PASADENA — The Birmingham girls basketball team won the CIF Los Angeles City Section Open championship for the second time in three years by defeating Westchester 55-50 at Pasadena City College on Saturday.
“It was our main goal – to get here and bring a trophy back home,” said Birmingham coach Victor Koopongsakorn. “Credit goes to all these players. They played so hard. We had a great week of practice this week. They really wanted this one.”
The Patriots (24-6) knocked off the defending section champions largely because they were able to bottle up Westchester star Mariah Blake, who had 23 points in the semifinals and was held to just nine points Saturday.
“Really can’t say enough about the job Deedee Berry did against Mariah,” Koopongsakorn said. “She’s the reigning City Player of the Year. Everything goes through her and we were hoping to force someone else to beat us.”
Berry also sparked the offense, knocking down the first of her three 3-pointers with 4:31 left in the first quarter, which were Birmingham’s first points. She also connected on a pair 3s later in the game that both gave the Patriots a lead.
“She was the only person shooting consistently tonight,” Koopongsakorn said. “The 3-pointers were the only shots she made but those were big shots.”
The Patriots went to halftime with a 24-21 lead after showcasing a deep bench. Sophomores Kamora Coleman and Aniya Johnson were crucial in slowing Westchester’s fast-paced offense while Annette Jones led the way offensively, scoring seven of Birmingham’s 15 points in the quarter. The junior finished with 10 points.
“We have people coming off the bench that are playing great defense, knocking down shots and contributing where they can,” Koopongsakorn said. “It was a total team effort. I don’t think they could have subbed as freely as us. With us able to do that I wasn’t surprised in the fourth when we still had legs and were able to get defensive stops in the…
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