Alemany Goes to School, Gets a Lesson From Ayala

Don’t count Melissa Hearlihy among the girls’ basketball coaches who load their schedules with patsies just to improve their record.

“We need to find out what we can do against some of the best teams around,” the Alemany High coach said.

Class is in session.

Alemany’s 70-51 nonleague loss at Chino Hills Ayala on Saturday night marked the start of a grueling eight-day stretch.

The Indians will play Mission League rival Notre Dame on Wednesday night, defending Southern Section Division III-A champion Harvard-Westlake on Thursday night and Bishop Amat, ranked No. 1 in Division II-A, on Saturday night.

Ayala was no slouch.

The Bulldogs (20-4), ranked third in Division I-AA, need 30 three-point baskets to break the section mark of 218, a record they share with Crescenta Valley.

Ayala connected for seven in the first half and led by as many as 17 points, 32-15, in the second quarter when Candice Allen connected for a three-pointer.

Ayala made eight three-pointers in the game.

Allen, a junior guard, had a season-high 35 points, including 23 in the first half.

“What a Candice show,” Hearlihy said.

Alemany (14-6), ranked No. 9 in the region by The Times, switched defenses in the second half, however, and rallied to within 46-41 on a Kate Beckler’s layup late in the third quarter.

Beckler finished with 16 points.

Alma Sandoval, who scored 14 points, and Nyasha Bralock keyed Alemany’s defensive thrust in the third quarter, limiting Allen and Ligaya Dozier to one field goal between them.

Dozier finished with 10 points.

Allen forced three Alemany turnovers in the first minute of the fourth quarter, and Ayala turned a 52-44 lead into a 59-44 stranglehold.

Brittany Sieger scored eight of her 12 points in the fourth quarter, when Ayala outscored Alemany, 18-7.

Allen, averaging 17 points, was limited to nine Friday night during a Sierra League victory over Diamond Bar, leading to a challenge from her coach Saturday.

“I told her we needed 30-point games out of her, not nine points,” Coach Mel Sims said. “She delivered tonight.”

Alemany, which won the Division III-AA title last season, needs victories over Mission League rivals Notre Dame and Harvard-Westlake this week to pull into contention for at least a share of its seventh consecutive league championship.