OAKLAND, Calif. Sonoma Academy closed the game on a 15-2 run to erase an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit and beat the Head-Royce girls varsity team 50-48 on Thursday. The Jayhawks (1-1) outrebounded the visitors 51-17 but committed 26 turnovers, and those giveaways decided the final minutes.
Head-Royce took control early. Hailey H. and Abigail K. scored the first two baskets, and after a Sonoma Academy field goal the Jayhawks ran off 12 straight points to go up 16-2. Morgan R. scored 10 of those points on three second-chance baskets and four free throws. Leila H. added a basket off a turnover that made it 25-6, Head-Royce's biggest lead at 19. Sonoma Academy answered with a 10-0 run built on three 3-pointers to cut the gap to 27-20, but Morgan R. scored on another second-chance basket to make it 29-20 after one quarter. She had 18 points in the opening period.
Leila H. scored two baskets in the second quarter, Emmy M. added one and Hailey H. made two free throws for a 41-28 lead. Sonoma Academy scored the last five points of the half on a 3-pointer and a basket to make it 41-33 at the break, and the score was still 41-33 after three quarters.
Morgan R. opened the fourth with the Jayhawks' only 3-point attempt of the night, and it went in for a 44-33 lead. After a Sonoma Academy basket, Hailey H. scored to make it 46-35. Sonoma Academy then scored 10 in a row, including a basket off a turnover and a second-chance basket, to pull within 46-45. Hailey H. made a free throw for a 47-45 lead, but Sonoma Academy hit a 3-pointer to take its first lead at 48-47, the only lead change of the game. Two Sonoma Academy free throws made it 50-47, and Leila H. made a free throw for the final margin.
Morgan R. finished with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting and 19 rebounds, nine of them offensive. She made 5 of 6 free throws, added two assists, two steals and a block, and scored all 14 of Head-Royce's second-chance points. Hailey H. had a double-double off the bench with 10 points and 10 rebounds, plus four assists, two steals and two blocks. Leila H. scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds, and sophomore Emmy M. pulled down nine rebounds.
Head-Royce shot 30.9 percent from the field (17 of 55) and made 13 of 28 free throws. Sonoma Academy shot 27.1 percent (16 of 59) and went 7 of 33 from 3-point range, but it made 11 of 17 free throws. The visitors committed 12 turnovers to the Jayhawks' 26 and turned those miscues into a 9-2 edge in points off turnovers. Head-Royce held a 22-8 advantage on the offensive glass and a 14-4 edge in second-chance points.
Head-Royce is now 1-1. The Jayhawks play at Bentley on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024.