Rivers sparks Gaels in two blowout wins

April Rivers is a standout sprinter for Bishop Gorman’s girls track team.

So it seemed fitting when the junior guard got the Gaels out to a fast start on the basketball court Saturday.

Rivers scored 16 of her 22 points in the first half in a 79-47 rout of Mount Miguel (Calif.), then poured in 19 of her 29 points in the first quarter of a 75-58 win over Bishop’s (Calif.) at Gorman.

“When (Rivers) touches the ball, she goes coast to coast, and it’s lightning,” Gorman coach Sheryl Krmpotich said. “I’m really proud of her. She needed a breakout game.”

Rivers wound up with two breakout games. The 5-foot-6-inch spark plug had three steals in the opener and four in the second game, leading to several fast-break opportunities in each contest.

Rivers was a combined 10-for-10 at the free-throw line in the two games and made seven 3-pointers on the day. She made 8 of 13 shots from the field during her 19-point first quarter against Bishop’s and finished 11-for-22.

“My teammates were helping me get open, and it was them feeding me the ball,” Rivers said. “With our offense, we just helped get each other open. When that one person was open, we kept on feeding it to them. Everyone on our team is a shooter. Everyone can contribute.”

Tonishia Childress and San Francisco signee Zhane Dikes scored 10 points each against Mount Miguel, and Julia Ewalefo had six points and nine rebounds.

Dikes had 12 points and four steals against Bishop’s, and Childress supplied nine points, six assists and four steals.

Krmpotich also was impressed with freshman guard Yassemeen Sadullah, who scored nine points against Mount Miguel and eight against Bishop’s.

“I’m really proud of my kids,” Krmpotich said. “Defense and sharing the basketball is where we’ve been concentrating, and it showed today.”

Gorman (13-3) showed its depth in the post. Diamond Major scored eight points against Mount Miguel and had seven points and eight rebounds against Bishop’s, while Meghan Carter tallied seven points against Mount Miguel and scored six against Bishop’s.

“We’ve been practicing really hard, and it’s great to get competition from another state,” Krmpotich said. “This helps us prepare for the next step, which is February.”