OAKLAND, Calif. Cornerstone Christian forced 38 turnovers and scored 33 points off them to beat the Head-Royce girls varsity basketball team 62-11 on Tuesday. The loss dropped the Jayhawks to 2-12.
Cornerstone Christian scored the game's first eight points, and its first two baskets came off turnovers. Ella Smith put Head-Royce on the board with a basket off a turnover to make it 8-2. She then scored on a pass from Abigail Kim to cut the gap to 10-4. After another Cornerstone Christian basket, Emmy Mitchell made two free throws that brought the Jayhawks within 12-6.
The visitors answered with a 14-0 run to go up 26-6. Four different players hit 3-pointers during the run. Mitchell ended it with a free throw, but Cornerstone Christian followed with a 9-0 run for a 35-7 lead. A free throw by Missgana B. made it 35-8. Cornerstone Christian then scored the next 14 points, with a mix of baskets off turnovers and back-to-back second-chance baskets, to lead 49-8.
Kim hit a 3-pointer for Head-Royce's final points, making it 49-11. Cornerstone Christian closed the game with a 13-0 run, and L.A. scored seven of those points. Head-Royce never led and the game had no ties. Cornerstone Christian's largest lead was 51 points, reached on the final basket.
Smith led Head-Royce with 4 points and 12 rebounds, four of them offensive. She made 2 of 8 shots. Mitchell added 3 points, all at the free throw line on 3-of-4 shooting, along with four rebounds and two blocked shots. Kim also scored 3 points and had the team's only assist and one steal. Off the bench, Missgana B. had 1 point and two offensive rebounds, and Loire Williams blocked a shot. Yaretzi Brown and Laila Jagusch each had a steal.
Head-Royce outrebounded Cornerstone Christian 34-25 but got no second-chance points, while the visitors scored six. Turnovers decided the game. Cornerstone Christian had 23 steals, including five each from K.B. and K.A. and four from L.A. Head-Royce shot 3 of 27 from the field (11 percent), 1 of 6 from 3-point range and 4 of 6 from the free throw line. Cornerstone Christian shot 25 of 60 (42 percent), made 9 of 24 3-pointers and had assists on 15 of its 25 baskets. C.B. led all scorers with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting. L.A. added 14 points, and K.B. had 14 points and five assists.
This was the second meeting between the teams this season. Cornerstone Christian won the first one 80-9 at home on Jan. 2. In the rematch, Head-Royce scored two more points and allowed 18 fewer. The Jayhawks are now 2-12.