Cooper Posts Outstanding Numbers as St. Anthony Girls Basketball Wins Big

Kendall Cooper scored 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds, blocked six shots and came up with four steals to lead St. Anthony to a 64-28 victory over out-manned Laguna Beach in their CIF Southern Section Division 4-A girls basketball playoff opener Thursday night at North.

But those eye-popping numbers weren't what had the 6-foot-3 sophomore smiling after the game.

"The whole team really played well tonight," she said with a smile. "They gave us the spark we needed. It was great to see them play like that. "When they come off the bench and make that kind of contribution, we're unstoppable."

While the Santa Cruz League runner-up Saints (15-9), and defending CIF-SS Division 4-A Champions, probably were going to win this game no matter what the Breakers (12-10) did, the lift they got from their second team was a positive they can take into the second round. They will face Mountain Valley League runner-up Banning Tuesday night at site to be determined.

"It's great for us when the second team plays well like they did tonight," Saints oach James Anderson said. "There is a great camaraderie between the first string and the second string. "If they play well, it not only helps us on the scoreboard, it helps our morale."

St. Anthony's second unit outscored the Breakers, 7-2, to end the first quarter and give the Saints a 14-8 lead. They ended the second quarter in similar fashion, outscoring the Breakers, 12-0, to put St. Anthony ahead, 35-10, at halftime.

Senior guard Lauren Siaumau led the second string with nine points, all coming on three straight 3-point baskets. Junior guard Raquel Johnson had seven points, four coming during the second-quarter surge.
 
"We played hard, made a good contribution," Johnson said. "As long as we're having fun we can play like that.
 
"I think of us as the Energizer Bunny. We're going to keep hustling and going all the time. Tonight we gave the team some momentum."
 
Just as important, they spurred on the first string, which came out inspired to start the second quarter. The result was one of the great surges of this or any other St. Anthony season.
 
The Saints blitzed the Breakers, 10-0, in the first 30 seconds of the quarter on a basket off a steal by Jourdan Cooper, a three-point play by sister Kendall Cooper off yet another steal and then a steal and layup by Natalie Williams that made it 35-10.
 
But the Saints weren't done. Stephanie Williams followed with a 3-point shot, giving St. Anthony a 13-0 surge just 58 seconds into the quarter.
 
By the time the Breakers scored five minutes into the quarter North had scored the first 21 points of the second quarter. Going back to the end of the first quarter, which St. Anthony's second unit ended with a 5-0 run, the Saints outscored the Breakers, 26-0, for a 35-10 lead.
 
"The first group realized they didn't play that well in the first quarter and were out to prove something," Anderson said. "It was quite a run."
 
Jourdan Cooper had 10 points while Stephanie and Natalie Williams, who made two 3-point shots, each scored 7 points. But it was the Saints’ defensive pressure that was most impressive. The Saints had a season-high 25 steals while forcing 35 turnovers, with Cooper getting six steals and sophomore Chandler Hixon getting four steals.
 
"Our goal is another CIF championship," Jourdan Cooper said. "When we get the whole team playing with the energy we had tonight, we can play with anyone.
 
"We can't get big-headed, though. We have to keep on applying the pressure like we did tonight in the second quarter. Twenty-five steals, that's a lot."
 
Senior guard Emily Writer who scored a game-high 18 points led the Breakers, the third-place team in the Orange Coast League. The reality of the loss and final game of Writer’s high school career was too much for her to bear as she left the court in tears embracing fellow senior center Sam Garner.

“They are a really good team,” Breakers coach Jon Hendrickson said. “But I’m really proud of these girls because they never ever gave up, that’s been their trademark all season.”

Garner scored the other 10 points for Laguna Beach as Hendrickson took the chance to get players in the game that haven’t had a chance all season.