EAST COUNTY SPORTS - Real Sports... Real Time

East County Sports.com
CARSON (6-27-06) -- Helix High forward DIANA LEASAU, one of three East County products to participate in the Southern California Classic all-star game this past season, has signed a letter of intent to receive a scholarship at Cal State-Dominguez Hills, an NCAA Division II school. Leasau joins BRIGAYLE IGLEHART of Grossmont College, who agreed earlier in the year to play for Toros coach VAN GIRARD.

Leasau was named to the All-San Diego County first-team in voting by the media through the San Diego Hall of Champions. The 5-foot-9 forward was also a first-team All-East County honoree by East County Sports.com, and a first-team All-Grossmont South League selection by league coaches.

Leasau ranked fifth in East County with a 14.9 scoring average, including a single-game high 27 against Fallbrook, for the second-highest scoring team in the Grossmont Conference. She also rated among the tops in the East County in several categories, including 4th in foul shooting (.729) and 7th in assists (3.1),

CSU-Dominguez Hills (17-10) is one of the top teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn., finishing in a tie for second place this past season before falling in the first round of the NCAA West Regional in overtime to host Western Washington, 82-74.

East County Sports.com
TORRANCE (4-15-06) -- Santana High senior JORDAN FRANEY, the CIF-San Diego Section player of the year by the media, and the section coaches' CIF Division III player of the year, received another honor over the weekend, named by Cal-Hi Sports to a second-team berth on the All-State team. Franey is joined by another local standout, San Diego High junior Paris Johnson.

Meanwhile, senior JERICA WILLIAMS of Mount Miguel, the CIF-San Diego Section player of the year as a junior, and El Capitan center ALLISON DUFFY, were both recognized by Cal-Hi, named to the state All-Division II team.

Franey, the East County player of the year and the region's scoring champion in 2005-06, averaged 24.5 points and 11.4 rebounds for the CIF-SDS Division III champion Sultans.

Franey, a 5-foot-11 forward who will attend UC Santa Barbara, also ranked among the East County leaders in field-goal shooting (2nd at .486), 3-point shooting (2nd with 48), and rebounding (3rd at 11.4/game). She is also a standout student, carrying a 4.30 grade-point average.

Williams, a 3.54 GPA student who will play for UCLA in the fall, carried the Matadors to CIF title game appearances in each of her four years, winning section titles the first three seasons. Included was a berth in the CIF Southern California championship game to cap the 2005 campaign.

Williams, a 5-foot-11 forward, averaged 14.9 points per contest, and ranked among the leaders in almost every category in East County.

Duffy will play for San Diego State next season following a strong campaign in the second half, as the Vaqueros overcame several obsticles to reach the CIF semifinals before barely falling to Williams' Matadors.

Duffy, a 6-foot-2 center, who finished second to Franey in scoring at 21.1/game, also placed second in foul-shooting (79.5 percent), third in field-goal shooting (47.6) and one of five East County players to reach double figures in rebounding (10.4).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS -- By the strangest of coincidences, over the 4-year varsity careers of Franey and Duffy, the pair both finished with an identical total of 2,190 career points. However, Duffy gains the slightest of edges, accumulating her points in 104 career contests, while Franey participated in 108 ballgames. Unless some other player finished this season with more career points than the East County duo (possibly Ramona's London Houchin), the total would list in a tie for 10th place on the all-time CIF-SDS rankings, eclipsing the East County record of 2,006 points set by STEPHANIE KINDREICH of El Capitan (1994-97).

Duffy also snapped the East County record for career rebounds with 1,291, ranking seventh all-time in the CIF-SDS. The old mark was 1,281 by former Vaqueros center KENDRA RHEA (1996-99).

East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (4-9-06) -- El Capitan High senior standouts ALLISON DUFFY and CORY BROWN each blocked a record eight shots in their respective games Saturday (Apr. 8), leading all-star basketball teams from San Diego to a sweep of Los Angeles based stars at the Southern California Classic held at San Diego State's Peterson Gym.

Duffy, joined by East County's JERICA WILLIAMS of Mount Miguel and DIANA LEASAU of Helix, were part of a 6-player local contingent which still breezed to an easy 54-34 decision in the girls contest.

Meanwhile, Brown, joined by three players from Granite Hills -- BRANDEN PRIDE, NICK TAYLOR and Occidental bound CLARK GORDON -- also posted eight points and 13 rebounds to sink L.A., 101-74, in the boys ballgame.

Taylor also captured the 3-point shooting contest, despite being placed in the most-difficult spot in the rotation. Competing last among five different pairs of shooters, Taylor registered the best score in the prelims with 15 baskets. However, without a rest period like the shooter before him, the Eagles senior since managed 11 treys in the final to capture the event.

