First published in the Feb. 17 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
The Flintridge Prep varsity girls’ basketball team saw its season end after losing at Burroughs High in Burbank, 73-40, in a first-round CIF-SS Division 2AA playoff game on Saturday, Feb. 12.
Despite junior Ashley Chea pouring in a game-high 31 points — her fifth 30-plus point effort in her last six games — the Wolves were still eliminated in the first round for a second straight season.
“I don’t think any of us expected [Burroughs] to shoot as well as they did,” Chea said. “I think we all knew this game was for the seniors and the people that have been there for us through the hard times. But it was just hard having three of our starters out. I don’t know; it’s just tough to lose this way.”
After falling behind in the first half, Flintridge Prep found some life in the second half as Chea scored 20 of the team’s 23 points, but it was too little too late as Burroughs cruised to an easy first-round victory.
Flintridge Prep senior Maddi Huie finished with four points, sophomore Kassidy Huie scored three points and Riley Hause had two points.
“This is absolutely hands-down the most resilient team we’ve had in the last 10 years,” Wolves head coach Jayme Kiyomura-Chan said.
Before the game, Burroughs head coach Vicky Oganyan asked Flintridge Prep seniors Maddi Huie, Amadi Weser and Ashlyn Zhang to participate in their Senior Night ceremonies since the Wolves couldn’t have one of their own.
“It was their senior night; Vicky called me and asked if we wanted to be included and I mean that’s just a really honorable coach over there on the other side,” Kiyomura-Chan said. “It’s really nice to have fellow coaches respect each other that much.”
SEASON REVIEW
Chea had a remarkable season, to say the least, as she led the Wolves in all five major categories. She averaged a double-double with 29.7 points and 11.2 rebounds while adding 2.4 assists, 3.7 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. Chea posted two 40-plus-point performances while scoring 30-plus in 11 of her 20 games played.
Before sophomore Maddie Chiu’s injury, which limited her to only 13 games, she averaged 13 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game as the Wolves’ second-leading scorer.
“We’re looking at Maddie to be someone we rely on a lot,” Kiyomura-Chan said. “She is out right now with a stress fracture to her back but prior to that, she was giving us close to 20 points a game. If we can get anywhere close to that next year, we’ll be in a good spot.”
Senior Amadi Weser posted 3.9 points and seven rebounds-per-game averages, while Maddi Huie also collected 3.9 points per game. Kassidy Huie had 3.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, freshman Gigi Mastras recorded 2.7 points and 3.8 boards per game, and Hause tallied 1.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
