Fountain Valley’s Kailey Nishi stays hot from deep in win over Pacifica Christian
In the final game before Christmas for the Fountain Valley girls’ basketball team, Kailey Nishi made a school-record nine three-pointers.
Nishi remained the gift that keeps on giving for the Barons, as she supplied another six three-pointers for Fountain Valley in a 50-34 win over Pacifica Christian on Friday in pool play of the Surf City Holiday Classic at Marina High.
The junior sharpshooter made her first three attempts from beyond the arc en route to her six total against the Tritons. When she set the school mark against Newport Harbor on Dec. 21, she overtook her sister, Melody, who made eight in a game.
“My sister, she saw that game,” said Nishi, who said she felt “something has just sparked” in her and raised her confidence. “She was actually very proud of me, and she was very supportive. I really appreciate that. Most people would probably be sour about it.”
Fountain Valley (10-5) bounced back from a loss to San Clemente in its tournament opener. The Barons have won four of their past five, including wins across their first two Sunset League games.
Senior center Karley Waite played a key role, providing 10 points and 14 rebounds. It was a close game when she checked back in during the third quarter, the Barons’ coaching staff emphasizing staying down while contesting shots to avoid foul trouble.
“We can’t teach size,” said Izzy Om, who shares the head coaching duties with Camryn Hamaguchi. “[Waite] is 6-[foot]-3. She has developed so much just over this summer. She’s gotten a lot stronger with the ball, and her finishing at the rim has improved so much.
“With that, we’re able to score a lot more. Once we’re able to get her looks down low, it opens up shots on the perimeter a lot more. Once she gets going, it really creates shots for everybody. We just got to keep her out of foul trouble.”
Waite’s first basket of the second half answered a Vivian Villagrana three-pointer, one of two for the Tritons as a team, and gave the Barons a 32-28 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
By the midway point of the fourth quarter — after two more Waite finishes at the hoop — the Barons held a far more comfortable 44-31 advantage.
“I’m a big girl, so it’s always nice when the big girl gets the ball,” Waite said. “Sometimes, the guards don’t see me, but when they do, it’s always a good assist for them. Once they do see me, if I don’t have that shot, I’ll just dish it back out to them.”
Sophie Hsieh scored all nine of her points in the second half, adding six assists and two steals. Victoria Om contributed four points, eight rebounds and five assists for Fountain Valley.
“Something that we’ve been trying to push out of her is looking for her own shot,” Izzy Om said of Hsieh. “She does a really good job of finding her teammates, making smart reads off the screen, but she’s also really good at scoring, and when she looks to score, it really maximizes our points.”
Pacifica Christian (7-10) kept it close for a while, applying ball pressure that kept the Barons out of rhythm early. The Tritons kept the deficit at 20-16 going into halftime.
Junior guard Vivian Villagrana matched Nishi for the game-high scoring total with 18 points. Junior forward Angie Martinez produced 10 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Caylie Villagrana scored three points to go with five assists, four rebounds and two steals, but the Tritons received little in the way of offensive contributions elsewhere.
Pacifica Christian coach Pablo Martinez spoke of a learning curve with his team having just one senior on the roster.
“We held them to 20 points in the first half,” Martinez said. “We were down, and it got away from us towards the end. We just couldn’t make a shot — missed seven or eight free throws. … I think we just ran out of gas. … It’s up and down, but they do a good job. We’re in games, and sometimes it’s a learning process. We’ve played some really good teams throughout the whole year, so hopefully it pays off in the playoffs.
Surf City Holiday Classic
Fountain Valley 50, Pacifica Christian 34
Pacifica Christian 10 - 6 - 12 - 6 — 34
Fountain Valley 12 - 8 - 16 - 14 — 50
PC — V. Villagrana 18, Martinez 10, R. Ham 3, C. Villagrana 3.
3-pt. goals — R. Ham 1, C. Villagrana 1.
Fouled out — None.
Technicals — None.
FV — Nishi 18, Waite 10, Hsieh 9, Om 4, Sasaki 5, Jones 2, Pham 2.
3-pt. goals — Nishi 6, Hsieh 1.
Fouled out — None.
Technicals — None.
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