Daily Pilot Girls’ Basketball Dream Team: Sage Hill’s Isabel Gomez oversaw growth of teammates
After it was all over, Sage Hill School senior basketball star Isabel Gomez said she experienced two feelings not often associated with each other — pure joy and exhaustion.
Gomez gave everything she had to the program for four years, and she could finally exhale when she walked off the court for the last time as a winner.
A four-year starter for the Lightning, Gomez morphed her game into whatever it needed to be to best serve the success of the team, and the development of teammates, in her time at Sage Hill.
The floor general’s senior year is not marked by gaudy statistics, but it will go down as a historic one, as Gomez led the Lightning to the CIF State Division II championship, the first state title in any sport in school history.
“This is one of those moments in time where it cannot change,” Sage Hill coach Kerwin Walters said. “It won’t ever change. Records can be broken. Someone can come by and beat our 27 wins for the season. That can be done. Someone can win another state title. That can be done, but there will never be another first here … for this school.”
Sage Hill (27-10, 6-2 in the San Joaquin League) set a school record for wins in a single season. The Lightning also advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA finals, dropping the final to Orange Lutheran 66-61. Sage Hill beat Ontario Christian 62-55 in the Division 3AA final the previous season for its first CIF championship.
Following that loss, the Lightning rallied, taking advantage of the opportunity afforded to them with an invite to the state playoffs, earning three wins in the last minute en route to the state title. Gomez was entrusted with the inbounds pass coming out of timeouts, including for Kat Righeimer’s game-winner in the closing seconds of the Southern California regional final at Corona Santiago.
“With our team, there is a trust factor that I have seen that it doesn’t matter who takes the shot that’s on the floor,” Walters said. “As long as it’s a good shot, a good look, it’s a good look. I think that’s the difference from us from a lot of teams.”
Sage Hill played 10 postseason games, seven of them away from Peter V. Ueberroth Gymnasium.
“You had just been going at such a high speed for so long,” Gomez, now a two-time Daily Pilot Girls’ Basketball Dream Team Player of the Year, said of the playoff run. “It was just so great that it paid off in a really positive way. … It was awesome.”
Gomez shared Division 2AA Player of the Year honors with Orange Lutheran’s Sheridan Kennedy, and she was a San Joaquin League first-team selection. She averaged 13.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.3 steals for the Lightning.
The University of Pennsylvania-bound senior led a team that started four sophomores to a state title, choosing to get the ball into the hands of teammates so the team could “be a threat from all sides.”
“I knew with this group coming in that we had a chance to do something really special,” Gomez said. “I just wanted to be present with that and do as much as I could to put us in a position where we’ll be successful.”
The highs have been high, and the lows have been low for Gomez, who proved during times of adversity to be a steadying force for her team. Gomez, who wore No. 24 for the Lightning, said she had the opportunity in fifth grade to interview Kobe Bryant, and in high school, she had four teammates that played for him in club.
Following the fatal helicopter crash that took the lives of Kobe Bryant and eight others in January 2020, Gomez paid tribute to Bryant by setting the ball on the hardwood with 24 seconds on the shot clock to take a violation to open a game.
“The whole accident and everything that happened is definitely an incalculable loss for a lot of people for a lot of reasons,” Gomez said. “I’m really proud of how our group has stayed mentally tough and in the present moment. I think it’s really easy, in times of loss, to lose parts of yourself to past moments.
“I just think for everyone, just focusing on being together, being the group that we have, was important.”
COACH OF THE YEAR
Kerwin Walters
Sage Hill
Moving up two divisions is not easy, but the Lightning signaled themselves ready for the challenge when they split their season series with Orangewood Academy (Open Division) and Fairmont Prep (Division 1) in San Joaquin League play. Sage Hill set a school record for wins in a season with 27, and although the “battle-tested” Lightning failed in their bid to win back-to-back CIF titles, they rebounded to end the season on a win in the Division II final against Fresno San Joaquin Memorial, the first state title in any sport in school history. The Lightning performed in the clutch, too. During the state playoffs, three different players — Zoie Lamkin against Long Beach Poly, Kat Righeimer against Corona Santiago and Emily Eadie against San Joaquin Memorial — made shots to give the Lightning the lead in the final minute of a game.
