Reflecting on her Dolphins’ 65-25 opening round win over Rubidoux of Riverside on Thursday night, Feb. 9, Dana Hills co-head coach Caitlin Bunting said she couldn’t have envisioned a better offensive performance.
Multiple players scored in double digits as the host Dolphins established a comfortable lead that lasted throughout the CIF-Southern Section Division 4A matchup. Dana Hills gifted the home crowd, watching the Dolphins’ first playoff game since 2018, with their first home win since 2013.
“We’ve been working a lot on pace, kicking the ball out and getting a lot of shots up this week,” Bunting said, adding that she believed tonight was their season high in points.
Esme Korman paced Dana Hills (16-8) with 17 points, with Brooklyn Akason adding 12 points and Sosefina Sualua totaling 11. The Dolphins were relentless with their passing all game to get their teammates good shots, racking up 17 assists.
Rubidoux (12-7) held a 4-1 lead for mere moments early on before the onslaught came. Sualua cashed in from the baseline and in the paint for seven of Dana Hills’ 14 first-quarter points.
The lead swelled to 25-4 midway through the second quarter and the game result was well in hand from there.
Akason contributed nine in the third and Casslyn Reed chipped in six during the final frame, as numerous Dolphins took their opportunities to add to the margin.
Bunting said she was able to coach up her team on mistakes she saw and elements they had worked on in practice. The latter manifested itself as Dana Hills did well to score consistently in transition.
“Obviously, it’s hard when it’s a 40-point game to work on things that you need to work on,” said Bunting. “But reiterating what we’ve been reiterating all year…that’s the biggest, most important thing.”
Senior Stephanie Ortega led Rubidoux with 10 points on the night.
Dana Hills will play at Oakwood in the second round on Saturday, Feb. 11. Oakwood routed host Sacred Heart of Los Angeles in the first round, 61-29.
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