Vaqueros stomp; Giles’ Hiller debut
- Updated: January 6, 2018
2017 EAST COUNTY PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
EastCountySports.com staff report
NATIONAL CITY – The El Capitan girls varsity basketball team had their best offense performance of the season in a 67-25 win over Holtville at the Sweetwater New Year’s Classic tournament on Saturday.
MACKENZIE CURTIS scored 27 points to outscore the Hornets alone, and JORDAN GRANDY added 15 for the Lady Vaqueros.
“When Jordan Grandy and Mackenzie Curtis look for each other, they are a hard tandem to stop,” El Capitan head coach DARIN CURTIS said
Curtis had 20 points in the first half, including four three-pointers.
El Capitan led 22-5 at the end of one quarter.
SHY PERES had 11 points, including seven in the third quarter, and SERENE WECKBACK finished 8 points for El Cap.
“Shy took over the point and really stepped distributing the ball and did a good job running the point for us and” Curtis said. “The girls really swung the ball around the perimeter well and getting others their shots.
“We had a lot of people contribute tonight. The girls are getting hot at the right time for league play.”
El Capitan (5-11) will play West Hills (5-8) at home in Lakeside on Tuesday in a non-league game at 7 p.m. in what is rated to be a tightly contested game.
GRANITE HILLS 37, CRAWFORD 31 – The Lady Eagles won at the Sweetwater New Year’s Classic.
The Eagles jumped out to a commanding lead 16-4 after one quarter and even led 27-10 at halftime before the Colts almost mounted a big comeback in the second half.
PAIGE WELSH was spectacular offensively with three three-pointers and 17 total points.
Granite Hills held on furiously in the fourth.
ALEX PURNELL was key for the Eagles in the second half, contributing six extremely necessary points.
KANI KUBARI added six points for Granite Hills.
The Eagles open up league play at home next Friday against mighty Mount Miguel at 5:30.
MONTE VISTA 46, MISSION BAY 39 – The Monarchs knocked off the Bucs in a tournament game on Saturday.
The Monarchs will face Maranatha Christian on Jan. 9 on the road at 6 p.m.
2017 EAST COUNTY PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
By Dave Dickens
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON (1-6-18) – The Grossmont Lady Foothillers took a tough loss Saturday afternoon at the hands of the Tillers from Tustin (9-6), but the good news for the Hillers was the return to the floor for MARISSA GILES, a transfer from Christian High, who made her Grossmont debut.
It has been an up and down season for the Lady Hillers, however they remain optimistic even after a 50-30 loss to Tustin (9-6) in the SoCal Run N Gun For Against Cancer Classic.
“Tustin was a good, very fundamental team, with very good shooters,” stated Lady Foothiller head coach Grace Campbell. “At the same time, we as a team need to play more consistent in order to compete.”
Today was Giles’ first game playing after sitting out a designated period of time by the San Diego CIF as a school-to-school transfer, as expected a little rust as she picked up 3 quick fouls, so she, unfortunately, had to sit.
“I knew it was going to be an adjustment getting back to playing a game tempo,” Giles said. “A positive takeaway was that I got to be back out there with my teammates, and we just need to keep working together to play as a team. We have great coaches who will help us do that.
“It feels great to be back in the lineup and I am excited for the rest of the season.
The Hillers are still waiting for another key player to heal, as guard ATHENA SOTELO is out with a torn ACL and meniscus, but hopefully back next month.
Sotelo was a major star on Grossmont’s section championship team as a freshman.
“I feel that our team worked hard, although we did not come out as hard as we usually do,” said Hiller CANDACE HENDERSON. “Personally, I felt that I was not attacking the basket as much as I have in previous games.”
The Lady Hillers (7-5) will be preparing for their bout with Carlsbad(9-3) at Grossmont on the 9th at 6 pm.
“To be ready for Carlsbad we need to work on our half-court set and make sure we attack the gaps,” Henderson continued.
