Turney’s 32 points, six rebounds spark Foothill
Foothill basketball coach Eric Kruger tried not to panic as he watched his team being outplayed by Coronado throughout most of the first half Thursday.
The coach had seen his team overcome deficits in previous games, so he remained calm and eventually was rewarded when the Falcons rallied late in the second quarter and continued that roll to pull out a 60-50 victory over the Cougars in the Sunrise Region semifinals at Liberty.
The win lifted Foothill into the championship game, where the Falcons (21-7) will play Liberty (24-3) at 5 p.m. today.
Taylor Turney did the heavy work for Foothill with 32 points and six rebounds.
“I told myself I wouldn’t hit panic mode until the fourth quarter,” said Kruger, whose team finally took the lead with 1:06 left in the first half. “We’ve built a trust with these girls, and fortunately Taylor and Katey (Roquemore) started putting down their shots.”
It was a team effort that put the Cougars ahead early. They outrebounded the Falcons 13-6 in the first quarter and took their biggest advantage when Payton Caci drove to the hoop for a layup to make it 22-14 with 5:40 left in the half.
But Turney, who hit all 12 of her free throws in the game, scored 12 points in the second quarter, and finally gave Foothill the lead at 29-28 with a pair of foul shots at the 1:06 mark. The Falcons finished with a 7-0 scoring spurt to take a 32-28 lead into halftime.
“Taylor makes it look easy when she’s on,” Kruger said. “She’s unlike any other player I have ever coached.”
The Falcons remedied their rebounding troubles in the second half and surged ahead, taking their biggest lead when Turney nailed two more free throws to make it 48-36 with 1:54 left in the third quarter. She followed with a 12-foot runner a minute later, and the Falcons led 50-38 after three.
Roquemore, who combined with Turney to score 30 of the Falcons’ 32 first-half points, finished with 13 points. Teammate Trinity Betoney provided some second-half energy and finished with four points, seven rebounds and three steals.
Kayla Watterson finished with 16 points and nine rebounds for the Cougars, and Dajah Washington added 10 points.