FIRST TEAM
Addie Deal
G | Pacifica Christian | Fr.
After falling in the Division 5A final last season, the Tritons played in their second consecutive section championship game, and it would be hard to argue that Deal did not put them over the top. Deal had 27 points and five steals, as Pacifica Christian defeated Temple City 69-44 on the road for the Division 4A title. Deal, the Academy League MVP and the Division 4A Player of the Year, averaged 21.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 3.9 steals per game for Pacifica Christian (26-6, 8-0 in the Academy League). The Tritons played at a breakneck pace, averaging 57.1 points per game and rattling off an 18-game winning streak that spanned the Academy League season and the CIF title run. Senior forward Jamie MacKay (11.4) and sophomore guard Annika Jiwani (11.8) also averaged double digits in scoring for the season.
Chase Dionio
G | Newport Harbor | Sr.
Able to score in the halfcourt or the open floor, Dionio led the area in scoring at a clip of 21.7 points per game for Newport Harbor (19-9, 6-0 in the Wave League). Deadly in transition, she averaged 3.4 steals per contest to get the fastbreak started. The Sailors’ backcourt knew to take off when the ball was taken away, as senior point guard Cydney Jover also supplied 10 points and 2.2 steals nightly. In her two seasons at Newport Harbor, Dionio twice led the Sailors to the Wave League championship, the first league titles for the program since 1994, according to Newport Harbor coach Jillian Angell. She was the Wave League MVP both years. The Sailors also beat Temecula Rancho Christian in the Division 4A title game coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic last season.
Margaret Tengan
G | Fountain Valley | Sr.
Fountain Valley (18-7, 5-1 in the Surf League) was as consistent as it gets, never losing two games in a row during the regular season. To pull that off, a team needs something it can count on, and the Barons could put their trust in Tengan, especially from behind the three-point line. Tengan, the co-Surf League MVP, made a school-record 54 three-pointers in a single season, a record previously held by Andie Kristinat. She poured in 14.5 points per game. It is the end of an era for Fountain Valley, which had twins Margaret and Audrey Tengan on the varsity roster since they were freshmen. In that time, the Barons made four playoff appearances, won the Wave League title in 2020, were promoted to the Surf League the next year, and ended that span with an outright Surf League crown this season.
Emily Eadie
F | Sage Hill | So.
Seemingly everyone had a shining moment for Sage Hill in a record-setting season. Eadie will be remembered for giving the Lightning the lead — not once, but twice — in the final minute of the Division II state championship game against San Joaquin Memorial. Eadie, an All-CIF Division 2AA and a San Joaquin League first-team selection, averaged 14.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. After appearing in back-to-back CIF finals and winning its first state title, Sage Hill will look to run it back with four returning starters. Guards Kat Righeimer and Zoie Lamkin, center Annabelle Spotts and Eadie will all be heading into their junior season.
Makena Tomlinson
C | Corona del Mar | Sr.
The Sea Kings often kept themselves in games with defense, and Tomlinson’s presence in the paint could make teams look to shoot over the top. Corona del Mar (15-12, 4-2 in the Surf League) held opponents to 41.2 points per game, overcoming a 2-7 start to the season to make the playoffs and earn a first-round win at Ridgecrest Burroughs. Tomlinson, who shared Surf League MVP honors with Fountain Valley’s Margaret Tengan, contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds per game, despite being on a minutes restriction for the first eight games of the season. A three-year starter for the Sea Kings, Tomlinson became the first CdM player to score 1,000 points in a career since Natalia Bruening, a three-time Daily Pilot Dream Team Player of the Year.
SECOND TEAM
Position, Name, School, Year
G Lani Bowman, Newport Christian, Jr.
F Mia Cassel, Edison, So.
G Annika Jiwani, Pacifica Christian, So.
F Jamie MacKay, Pacifica Christian, Sr.
F Sophie Marriner, Laguna Beach, Jr.
G/F Kat Righeimer, Sage Hill, So.
G Mackenzie Sanchez, Estancia, Sr.
G Audrey Tengan, Fountain Valley, Sr.
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