Skyline duo showing up on the boards

“At Sierra during the playoffs, she just dominated that game,” Skyline head coach Chris Watters said. “She was the best player on the floor.”

This year, the Trojans (8-6 overall) had two weeks to prepare for a rematch with Sierra. The Trojans entered last Friday’s opener in the City College of San Francisco Tournament with a 12-day layoff, and spent that time readying for a Sierra team ranked No. 9 in the state.

Faasolo and freshman Nicole Brunicardi dominated the boards, and each recorded double-doubles, to front Skyline’s 61-52 victory. Faasolo finished with 11 points and 17 rebounds while Brunicardi had 12 points and 17 rebounds. As a team, the Trojans out-rebounded Sierra 55-31.

“It was a huge win for our program and helped show the girls what they’re capable of,” Watters said.

Skyline went on to settle for fourth place in the tournament. The Trojans dropped Saturday’s semifinal game against LA Valley 64-54, then fell in the third-place game Sunday 59-54 to host CCSF.

“I don’t want to take anything away from LA Valley, they’re really a good team,” Watters said. “But it was kind of an emotional letdown. It was such a big win Friday night. We kind of rode our six girls who play, they play a lot of minutes, and they got off to a slow start and couldn’t catch up.”

The addition of Brunicardi had helped with depth, though, giving Skyline two legitimate bigs. Faasolo is a versatile 6-foot sophomore out of Notre Dame-Belmont. Brunicardi, a 5-10 freshman out of Burlingame, took a grayshirt last year at Skyline while recovering from a knee injury.

“We’re leaning hard on Fola and Brunicadi, and they’re playing well,” Watters said.

The Trojans enjoyed a well-rounded effort in the Sierra victory. Four Skyline players scored in double figures, with freshman guard Jalene Parangan (Aragon) scoring a team-high 18 points. Freshman point guard Emilia Dougherty (NDB) added 10.

It was a sturdy comeback effort, as the Trojans took their first lead of the game with less than five minutes to play. Parangan then hit back-to-back jumpers to improve the lead and Skyline led by as much as 10 at one point.

The guards were pivotal to the rebounding strategy, Watters said, boxing out and keeping the aggressive Sierra guards from crashing the boards.

“They did a great job boxing out,” Watters said. “And our guards did a great job. … It was a group effort.”

Through 14 games, Faasolo is averaging a double-double with 16.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Brunicardi isn’t far off, with 10.4 ppg and 9.6 rpg.

Sophomore forward Kalisi Fononga (San Mateo) also averages 9.6 rpg but has played in just seven games due to injury, and may not play again this season, Watters said.

The emergence of Skyline’s key freshmen, however, has Watters optimistic.

“At the community college level, I think depth is a concern for everybody,” Watters said. “Just like any sports team, if you lose … an impact player, it really changes you. But I will say we have a lot of girls coming on. So, as they continue to improve their game we could improve our depth.”

The Trojans have four more non-conference games scheduled prior to their Coast Conference North opener Wednesday, January 8 at College of San Mateo.

CSM sweeps at host tourney

The College of San Mateo Lady Bulldogs (7-6) won three straight games in the Tom Martinez Women’s Basketball Invitational, closing with a 61-48 victory over Reedley last Friday. CSM trailed by 1 entering the second quarter, but went on an 18-1 run to jump out front.

Sophomore center Courtney Townsend recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman guard Coral Yu added 14 pints, and Miracle Evans had 12.

CSM opened the tournament last Monday with a 79-54 win over Reedley, then took down Santa Monica last Thursday 66-62.