It would be a massive understatement to say that St. Anthony was dominant in its CIF Southern Section Division 2AA girls’ basketball semifinal at home on Saturday night.
The Saints defense didn’t allow visiting Keppel a field goal in the first 5:30 of the game on its way to a 66-39 victory that sends St. Anthony back to a CIF championship game for the first time since 2016 when it won the Division 4A title.
“I’m super proud of the girls,” said St. Anthony coach Ray Bennett. “We played exactly to the game plan. (I’m not surprised we played so well) because I’m super confident in our girls, but (I am surprised) because that’s a hell of a team over there with a great coach. But tonight was our night.”
St. Anthony (24-7) was the better coached team on Saturday and that started in the film room this week.
“In a lot of their early playoff games they came back into the game with threes so we didn’t want to allow any of that,” said St. Anthony guard Ryann Bennett. “They couldn’t shoot off the dribble so we had to make sure to make them a driver before they shoot.”
Keppel only made two 3-pointers in the game and they both came in the second half when St. Anthony had already built a double digit lead.
“Our defense has been working for us throughout the whole season and it’s really carried us to help us on offense, so I wasn’t surprised at all,” said Ryann Bennett.
St. Anthony junior Kadence Lloyd was the star of the night with a double-double performance of a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. She also had two steals and two blocks.
“She was special tonight,” said coach Bennett of Lloyd. “Not only getting downhill and getting to the basket but rebounding which is something she’s done all year long. She’s been a great rebounder for us but she stayed aggressive offensively for the whole game.”
“I just came in wanting a ring, nothing was going to stop me from winning this game,” said Lloyd.
Senior guard Melaiah Joseph chipped in 10 of her 13 points in the second half and Ryann Bennett was also fantastic with 11 points and a game-high seven assists.
“We know that when our defense is working well that we kind of have control of the game,” said Ryann Bennett. “And as a point guard I know that I’m able to control the game with the ball in my hands and trust that my teammates are going to take the right shots at the right time.”
Keppel (21-11) was led by Kylie Ng’s 15 points.
St. Anthony opened the game on a 13-0 run that included highlight And-1 finishes from Lloyd and Anaya Tunu. That run included a trio of 3-point misses and a shot clock violation for Keppel and the visitors didn’t get on the scoreboard with a free throw until the 3:40 mark of the first quarter.
Keppel got back into the game by getting into the lane and scoring 10 of its first 24 points from the free throw line.
“They ended up putting fouls on us but we made a good adjustment in the second half, we just kind of gave them space to run and run and beat them to spots,” said coach Bennett. “Once we started doing that they got less foul calls and we were able to rebound. We were able to get out to what we call the fun side of the floor. Once we rebound we can go have fun.”
Lloyd was key to that transition game and was buoyed by the big and boisterous crowd.
“It feels great knowing that I have people who support me, and from the opposing side when they say things I tune it out,” said Lloyd.
Even when Keppel went on a run to cut the halftime lead to 39-24, the Saints came back out of halftime the more calm and composed team.
“In the fall season we put in so much work to the point where if anything does come our way it’s not going to rattle us,” said Lloyd.
“I think because I stay calm, they stay calm,” added coach Bennett. “There’s no reason to get rattled. We did all the work early as far as conditioning and being mentally tough. It’s just a matter of executing when we get out here on the floor. This is the easy part.”
In the second and third quarter there were moments when Ryann Bennett just took the game over. She grabbed rebounds to spark fast breaks in the second quarter, and then fed Joseph for consecutive 3-pointers in the third quarter to run the lead to 30 points.
“Her basketball IQ is something I’ve always talked about and always bragged about,” said coach Bennett of his daughter. “She’s knows when it’s time to turn it on. Her being the point guard, she’s done a great job of being a leader and getting everybody involved to make the team better this year.”
The time and date of the championship game against Moreno Valley will be announced on Monday, but Lloyd and the Saints already know what they need to do.
“If we keep playing how we’re playing, and focusing on the defensive side because defense wins championships, we’ll be more than okay,” said Lloyd.
