Kinder gets her points across as Stockdale girls roll
| Saturday, Jan 31 2009 02:27 AM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 01:30 PM
Images
Stockdale's Jalei Kinder (22) is off on a fast break after getting to a loose ball ahead of North's Cely Alvarez in the first half at Stockdale Friday night.
Just in case her role in Stockdale's multi-faceted girls basketball game doesn't lend her the stats of a superstar, Jalei Kinder has her own fan club to make her feel like one anyway.
They swarmed her again Friday night after Stockdale drilled North 72-41 at home to cement its spot atop the Southwest Yosemite League: Members of the youth girls team she helps coach during the week.
Only this night, there was no need for a morale-boosting fan club. Kinder had just scored 27 points to lead Stockdale's romp, including 7-of-9 shooting from 3-point range.
"I thought it was awesome," Kinder said, her flock of young fans nearby, beaming and waving the posters they made for her. "Everybody came to play and came to win, so we did."
It was a great game, but it simply was Kinder's turn to shine for the Mustangs (18-4, 7-0 SWYL), who don't have a scorer averaging more than 15 points (that's Kinder) but have eight players average at least four points.
"We've got a lot of scorers and there's only one ball," Stockdale co-coach Charles Stewart said. "So not everyone always has as big a game as they could. You've got to distribute it around and play team basketball."
Kinder added four steals for Stockdale.
"Every year, Jalei's gotten better and better and better, and she's just taken it to the next level," Stewart said.
Alexi Smith had 19 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals for Stockdale on a night when reigning Californian Player of the Year Melissa Sweat was relatively quiet. She scored just six points against heavy defensive attention but was able to distribute the ball to open teammates.
"Everybody has a role, and everybody knows their role," Kinder said. "That's just how it goes. Everybody does what they're supposed to to win the game. And that's what it's all about."
The result is lots of games like Friday's, when Stockdale jumped to a 10-1 lead, led 35-23 at halftime and steadily increased the margin until it was another in-town laugher. Stockdale ran its winning streak against Kern County teams to 40 games.
North (18-6, 5-2) came in as the next-best team in the SWYL. The Stars looked like it for a while, putting together a couple of spurts to get back in the game after the Mustangs' early run. They cut the lead to 20-16 early in the second quarter and never appeared flustered by Stockdale's full-court defense.
"We're very pleased with the effort," North coach Hernan Santiago said. "It's disappointing to lose, but they're that good."
Brooke Sampson led North with 14 points and 14 rebounds, but the Stars had 29 turnovers and trailed by as many as 32 in the second half.
"Stockdale is a four-quarter team," Santiago said. "We knew we needed to play four quarters. Their depth is unbelievable."
