Powerhouse La Jolla Country Day hosts the Mission Hills Grizzlies in a girls basketball non-conference showdown between two of the top teams in the region on Thursday, December 16 at 6 p.m. Catch all the action exclusively on Yurview California with Jack Cronin and Paula Bott on the call. The broadcast is presented by Prospect Home Finance.
LA JOLLA COUNTRY DAY
La Jolla Country Day’s star-studded roster features some of the top prep players in the nation including highly-regarded post, Breya Cunningham…
UCLA verbal commit Jada Williams, and a 2024 elite prospect, Taj Roberts.
La Jolla Country Day’s (7-1) only blemish this season came at the hands of an undefeated Etiwanda Eagles squad that’s also regarded as one of the best teams in the state.
MISSION HILLS
Mission Hills is 3-2 on the year, dropping a contest to Spring Valley (Las Vegas) as well as to Etiwanda this past weekend. The Grizzlies are led in scoring by standout senior guard Jessica Grant, averaging nearly 17 points per game.
2022, 5’7, SG, Mission Hills HS San Diego, Jessica Grant is a shooter, showing it here knocking down 21 threes in the contest. #cremeofthecounty @PGHCalifornia @GurlzMedia @1Roundball pic.twitter.com/tOATRmMn0t
— Prep Girls Hoops California (@PGHCalifornia) November 4, 2019
Head coach Chris Kroesch has had an extremely successful run with the program and is in the midst of his 13th season guiding the Grizzlies.
COMING INTO THE MATCH
La Jolla Country Day needed overtime to escape Crestwood, 67-61 in its last game on Dec. 4 as Cunningham and Williams each entered the 1,000 point club for their career (on back-to-back baskets no less) in the win. Cunningham is one of the three Torreys averaging double-figures in scoring this season with a team-best 23.5 points per game. She also leads the team with 12.6 rebounds per game. Roberts (15.0 ppg) and Williams (10.0 ppg) are also averaging double-digits per game this season.
Mission Hills was outdueled in its last game by Etiwanda, 74-27.
POWERHOUSE PROGRAM
La Jolla Country Day was recently ranked as one of the best high schools ever for women’s basketball with notable alumni like Candice Wiggins (an eight-year WNBA vet that’s considered one of the best guards in women’s basketball history) and Kelsey Plum, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer at Arizona State with 3,527 career points. The Torreys finished last season ranked second in the espnW 25 Power Rankings and won the Nike Tournament of Champions. Terri Bamford is currently in the midst of her 23rd year piloting the powerhouse program.
“I had the pleasure of coaching all the girls,” Terri Bamford told the Union-Tribune this summer regarding the lofty all-time ranking of her program by ESPN. “Great players. Great girls.”
RANKINGS
The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Girls Basketball preview ranked both of these teams among the top ten in the region with La Jolla Country Day checking in at No. 1 and Mission Hills at No. 6. More recently, both teams checked in among the top five teams in the area.
WATCH THE GAME ON YURVIEW
This week’s showdown between La Jolla Country Day and Mission Hills on Yurview (Thursday, December 16 at 6 p.m.) with Jack Cronin and Paula Bott on the call is presented by Prospect Home Finance. As part of their commitment to the community, Prospect Home Finance is supporting local sports coverage on YurView. Prospect Home Finance – fast, friendly, affordable.
