Castlemont shot 55 percent from the field and turned a 4-4 tie into a 23-4 lead with a 19-0 run, and the Head-Royce girls varsity basketball team never recovered in a 65-43 loss on the road Wednesday. The Jayhawks fell to 4-3 with their second straight defeat.
The game started even. Morgan R. made two free throws to tie it at 2-2, and Abigail K. scored off the bench to tie it again at 4-4. Castlemont then scored the next 19 points. The run included two baskets off Head-Royce turnovers and back-to-back 3-pointers, and it put the hosts up 23-4.
Head-Royce answered with eight straight points. Morgan R. made a free throw, Leila H. hit the team's only 3-pointer of the game and Morgan R. scored two second-chance baskets to cut the deficit to 23-12. Later, Leila H. scored twice and Melina M. added a basket in a 7-0 burst that pulled the Jayhawks within 31-21. Tara P. scored to make it 34-23, but Castlemont then went on a 12-0 run, capped by consecutive 3-pointers, for its largest lead at 46-23.
The Jayhawks put together their best stretch after that. Leila H. scored, Morgan R. converted a basket off a turnover, Ella S. scored on a putback, and Kaley C. and Morgan R. each added baskets in a 10-0 run that made it 46-33. Elena K. and Abigail K. scored in the minutes that followed, the latter on an assist from Kaley C., and two more baskets from Morgan R. brought Head-Royce within 51-41. Castlemont ended the threat with an 11-0 run to go up 62-41. Melina M. scored on a putback for the Jayhawks' last points, and Castlemont closed with a basket and a free throw.
Morgan R. led Head-Royce with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds. She shot 6-of-14 from the field and added four assists, two blocks and a steal. Ella S. grabbed 13 rebounds, eight on the offensive end, and scored four points. Leila H. scored nine points and had three steals and two assists. Melina M. gave the Jayhawks six rebounds, three steals and four points off the bench, which outscored Castlemont's reserves 12-6.
Head-Royce won the rebounding battle 37-15 and had 18 offensive rebounds to Castlemont's four, but the Jayhawks turned those extra chances into only eight second-chance points. They shot 33 percent (19-of-57), went 1-of-13 from 3-point range and made 4 of 12 free throws. Head-Royce committed 22 turnovers and forced five. Castlemont's No. 4 scored a game-high 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. No. 0 added 17 points with three 3-pointers, and No. 23 had 10 points and three blocks.
Head-Royce (4-3) next plays at Valley Christian on Friday, Jan. 26.