DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:Danner plays beyond her years

Tierney Danner will not graduate for two years but she gives all the impressions of being a senior.

Danner, a forward-center on the Sage Hill School girls’ basketball team, has the refined post game of a veteran player. The drop step is smooth, the turnaround jumper is on the mark and constant double teams do little to fluster her.

She plays with the quiet determination of a player nearing the end of her high school career. Despite the Lightning having only one senior in the starting lineup and three on the 15-player roster, Danner does not have her eyes on next season.

And when crunch time rolls around it is Danner the Lightning lean on the most.

In the fourth quarter of the second to last game of the season, on Capistrano Valley Christian’s concrete court, with remainder of the starting lineup out with foul trouble, Danner took over.

The 5-foot-11 Danner scored 14 points in the final quarter and the two subsequent overtimes. Although Sage Hill lost, 52-51, Danner finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds.

“I was kind of scared when the last starter fouled out,” said Danner, who averaged a team-high 13 points a game during league play along with seven rebounds. “I knew I had to take charge. At the free-throw line it was hard [that the crowd was so loud]. When I was playing I didn’t hear anything. I was just focused on going hard. I was taking shots whenever I had an open look.”

With the Academy League title at stake on Oxford’s court in the season finale Danner scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds, in 42-25 victory, to help the Lightning clinch a share of the title and earn her Daily Pilot Female Athlete of the Week honors.

“I just realized I needed to step up,” Danner said.

Danner and the Lightning will play host to Calvary Chapel of Santa Ana in a CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA second-round match at 7:30 tonight.

Danner’s thoughts prior to the Oxford game were on the Lightning’s seniors and how it was their final regular season contest. That is something senior Kaitlin Tyre appreciates from Danner, who she said is “the nicest person. She is so sweet and funny. She has a great laugh.”

Tyre recalled Danner’s performance against Capistrano Valley Christian.

“We were so shocked and so proud of her,” Tyre said. “We were excited to see her take control. We were like ‘Keep it up. Keep it up.’ She definitely gave us hope to win.”

Tyre said it has been a pleasure to see Danner mature as a player.

“She has become smarter,” Tyre said. “It’s exciting to watch her grow. The way she positions herself. Her incredible shots. I’m like ‘How’d you do that?’ She’s naturally talented and quick.”

Sage Hill Coach Lou Silverman said Danner blends a combination of size and speed to create a force in the paint.

“She’s our main inside presence,” Silverman said. “She’s doing an increasingly good job defensively. She played her heart out against Oxford when we needed that game to clinch league. She has excellent speed for a post player and faster than most players.”

TIERNEY DANNER

Hometown: St. Louis

Born: Feb. 27, 1991

Height: 5-foot-10

Weight: 155 pounds

Sport: Basketball

Position: Forward-center

Coach: Lou Silverman

Favorite food: Pizza

Favorite movie: “The Guardian”

Favorite athletic moment: “Last year. Winning league and getting to the semifinals.”

Week in review: Had 25 points and 16 rebounds in 52-51 loss to Capistrano Valley Christian. Then 14 points and seven rebounds in 42-25 victory over Oxford to clinch a share of the Academy League title.