Kennedy Takes Charge in Bonita Varsity Girls’ First-Round CIF Win

Brianna Kennedy was a towering force in Bonita's opening round win over South Hills.

Bonita varsity coach Darren Baumunk’s grand plan for the playoffs is to ride his post players as far as he can to win a championship. On Thursday, the Bearcats executed that plan to perfection with senior center Brianna Kennedy pouring in 19 points to lead the Bearcats to a 62-29 first-round win over the South Hills Huskies.

All season long, super sophomore point guard Nikki Wheatley has handled the brunt of the Bonita offense. Indeed, she reached double figures (10 points) in the first quarter alone on Thursday, on her way to 16 for the night. But Baumunk knows that Bonita needs to feature a balanced inside-outside attack if it wants to return to the division’s championship game.

“Last year, the problem was we got to the game and they stopped Nikki, so then we got in trouble,” Baumunk said. “Now we can put her (Kennedy) into the mix.”

To go along with her 19 points, Kennedy blocked eight shots, her 6-foot-3 presence in the paint too much for the Huskies to overcome.

“Our big girl down low finally started taking the ball to the basket,” Baumunk said, grinning broadly. “I think tonight, finally, was a little spurt of (her) wanting the ball inside, going to the basket, going strong.”

Although Bonita packs a potent one-two punch with Wheatley and Kennedy, Baumunk had high praise for all his players who will be counted on for a deep playoff run.

“Sarah Jackson (power forward) didn’t have a big night tonight, but she’s another player who has been big for us,” Baumunk said. “We had a lot of girls coming to play. Jackie Loy hit some shots today. I thought Kassidy McIntyre played well.”

Up next, Bonita faces either Los Amigos or Glendora on Saturday.