Troy Is Just a Blur in 83-36 Win Over El Dorado

It all happened too fast for El Dorado. And for Troy it couldn’t come quickly enough.

The second-seeded Warriors wasted little time in disposing of the one team left in its path to the Southern Section Division I-A championship game. Troy (26-4) used its suffocating full-court press and dominant inside game to perfection, grabbing an early 25-0 lead en route to an emphatic 83-36 victory Saturday night at Cypress College.

“You never expect something like that in a semifinal,” said Troy Coach Kevin Kiernan. “I didn’t think we’d jump out to a start like that, but we’re just playing real well right now and I think things snowballed.”

The win sets up a showdown with Ventura Buena (28-0), the state’s top-ranked team, which beat previously undefeated Woodbridge, 64-47, in the other semifinal.

The first quarter turned out to be a nightmare for El Dorado (24-6), which went 0-for-10 from the field, committed five turnovers and seven fouls, and failed to score.

“We worked on that the last four days,” El Dorado Coach Wayne Carlson said of Troy’s pressure. “But you can’t practice as well as they do it.”

Meanwhile, Troy couldn’t have asked for a better start, hitting eight of 10 shots and outrebounding the Golden Hawks, 10-1, in the first eight minutes.

Melissa Jacob finally broke the drought for El Dorado 20 seconds into the second quarter. Her 12-foot jumper made it 25-2, the closest her team would get as Troy pushed the lead to 29 at halftime.

“They’re a very good team and they start off most of their games like this,” Carlson said. “We turned the ball over, missed a couple shots, and they ran away with it.”

Veronica Johns-Richardson, who had 20 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and seven steals for Troy, broke down El Dorado’s half-court defense early and often with her dribble penetration. Her passes to teammates Kianey Givens-Davis (18 points, nine rebounds) and Amanda Livingston (15 points) under the basket created easy points for the Warriors, who scored 52 points on layups.

Smadar Bezalel, the only El Dorado player to score in double figures, had 10 points.

“We welcome the challenge of playing Buena,” Kiernan said. “They’re one of the best teams in the country.”