GIRLS: Matadors hold off Wolf Pack
- Updated: January 11, 2020
Helix puts up a shot against El Capitan on Friday night. / @HelixScotties
2020 EAST COUNTY PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL
EastCountySports.com staff report
SPRING VALLEY – The Mount Miguel Matadors figure to have one of their toughest challenges in years in maintaining their stranglehold of the Grossmont Hills League title this season.
One of those challenges came on the opening night of the season, but the young Matadors were able to come through.
In a Grossmont Hills League game at the Matadors’ gym, Mount Miguel junior Jerzey Edmonds had the decisive basket in the fourth quarter to help the Matadors turn away the comeback of visiting West Hills, 43-40.
The Pack rallied from an eight-point deficit behind two threes from Paige Evans in the fourth quarter.
Matador freshman Jennifer Moreno hit a pair of free throws before halftime as Mount Miguel led 25-21 at halftime. Moreno had three three-pointers in the first quarter and finished the game with 18 points.
Mount Miguel’s Angelana Detate hit a three-pointer early in the third quarter to extend the Matador lead to 30-21.
Mount Miguel freshman Ixchel Rojo had a basket late in the third quarter as Mount Miguel led 34-28 at the end of three. Rojo had a three-pointer in the second quarter.
Evans made a basket to bring West Hills to within four but Rojo and Moreno connected on baskets to take the lead 38-30.
That’s when Evans hit her consecutive three-pointers to draw the Wolf Pack to within 38-36. Evans finished with 13 [oints
Anastasia Timothy tied the game at 40-all with a basket with under two minutes to play in the game. It was her second basket of the second half. She finished the game with 12 points, including six in the first quarter as the Wolf Pack had a 16-13 lead over Mount Miguel at the end of the first quarter.
Jacquee Brown had a pair of field goals in the second half for the Matadors and she made a free throw in the waning seconds for the final margin. Brown finished with 10 points.
Nolie Wiley scored five points in the first quarter for West Hills.
EL CAPITAN 64, HELIX 56 – The Lady Vaqueros, behind 24 points from Mackenzie Curtis, won at home against Helix in the Grossmont Hills League opener.
El Capitan jumped out to a somewhat comfortable 16-7 advantage after the first quarter, then extended the lead to 38-24 by halftime.
Tiffany Bickford had a three-pointer for El Capitan in the contest.
Samonah Betts led Helix with 14 points, while Le’Niyah Jones finished with 12 points.
Junior Selena Solomon added 11 points and five rebounds for Helix, which made just 14-of-24 free throws.
Sophomore Ariy’Ana Duke had six points, four blocked shots, three steals and 14 rebounds for the Highlanders.
EL CAJON VALLEY 35, GRANITE HILLS 28 (OT) – Vean Gorgees scored 11 points and freshman Ruth Taulanga had 10 points and 11 rebounds for El Cajon Valley, which won its Grossmont Valley League opener at the Eagles’ gym.
The Braves had to rally from an early deficit and the Eagles led 8-1 after the first period.
But El Cajon Valley rallied in the fourth quarter to force overtime. The Braves outscored the Eagles, 11-5, in the fourth.
Fineita Taulanga had Silvia Aboud both had seven points for the Lady Braves. The pair combined for 17 rebounds.
Aboud had six assists.
Gorgees had a pair of three-pointers.
El Cajon Valley overcame a 7-for-19 night at the foul line.
The Braves had a great sequence in overtime, getting a basket, steal, and another bucket to take control late.
CHRISTIAN 76, MIRA MESA 27 – The Patriots won easily against the Marauders at Ryan Athletic Center on Friday night.
Allie Carreon scored 22 points to lead the Patriots.
“It was a good game for all of us,” Carreon said. “We had great practices over the past few days and I feel like it translated into the game. I feel like we are finally playing the basketball we want to play. Our coaches constantly push us hard at practice and it makes our games feel easy. It’s going to be a good season if we keep playing the way we have been playing recently.”
Simone James added 17 for Christian High.
“We were excited about our home opener and the win,” James said. “I think it will help a lot with our confidence. It really shows in the game when in practice we have been working on running the floor, getting boards, and staying disciplined. I think if we keep it up, each game we will continue to improve.”
Christian’s Koko Akrdige added a trio of three-pointers, while Amaya Howard contributed eight points.
“I am proud of the girls,” Christian High head coach Vickie Carrington said. “Allie had a triple-double, Moe had double-double, and all of the varsity girls scored – such a fun way to open the season. Raelyn Mueca played well offensively and defensively.”
Christian led 46-14 at halftime.
“It was a really good overall team win,” Mueca said. “I’m always happy to do my part and try my best to always be scrappy and give my best effort and hustle. I can’t wait for our upcoming games because we are all getting better every single day.”
SANTANA 46, VALHALLA 17 – Bella Terry scored 21 points for the Sultans, who captured the Grossmont Valley League opener against the Lady Norsemen.
“Bella Terry was huge for us today right from the start,” Santana head coach Jordan Franey said. “She moved with the ball, created shots, and finished. For me as a coach, I couldn’t be prouder of her resilience and her desire to be the best.
Brianna Jerig added 15 points, four steals, and 12 rebounds for the Sultans.
“My kids went out and finally played Santana basketball,” Franey said. “We were aggressive on the offensive end and finished big plays.”
Taylinn Warren, a freshman, had 15 rebounds for Santana.
“We have a lot of work to do ahead of us but I am happy where we are right now,” Franey said. “We took some lumps in our pre-league schedule, but I feel we have learned and continue to work through some of the stuff that still plagues us on the floor.
Lakaila Aguiningoc-David had eight assists for Santana.
“Everyone played tonight and contributed to our success and that’s a sure sign of our progress as a team,” Franey said.
Santana improved to 5-12, while the Lady Norsemen remain winless on the season.
MONTE VISTA 38, STEELE CANYON 35 – Monte Vista won the Grossmont Valley League opener over the host Cougars in on Friday.
The Monarchs’ Jourdan Barber had a pair of field goals in the second quarter, as Monte Vista rallied from an early deficit to lead 18-16 at halftime. Barber also grabbed nine rebounds in the game and recorded four steals.
Sami Gonzalez had nine points, including a three-pointer in the third quarter. She also had a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter and grabbed four boards and made six steals for the game.
Sophomore Meadow Delino returned to the lineup and had 11 points for the Monarchs, including a three-pointer in the first quarter. She also made four steals and blocked three shots.
Maya Garcia had six points and five rebounds for Monte Vista, while teammate Vanessa Braun had six rebounds.
“I think that having all our players definitely helped in tonight’s win,” Monte Vista senior Heidy Romero said. “In the past two weeks, we had players with injuries and all the pieces weren’t completely there.
“Tonight. we all wanted the same thing as a team. We were all very excited and ready for this game. We definitely played with energy and we made sure that all the hard work and dedication we put in offseason could show tonight and hopefully in future games.”
Steele Canyon led 10-5 after the first quarter.
Tia Saunders led Steele Canyon with 11 points.
Sophomore Naomie Munane scored eight points for Steele Canyon.
Prittye Pettiford had five points for the Cougars, four of which came in the fourth quarter.
Senior Khylaya Brandy had a three-pointer in the third quarter for Steele Canyon (0-13).
