OAKLAND, Calif. Nicole L. made six 3-pointers in the first half, and Head-Royce opened the game on a 25-0 run on its way to a 58-26 win over Athenian on Friday, Feb. 3. The win improved the Jayhawks to 2-0. Head-Royce forced 28 turnovers and never trailed.
Nicole L. set the tone with a 3-pointer on an assist from Elena K. The Jayhawks followed with baskets from Hailey H., Ella S. and Elena K. Nicole L. then added a two and another three off a turnover to make it 16-0. Elena K. scored on two straight second-chance baskets, and Nicole L. finished the 25-0 opening run with a 3-pointer assisted by Hailey H.
Athenian got on the board with two free throws, but Nicole L. answered with another three. After an Athenian basket made it 28-4, Head-Royce scored eight straight points. Nicole L. hit a three, Siwoo R. scored on a feed from Hailey H., and Nicole L. connected again on an assist from Ella S. for a 36-4 lead. Siwoo R. added another basket, and Tara P. scored a second-chance two to send the Jayhawks into halftime ahead 42-10.
Hailey H. scored the first two baskets of the second half, one off a turnover and one on a second-chance play. Those baskets completed a 6-0 run and gave Head-Royce its largest lead at 46-10. Athenian matched Head-Royce 16-16 in the second half, but the Jayhawks answered almost every Athenian basket. Leila H. scored twice, and Abigail K. added two baskets. Her last one came off a turnover on an assist from Leila H. and closed the scoring.
Nicole L. finished with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range. She added two assists and two steals and had no turnovers. Hailey H. scored 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting with four steals and three assists. Elena K. scored six points with four steals, and Abigail K. had four points and five steals. Siwoo R. grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and scored four points, and Ella S. pulled down six rebounds, five of them offensive. A Head-Royce player whose name was not recorded added six points, six assists and five steals.
The defense decided the game. Head-Royce had 23 steals, turned Athenian's 28 turnovers into 15 points and held the visitors to 23.9 percent shooting (11-of-46). The Jayhawks shot 41.3 percent and outrebounded Athenian 36-25. Their 16 offensive rebounds led to 12 second-chance points. Head-Royce also had assists on 15 of its 26 field goals, while Athenian had one assist. Athenian's leading scorer, whose name was not recorded, finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Head-Royce improved to 2-0 in the 2022-23 season and has won two straight.