While the Carson High girls basketball team fell again at the San Diego Above the Rim Classic, it was able to end the tournament on an encouraging note.
Carson mounted a comeback before falling short in a 52-44 loss to Oceanside's El Camino, one of the San Diego area's better teams. The Senators trailed 34-19 at halftime but were able to close to within six points in the fourth quarter before falling short.
Carson assistant coach Ron Tamori said head coach Ric Garcia told the team at halftime that he expected it to play with more intensity and that the club responded. Another key, Tamori said, was getting post player Nicole Scott more involved. Scott scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half and also had six rebounds.
"Coach Garcia got them fired up and Nicole showed up a little bit and we tried to give her the ball a little more," Tamori said.
Rosella Nunez, who made the all-tournament team, scored eighth points. Abby Rankl also had a solid game with six points and five rebounds. Tamori also said the play of Brandi Vega and Megan Kilty helped spark the comeback in the second half.
Tamori said that Garcia "challenged (the team) to play harder and smarter" in the second half.
"We made a good charge," Tamori said. "We grew up a little bit. If we can keep this up, we'll be all right. We ended on a positive note and the tournament was a good thing for us."
Carson will next travel for a tournament in Alaska, begining on Tuesday.
