did nothing to change the momentum. Bradley scored back-to-back layups after steals by the Vikings’ tenacious full-court press.
Bradley was fouled on one of those layups and hit her free throw for a three-point play.
Bradley scored another layup followed by consecutive layups from Smith that ended the third quarter.
Smith finished the game with 15 points and nine rebounds.
“We used (the full-court press) sparingly throughout the first half of our season,” Roussel said. “We just kept getting better at it and better at it and by the time we got down to the last month, now we’ve been running it all game.”
“It was tough because some of our girls were out of position,” South Hills coach Danny Sevilla said about how his team handled Marina’s press. “I think the moment got to them a little bit but it was pretty tough. (Marina) did a good job with it.”
South Hills pulled within 10 points to start the fourth quarter but never got any closer as Bradley and Smith grew Marina’s lead. They scored nine points during an 11-2 Marina run that put the Vikings up 56-37 halfway through the final period. One of those shots was a 24-foot 3-pointer by Bradley.
While Bradley showed off her range on that shot, most of her points came off layups and she constantly drove quickly to the basket, unafraid of attacking South Hills’ interior defense.
“I wasn’t expecting it but when I saw a wide-open lane I took it,” Bradley said. “I take wide-open lanes because I’m confident in my shot and I know some people can’t guard me.”
“(Bradley) has one speed on offense,” Roussel said. “And a lot of people can’t catch up to her. She finds these little angles and sneaks through two or three defenders somehow.”
South Hills was led by Mary Jane Contreras, who scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Jaylynn Year added 10 points for the Huskies. Audrey Gallegos pulled down 10 rebounds.
The Huskies trailed 20-12 in the second quarter but battled back to tie the game at 24 at halftime before going on a 6-0 run early in the third quarter to take that 33-27 lead.
Contreras scored four of those six points which included a running 12-foot jumper just in front of the free throw line.
South Hills lost in the CIF-SS Division 5AA semifinals before winning two games in the state playoffs, including a 49-48 thriller over Bishop Diego. The Huskies were the last girls team from the San Gabriel Valley remaining in the state playoffs.
Like Marina, South Hills had a remarkable turnaround from last season when the Huskies went 11-16. Sevilla said the culture within the program has changed and he’s looking forward to next season.
“We just developed our players from the ground up,” Sevilla said of the culture change. “Girls like (Contreras) never played basketball before. She was a hockey player. We just started developing her and others and just built relationships with them. I think that’s really important — building a team rather than trying to bring pieces in.”
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