Vaqs sweep Lions; Curtis closing in

2021 EAST COUNTY PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL

ECS staff report

LEMON GROVE – Technically, a basketball game can’t end in a tie, yet aspects of the game can draw even.

Such was the case in East County’s lone girls’ basketball game on Monday(Mar. 22), when El Capitan completed a home-and-home sweep of Liberty Charter by posting a 62-21 triumph.

On Saturday, Vaqueros senior MacKenzie Curtis surpassed the 2,000-point plateau, matching former ECHS legend Stephanie Kindreich with 2,006 career points. Her next target is another historic tie.

The 2005-06 season ended with El Cap’s Kendra Rhea and Santana’s Jordan Franey matching each other with 2,190 points in a race that tilted back-and-forth all season.

Press reports indicate that Franey was dumb-founded that she finished in a tie following the Sultans’ CIF championship game victory.

Presently, Curtis has her vision set on the target number, entering Monday’s contest just 185 points away from climbing over two of the East County’s best. The University of New Mexico bound standout took a huge chunk out of the deficit by registering 27 points in taming the host Lions at Lemon Grove Recreation Center.

Curtis tallied eight of her points in the first quarter en route to a double-double; she also posted 11 rebounds.

“MacKenzie is such a strong player, and she can do things on the court without scoring,” said first-year head coach Dylan Curtis, who officially took over the reins on the team from his (and MacKenzie’s) father, Darin Curtis, the 2002-03 East County coach of the year.

“I’m sure she won’t score so much in our upcoming games because we have a lot of players who can fill the basket.”

Meanwhile, sophomore guard Kaylee Cole connected on a couple of 3-balls, as El Cap mounted a 19-2 advantage through the first quarter. Cole buried four of her five shots from beyond the arc, collected a career-high 15 points.

In addition, Cole registered a team-best four offensive rebounds, whileadding four assists without a turnover.

Just like the first meeting between the clubs to open the 2020-in-’21 season, defense took over in the second half. El Capitan allowed just one Lions basket in the second half.

El Capitan (2-0),which was slated to play five ballgames this week, will now play just two more. On Thursday, the Vaqs travel to play West Hills, then return home on Saturday to take on Steele Canyon at Foster Gym.