Undefeated Comets beat Griffins by plenty

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: November 17, 2018

2018 COMMUNITY COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

By Nick Pellegrino
Special to East County Sports

SAN MARCOS (11-18-2018) – Palomar College is off to its best start since the school’s run of several Pacific Coast Athletic Conference championships in the mid-1990s, racing past the visiting Grossmont Griffins, 79-23, in the semifinals of Palomar Comet Tournament at historic Palomar Dome.

The Comets are now 6-0, while Grossmont slipped to 1-3 overall.

An outburst of 34 points in the second quarter gave the hosts a 54-10 halftime lead in the romp, as the leading scorers – Julie Saelee and Imari Cooley each scored 12 points from off the bench.

For Grossmont, Drew Mendoza led with 11 points, with the G-House operating without leading scorer Leanna Watson. Head coach Brionna Baker was unavailable for comment on Watson’s absence following the 56-point disappointment.

L.A. Harbor 69, San Diego City 46: The Seahawks broke open a close game ast the half by out-scoring the Knights, 23-10, in the third quarter to take the victory at downtown’s Harry West Gym.

Guard Katelyn Martin led Harbor (4-3) with 23 points, as she frequently reached the foul line, downing 7-of-10 free throws as the City defense had trouble defending the speedster. Forward Shanara Goldsmith added 15 points, while center Madison Innis grabbed 10 rebounds.

For San Diego City (3-2), Elliott Nixon scored a team-best 19 points, but the remaining starters managed just12 collective points. Fortunately, Kaylynn Cooper came off the bench to keep City close for a half, registering a double-double with 14 points and 16 boards.

San Diego City Tournament

MiraCosta 90, Southwestern 81: Trailing by two points entering the fourth quarter, the visiting Spartans woke up in time to keep the Jaguars winless by scoring 32 points in the fourth quarter in this consolation ballgame at Harry West Gymnasium.

Freshman guard Chynna Cochran (Escondido Adventist) registered 20 points, along with 9 rebounds and 5 assists to fuel MiraCosta (4-3). Cochran scored 8 of her points in the fourth quarter, as MiraCosta held a 32-21 team scoring advantage over the final 10 minutes to snap The host Jags fell to 0-3.

Sophomore forward Victoria Wilson (Del Norte) came off the bench to post a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards, while a trio of Spartans — Helena Betancourt, Julia Iman and Aly Murray – each added 12 points.

Southwestern saw four players hit for double figures in scoring – Satera Bates (15 points), Kaleese Petties (14), Danielle Simmons (13) and Amber Hard (12).

Imperial Valley 76, Porterville 63: The Arabs advanced to the consolation bracket final after mounting an 18-point cushion through two quarters against the winless Pirates (0-6) of central California.

Sophomore forward Destiny Salgado, the team MVP at El Centro-Central in 2015-16, collected career-highs of 30 points and 15 boards in just 28 minutes of action for IVC (2-3), which has won two of its last three outings.