Two weeks ago, Francis Parker’s girls basketball team took down La Jolla Country Day, outscoring the Torreys 30-13 in the second half for a 13-point Coastal League win.
These two schools met again Friday, and once again, one team jumped out to a big lead.
Despite trailing by 18 points with six minutes left, No. 3 La Jolla Country Day did not quit and finished the game on a 31-8 run to take down the top-ranked Lancers for a 55-50 victory.
“This was amazing,” LJCD coach Terri Bamford said. “This (comeback) is up with some of the tops because one, it’s now a co-league championship. (Francis Parker’s) been No. 1 in the county all season. And to have them come back and knock off No. 1 is fantastic. So proud of them.”
As the Torreys (15-10, 3-1) were making their comeback, they found different ways to get the ball in the basket while forcing stops and grabbing rebounds against the Lancers (15-8, 3-1).
“We never been more hyped,” said Torreys senior guard Safiyah Sugapong, who scored 16 of her 25 points in the second half. “I think the energy, each steal, like our energy got higher and higher and we want to play hard and come out for a win.”
Sugapong finished with 25 points. She scored her 1,000th career point in the second quarter.
Bamford said having a senior point guard like Sugapong has been crucial for the Torreys, who also knocked off No. 2 Mater Dei Catholic last weekend.
“Safiyah has been doing this for us all year long,” she said of Sugapong, who averages 15.2 points per game. “She’s a tremendous point guard. She’s savvy. She can shoot the ball, she can get to the rim. She’s been our leading scorer all season. So when the game’s on the line, we really put the ball in her hands and let her make things happen.
In addition to Sugapong’s 25 points, fellow senior Atlanta Bass-Sulpizio added 14 points, including the go-ahead basket with one minute left in the fourth quarter to take a 52-50 lead and its first since Sugapong opened the scoring.
“We’ve worked really hard for this,” Bass-Sulpizio said. “As a senior, it means a lot to be here with my team in my last year and get a big win like that.”
Francis Parker, which also honored seniors Kaitlyn Ragas, Riya Khushu and Ari Llorenas, were led by junior Brieana Brown, who scored 17 points, including 15 in the first half.
Within the first 16 minutes, the Lancers went on a 17-3 run to open the second quarter to take a 15-point lead as Brown made a bucket and a couple of free throws during that stretch.
The Torreys and the Lancers are both back on the court on Tuesday. La Jolla Country Day travels to Escondido for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff while Francis Parker hosts Bishop’s at 5:30 p.m.