Rivalry games always bring out the best in athletes. Each shot, possession, or turnover just feels a bit more important when you’re playing a team against which you have just a bit of a grudge.

And for the Coronado Islanders girls’ basketball team, their rivalry game against their foes from just up Strand Way, the Mariners of Mar Vista High School, gave them just about everything they could handle.

But after a grueling wire-to-wire battle, the Islanders would come out on top with a narrow 45-42 come-from-behind victory to move to 12-2 on the year.

“We had a number of girls who were under the weather but went out there and pushed through and played their tails off,” said Head Coach John Coolidge. “We did a great job of coming back in the second half and finding a way to win.”

The start of last Tuesday’s game was, in all honesty, rather ugly for Coronado. Only able to manage 13 points in the first half and just five points in the second quarter, they found themselves in a 21-13 hole.

Where the Islanders struggled specifically in the paint in the first half would be in the paint as Mar Vista junior Anissa Smith controlled their interior, going for 16 points in the first half while grabbing seven rebounds.

Out of the break, however, Coronado was able to flip the script down low thanks to the efforts on the glass and defense from Charlie Reyman and Lily DeSena. The duo would come up big in the second half as DeSena would collect six boards, while Reyman would come away with seven.

Their defensive play also helped to slow down Smith and hold Mar Vista to only eight points in the third, which allowed Coronado the opportunity to crawl back into the game.

“Lily, she was just a beast; this was probably her best overall game; she had a couple of key assists and did a great job of boxing out their best player down low. Her ceiling is extremely high,” noted Coolidge. “As for Charlie, she just did what she always does: gets in there, boxes people out, and hauls in rebounds.”

Now, in order to complete the comeback, the Islanders would turn to their best bucket-getters in Selena Herrera and Gabby Fichter, both of whom would deliver. Herrera would lead all Islanders scoring, going for a season-high 21 points, while Fichter would follow not too far behind with 18 points on the evening.

Their efforts would help jump-start the Islanders’ offense, which would roar back with 32 points in the second half.

Herrera would be excellent in the offensive post down the stretch, scoring on a number of second-chance opportunities as she hauled in six boards. As for Fichter, from an efficiency standpoint, it was not a banner night, but she made her shots when the Islanders needed it most, which included three key free throws down the stretch that would ice the game at 45-42 for Coronado.

“Selena did a great job of helping us get back into the game by grabbing those rebounds and putting them back. Without her, we don’t win that game,” commented Coolidge. “With Gabby, she just has ice in her veins; for a freshman to step up to the line there late in a game we should be losing and go up and nail three free throws was awesome.”

With the win, and their record now at 12-2, Coronado now turns their attention back to league play with a pair of critical road tests against Kearny on February 4 and Mission Bay on February 7; both Central League foes the Islanders have already beaten once this season.