The Coronado Islanders girls’ basketball team’s end-of-season schedule will serve as possibly the team’s biggest test of the 2024-2025 season. After having nine of their first 11 games be played at home, Coronado closes out this season with six of their final eight all on the road against Central League opponents.

With two road tests this past week against Canyon Hills and Clairemont, Coronado managed a 1-1 week, keeping them right in the thick of the battle for the Central League title.

“It would have been nice to come away with a 2-0 week, but I think the girls did a good job of battling all week,” said Head Coach John Coolidge. “It won’t get any easier from here, but I think we are in a good spot at the moment.”

In the Islanders’ first featured matchup of the week, they fell in a tight one to the Canyon Hills Rattlers by the final score of 45-34. For three-quarters of action, the Islanders outplayed the Rattlers thanks in large part to a team-high 16 points from Gabby Fichter and an eight-point spark from Alina Molina, helping them hold a five-point lead heading to the final quarter of play.

However, in the final quarter of action, the Islanders would go stone cold offensively, turn the ball over six times, and ultimately be held scoreless in the fourth.

“Our offense just fell apart in the fourth. We just played too lackadaisical, and it seemed like no one wanted to shoot the ball,” noted Coolidge. “Anytime we walked the ball up the floor, they would just look for Gabby, but she was being doubled and guarded by Canyon Hills’ best player.”

The fourth quarter and reluctance to shoot were oddities, considering the Islanders’ shooters like Selena Herrera, Emily Albin, and Molina have continued to develop consistent scores this season to ensure the offense can flow through more than just one player.

Still, after the frustrating loss to the Rattlers, Coronado bounced back quickly with a 28-12 win over Clairemont. Coming into the game, Coolidge felt confident this was a game they could handle with ease, and as such, he sat his starting five in the first half and gave more runs to some of their bench players.

Taking advantage of the extra play would be freshman Olivia DeSanti, as the freshman guard would post a season-high eight points in the win to go along with five rebounds in the win.

When the regular starting five would take the floor in the second half, Coronado would get a flurry of points from Herrera. The senior would feast inside of the paint, collecting six of her team-high 11 points from the paint.

Finally, while only playing around eight minutes against Clairemont, Fichter served as an excellent facilitator, logging a team-high seven assists.

“Olivia played an outstanding game, and we are gonna need her in the playoffs because teams will key on Gabby, so we’ll need another guard to step up,” commented Coolidge. “They also did a great job of looking to make the extra pass and find the open shooter, and I hope that is something we carry with us to the finals weeks of the season and beyond.”

With their 1-1 week, Coronado’s record now sits at 11-2 and 3-2 in Central League play, placing them at third in their league standings. When they return to the hardwood this week, the Islanders will be faced with a non-league game against Strand Way Rivals Mar Vista on January 28 and then yet another league road test against Lincoln High on January 31.