Orange Lutheran rolls to 72-52 win over Crean Lutheran to reach Southern Section 2AA finals: 5 takeaways

Sheridan Kennedy and Shea Joko combined for 31 points for OLu

IRVINE – Orange Lutheran set the tone with a dominant first quarter on Wednesday and never looked back in an impressive 72-52 victory at Crean Lutheran. 

The top-seeded Lancers will go on to face Sage Hill in the CIFSS 2AA title game on Saturday. Here are five takeaways from the game:

LANCERS WIN GAME IN FIRST AND THIRD QUARTERS

OLu brought its A-game from the very start, jumping out to an 18-4 lead in the first quarter. The Saints got settled in early in the second quarter and would cut the deficit to 23-16 before halftime. But the Lancers never seemed to lose the momentum they carried from their dominant opening frame, and certainly never took their feet off the pedal. After their lead got down to seven, they extended it to 13 by the end of the second quarter, and it never got back down to single-digits again.

Any thoughts of a successful Saints comeback were erased in the third quarter, which OLu won 26-13 to take a 60-34 lead after leading 34-21 at halftime. While Crean Lutheran never showed signs of defeat until the game was over, the outcome never seemed to be in doubt from early on.

Sheridan Kennedy led the Lancers with 16 points, and Shea Joko scored 15 on five made threes, with at least one coming in each quarter. Kelly Garrity and Princess Cassell scored 10 points and eight points, respectively, and both hit a pair of threes. Heaven Johnson had eight points as well for OLu.

Orange Lutheran knocked down nine threes on the night and scored many of the rest of its points in the post. In an era of basketball when most teams don't have one post-up threat that can alter the landscape of a game, the Lancers can have two or even three on the court during much of a game in Kennedy, Smith, and McPherson. With Joko and Garrity both able to pass inside at a high level and stretch the floor well past the high school arc, it makes for a unique, dynamic offense.

A PHYSICAL BATTLE & PARADE OF FOULS

This matchup featured two particularly physical teams who set the tone physically against most of the teams they go against. The result? A game with a whopping 49 fouls, the majority of which came in the first half, with a total of 31 of them being called on Orange Lutheran.

And for the small minority of teams out there that have as much depth as OLu, that beat other teams up in the paint as much as the Lancers, and use as many of those fouls to prevent easy baskets as they do, it can be a winning recipe.

OLu's physical M.O. certainly made a net-positive impact on this game, and also came with some downsides. Despite scoring 52 points, Crean Lutheran only made nine field goals on the night, with only one of them coming from three-point land. The Saints' other 32 points all came at the stripe.

The Lancers scored 15 points at the free-throw line as well.

SAINTS DON'T BACK DOWN, LOOK FORWARD TO STATE/REGIONAL PLAYOFFS

Despite losing decisively, Wednesday was a solid effort for Crean Lutheran, which battled all night and played OLu evenly during its better stretches of the night. That included winning the fourth quarter by four points. And had they not been particularly cold from the perimeter despite creating some open looks, the game could've been quite a bit more competitive.

The Saints didn't panic upon going down big in the first half, nor did they fail to respond to Orange Lutheran's physical demeanor. They matched their physicality more and more as the game went on while also making the adjustment to using Orange Lutheran's physicality against them at times. Drawing 31 fouls and making 32 free throws speaks for itself, and at least five of them were charges the Saints took.

Ultimately they came up short against a dominant team, but Crean Lutheran may have its best ball yet to be played with the CIF Southern Region/State playoffs looming. If nothing else, Wednesday did not seem to be the type of loss that would destroy an experienced team's momentum.

LANCERS COULD BE IN LAST POSTSEASON BEFORE JOINING OPEN DIVISION

To take a leap from going .500 in the last two seasons to at minimum going 23-8 and making the CIFSS 2AA finals in this one is a tremendous accomplishment for Orange Lutheran. Before this season, the Lancers hadn't won a playoff game since the 2018-19 campaign. 

That might sound like the result of an experienced senior core that had been building up for years, but the majority of the Lancers' rotation consists of underclassmen. If they can take even half as big a leap in the next year as they did from last season to this season, Orange Lutheran would project as not only a contender in Division 1, but likely an inclusion in the CIFSS Open Division.

OLU GETS REMATCH FOR ALL THE MARBLES

The Lancers only have two losses outside of Trinity League play all season, and one came against Sage Hill in November by just five points. On Saturday, they'll have the opportunity to avenge that loss in the finals against the Lightning.

PHOTOS:

Taylor Feldman