The competition was sponsored by Dream Vision (http://www.dreamvisionsd.com/), a Chula Vista based organization founded in 2001 to expand opportunities for success to at-risk youth and enhance life skills through a variety of youth development services and programs.

The number of players filling roster spots was limited because of an NCAA rule limiting seniors to just two all-star game appearances, plus the influx of new contests in recent years, including the inaugural CIFSDS sponsored game at Point Loma Nazarene University, the McDonald's Classic coming to San Diego, a new Riverside County-North San Diego County game at Palomar College Friday (Apr. 7), along with annual local contests, such as the East County All-Star Game which was held at Cuyamaca College.

East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (4-5-06) -- The second annual Southern California Classic -- showcasing the top senior high school boys and girls basketball in Southern California -- all-star games will be held on Saturday (Apr 8) at San Diego State's Peterson Gym. All-star girls 3-point contest is at 5:20 with the girls game beginning at 5:30. All-star boys 3-point and slam-dunk contests will be at 7:00; boys' tip-off is at 7:30.

The teams will be comprised of seniors representing Los Angeles vs. San Diego counties. The San Diego County boys team will be coached by Granite Hills boys basketball coach RANDY ANDERSON.

Halftime in the Girls game will feature Youth Outstanding Scholar/Athlete Achievements Awards presentation, Kids All-Star Exhibition and MVP award presentation. Halftime of the Boys game will present Believe & Achieve Award (Honoree: REGGIE BUSH), Youth Outstanding Scholar/Athlete Achievement Awards presentation and Kids All-Star Exhibition, along with MVP award presentation.

The event was created by Dream Vision, Inc. to provide exposure opportunities for high school students from Southern California excelling in their academic and athletic accomplishments.

East County senior girls participating and playing for the San Diego All-Stars are JERICA WILLIAMS (Mount Miguel) and ALLISON DUFFY (El Capitan).

East County senior boys slatedto participate for the San Diego All-Stars are NICK TAYLOR (Granite Hills), CORY BROWN (El Capitan) and BRANDEN PRIDE (Granite Hills).

Tickets are $10 at the door. Passes are not permitted. Parking, which is strictly enforced, is $1/hour and the yellow self-serve machines take only bills (no coins). Parking is available in Structure IV near Peterson Gym. For more information, see the website www.dreamvisionsd.com.

East County Sports.com
POINT LOMA (3-25-06) -- With all four seniors from the All-East County first-team in girls basketball together as a unified team, joined by players from the Metro and City conferences, the South rallied from a 14-point deficit with 12:08 remaining to again stun the North, 70-67, in the San Diego Section Senior All-Star Basketball Game at Point Loma Nazarene University.

ALLISON DUFFY of El Capitan scored on a putback of an offensive rebound with 3:38 left to give the South its first lead of the second half, 64-63, then La Jolla Country Day's Ashley Booker prevented a last-second shot to force overtime by stripping the basketball away to give the South its third win in four contests against the North.

"This was the next step for a lot of us," said the San Diego State-bound Duffy. "There were a lot of top players on the court, and we'll be playing against each other again."

Two of those will be JERICA WILLIAMS of Mount Miguel (UCLA) and JORDAN FRANEY of Santana (UC Santa Barbara). Williams overcame recent ankle woes to capture the 3-point shooting contest Friday (Mar. 24), nailing 15 treys in the preliminary round, then sinking a shot at the buzzer of the final to win.

Williams' 15 treys were the second-most -- girls or boys -- of the CIF-SDS sponsored event at Point Loma Nazarene's Golden Gym, topped only by the 19 by boys titlist Nedal Tartir of Orange Glen. However, Williams was more pleased at winning the all-star game.

"Oh, my God -- that one unit went in there and played great defense," noted Williams. "Then we went back in there and brought it home. It was a fight, but we won it."

Added Franey, "We all came together one last time and played well. It was awesome to play with such awesome competition."

Unlike the halfcourt style employed by many teams, Helix forward DIANA LEASAU enjoyed the wide-open play.

"It was fun because it was top competition," she said. "And it was fun playing with people who know how to run with the ball."

Mission Bay's 6-foot-3 point guard Jadawn Holler (11 points, five rebounds, four assists) gained MVP honors for the South. Carlsbad's Sabrina Gonzalez (14 points) was the North MVP.

East County Sports.com
BALBOA PARK (3-21-06) -- The San Diego Hall of Champions has released the results for the All-CIF San Diego Section basketball teams for 2005-06, headed by Santana High senior JORDAN FRANEY as the player of the year in girls basketball.

