CHATSWORTH >> At last.
The Sierra Canyon girls basketball team finally had a chance to take it to Chaminade after a pair of painful losses in the past two years.
Ryann Payne dazzled all over the court, Sophia Jacobsson had an extra bounce in her explosive step and Alexis Griggsby attacked the basket with ferocity in a 79-47 first-round victory over Chaminade in the elite CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs.
This is what they called a feel-good romp.
“It was kind of personal for us,” Payne said.
Yet the air and excitement of this victory was sucked out of the Sierra Canyon gymnasium when Griggsby landed awkwardly on her ankle and had to be helped off the court.
Griggsby was taken to a local emergency room for further evaluation, and Sierra Canyon coach Alicia Komaki said she is already preparing for Tuesday’s Open Division quarterfinal at Troy without her multi-talented star.
“Everyone could see the shift of emotion,” Komaki said. “The first words I said when I walked into the locker room were ‘I’m depressed.’ Even if it’s just a sprain, you want to see everyone walk off the court healthy at the end of a game.”
Chaminade (16-10) beat Sierra Canyon on a Valerie Higgins buzzer-beater in 2015, then delivered a 63-29 beatdown on Sierra Canyon’s home court in last year’s Open Division semifinals.
However a pall of uncertainty hung over the Sierra Canyon program after what should have been a festive celebration.
Jacobsson drove the baseline and delivered a fantastic pass to Griggsby, who tried to shoot while attempting a jump stop and appeared to roll her ankle.
“It sucks that it had to end that way,” Jacobsson said.
Sierra Canyon (21-4) did play without Griggsby for three games in January after she fractured her nose Jan. 17 against Windward and went 2-1, nearly beating San Diego powerhouse Mission Hills during that stretch.
“We’re trying to stay positive, but it’s hard after seeing the way she fell and the way she reacted,” Payne said. “We need to have a positive attitude and positive minds.”
Chaminade, the two-time defending CIF Open Division champion and defending CIF State Open Division champion, put together a sterling first quarter and led 19-16.
Then the game got away quickly.
“We did really well the first quarter, but then I don’t know what happened after that. We did not adjust,” said Chaminade’s Mackenzy Iwahashi, who scored 10 of her 15 points in the first quarter. “They killed us on transition. They push the ball really well. First quarter, we were able to do that too, but we needed to be able to do that the entire game.”
Payne led the stampede with 22 points. Jacobsson finished with 19 points, and Griggsby had 17 points. Sierra Canyon opened a 38-29 halftime lead, a 58-41 lead through three quarters and eventually opened a 32-point lead.
“I was just trying to do whatever I could to help my team,” Payne said. “But I was really impressed with Sophia. … That’s Soph Curry right there.”
Chaminade, meanwhile, will match up with Mission League rival Alemany on Tuesday in an Open Division consolation game to remain sharp while preparing for the CIF state tournament in a few weeks.
Despite the one-sided result on Saturday, Chaminade remained optimistic.
“We’ve been improving each game and figuring out what we need to do and what works best for the team,” Iwahashi said. “We’re just preparing for state now.”
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