OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce's defense held College Prep to 19.1 percent shooting as the Jayhawks won 29-24 at home on Tuesday, Feb. 3, improving to 3-14. Abigail Kim scored 15 points and Ella Smith grabbed 16 rebounds. The win came less than three weeks after a 44-21 loss at College Prep on Jan. 16.
College Prep scored the game's first three points on a free throw and a second-chance basket. Emmy Mitchell put Head-Royce on the board with a basket, and Smith tied it at 3-3 from the free-throw line. College Prep went back in front, but Kim answered with a 3-pointer off a turnover, assisted by Loire Williams, for a 6-5 lead. That was the game's only lead change. College Prep tied it at 6-6 with a free throw, and Head-Royce never trailed again.
The Jayhawks followed with a 7-0 run. Kim scored off a turnover, Smith added a basket and Kim hit a 3-pointer on a feed from Mitchell to make it 13-6. Smith scored on an assist from Kim, and Osa Enabulele scored on a pass from Smith, so Head-Royce led 17-11. College Prep then made a basket and a 3-pointer to pull within 17-16. Kim scored to make it 19-16, and a College Prep second-chance basket cut the lead to 19-18.
That was as close as College Prep got. Head-Royce pulled away with an 8-0 run: Bella Spencer and Smith each made a free throw, Kim hit a 3-pointer off a turnover on an assist from Smith and then scored again, and Smith added another free throw for a 27-18 lead. After a College Prep free throw, Smith scored on a pass from Mitchell to make it 29-19, the Jayhawks' largest lead. College Prep scored the last five points, a 3-pointer and a basket that both came off turnovers, to set the final at 29-24.
Kim led Head-Royce with 15 points on 6-of-17 shooting, including 3 of 10 from 3-point range. She also had 4 steals, 4 rebounds and an assist. Smith had 9 points and 16 rebounds, 7 of them offensive, and made 3 of 6 free throws. She also had 2 assists. Mitchell added 9 rebounds, 5 blocked shots, 2 points and 2 assists. Williams had 2 steals and an assist, and Enabulele, a freshman, scored 2 points and had 3 offensive rebounds off the bench.
Head-Royce shot 28.9 percent (11 of 38), but its defense did more to decide the game. College Prep made 9 of 47 shots and 3 of 14 from 3-point range, and no College Prep player scored more than 6 points. The Jayhawks outrebounded College Prep 41-25, including 14 offensive rebounds, and had 8 steals and 5 blocks. Head-Royce turned the ball over 24 times to College Prep's 13, but College Prep scored only 9 points off those turnovers. Head-Royce scored 8 points off turnovers.
The win improves Head-Royce to 3-14 this season.