College Prep erased an early one-point deficit and pulled away Friday, beating the Head-Royce girls varsity basketball team 44-21. The Jayhawks committed 30 turnovers and shot 20 percent from the field. The loss dropped Head-Royce to 1-10 and extended its losing streak to five games.
The hosts opened with six straight points, five of them at the free throw line, before Head-Royce answered with a 7-0 run. Osa Enabulele scored off an Emmy Mitchell assist, Mitchell added a free throw and Abigail Kim scored twice off turnovers, the second time on a feed from Mitchell. That run gave the Jayhawks a 7-6 lead, their only lead of the night.
College Prep took control from there. Two 3-pointers and two second-chance baskets made up a 10-0 run that pushed the score to 16-7. Kim kept Head-Royce within reach with two free throws and a 3-pointer set up by Yaretzi Brown, cutting the gap to 19-12. College Prep answered with a 7-0 run, finished by a basket off a turnover, to lead 26-12. Kim scored twice more, the second time on an assist from Missgana B., to make it 29-16.
The deciding stretch came next. College Prep scored the next 12 points on free throws, a second-chance basket and a score off a turnover, building a 41-16 lead. That 25-point margin was its largest of the game. Kim ended the drought with a 3-pointer off a turnover, and Enabulele closed the scoring with a basket assisted by Giselle Barajas.
Kim, a senior guard, scored 16 of the Jayhawks' 21 points. She shot 6 of 19 from the floor, 2 of 9 from 3-point range and 2 of 2 at the line, and she added four steals and four rebounds. Enabulele, a freshman, had four points, four rebounds and three steals. Mitchell, a senior forward, anchored the defense with five blocked shots to go with seven rebounds and two assists. Loire Williams pulled down five rebounds.
The Head-Royce defense kept the game close longer than the final score suggests. The Jayhawks forced 21 turnovers, made 13 steals and held College Prep to 24.6 percent shooting (15 of 61). The gap was in possessions. Head-Royce's 30 turnovers limited it to 40 shots, and College Prep won the rebounding battle 45-31. The hosts grabbed 27 offensive rebounds, which led to nine second-chance points. They also made 10 of 14 free throws, while the Jayhawks went 3 of 8. College Prep's No. 3 led all scorers with 23 points, going 8 of 10 at the line, and added eight steals. Its No. 2 had 14 rebounds and No. 15 had 10.
The result reversed the teams' first meeting, a 36-31 Head-Royce win at College Prep on Dec. 6. Head-Royce is now 1-10 on the season.