Franey, the East County player of the year and the region's scoring champion, led the Sultans to a ninth SDCIF section championship, advancing to the state Elite Eight in Division III. She marveled the rest of the media by scoring 161 points in five postseason contests, including 35 against Kearny in the section final at USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Franey, one of five East County girls honored by the Hall, will play for UC Santa Barbara next season.

The Grossmont Conference dominated the voting, gaining four berths on the 10-player first-team of all-stars. Joining Franey were ALLISON DUFFY of El Capitan, JERICA WILLIAMS, Mount Miguel;and Helix's DIANA LEASAU. All four are seniors.

Duffy will play for San Diego State next season, Williams is ticketed for UCLA, while Leasau's plans are still in the air.

In addition, Helix sophomore Brittany Williams was a second-team all-section selection.

Meanwhile, on the boys side, the East County landed.just two berths, as East County player of the year NICK TAYLOR of Granite Hills gained the 10th and final first-team berth, while El Capitan center CORY BROWN was a second-team honoree.

Chase Budinger, the new career scoring leader in the CIFSDS, was a unanimous player of the year selection. He powered La Costa Canyon to the boys Division I crown and will play for Arizona next season.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (3-11-06) -- Santana senior JORDAN FRANEY has been selected the East County Sports.com East County Player of the Year. The 5-foot-11 Franey averaged more than 32 points per game in five post-season games that helped Santana reach the semifinals of the Southern California CIF Regional playoffs.

Franey played a prominent role in Santana's winning of a ninth San Diego CIF Division III championship. She averaged an East County-leading 24.5 points per game for the 21-10 Sultans. Franey also ranked among the shooting leaders in field goals and free throws, nailed 48 three-pointers, hauled down 11.4 rebounds per game, dished 3.0 assists, made 4.1 steals and blocked 42 shots.

It was the third time in her four-year varsity career that Franey -- who will attend UC Santa Barbara on a basketball scholarship -- has earned a spot on the All-East County team. She was a first-team choice the past two seasons after earning a second team berth as a sophomore.

East County Sports.com Coach of the Year honors go to Grossmont High's TIM JOLLETT, who led the Foothillers to a school-record 22 victories in his first year at the helm.

El Capitan freshman guard ASHLEY DUFFY was selected the East County Sports.com Rookie of the Year. Duffy averaged 10.3 points and an East County-best 5.7 steals per game.

Other notables: El Capitan senior ALLISON DUFFY was named All-East County Sports.com first team for the third consecutive season. Mount Miguel's JERICA WILLIAMS earned first team honors for the second year in a row after earning second-team as a sophomore. One bit of irony was Duffy was tabbed East County Sports.com Player of the Year as a sophomore, Williams grabbed the honor last year and Franey claimed it this year. All three have major college scholarships, with Duffy going to SDSU and Williams to UCLA

Only the state's best can eliminate
East County's best in CIF SoCal semis

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (3-10-06) -- The East County basketball season came to end Thursday night (Mar. 9) as both Mount Miguel and Santana lost in the Southern California CIF semifinals. The Matadors were plowed under by defending state-champion Fullerton Troy, 73-42, in a Division II contest in Orange County, while upstart Santana was eliminated by Bishop Amat, 60-32, in a Division III tussle in La Puente.

FULLERTON-TROY 73, MOUNT MIGUEL 42 -- The scrappy Matadors (24-8) ran into a buzzsaw in Fullerton. The Warriors simply possess too much talent and too much height.

"They have five girls going out on Division I (college) scholarships," Matadors coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL said. "They aren't ranked where they are for nothing."

Mount Miguel stayed close for the majority of the first quarter, trailing only 15-14. The Warriors shifted gears and went on a 15-0 scoring spree to put the Matadors out of contention. Troy led 37-21 by halftime.

Troy burned the Matadors with a dozen 3-pointers.

"We zoned them in the first half and it didn't work," Sandoval said. "When we switched to 'man' it still didn't stop them."

JERICA WILLIAMS led Mount Miguel with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.

When these two teams met in the finals of the Santana-Horsman Automotive Christmas Classic on Dec. 30, 2005, the Warriors (32-1) prevailed 55-40. It was on that night that Mount Miguel junior PRECIOUS ROBINSON played her finest game of the season, scoring 21 points and pulling down 8 rebounds.

Robinson had just 4 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks in the regional rematch. LASHAWN JOHNSON, who scored 9 in December against the Warriors was limited to a single free throw on Thursday.

Troy defeated Mount Miguel 48-31 in last year's SoCal Championship game.

Mount Miguel scoring: Jerica Williams 20, Shanice Howard 6, Monique Clayton 5, Precious Robinson 4, Tavasha Yarbrough 4, Branesha Johnson 2, Lashawn Johnson 1.

LA PUENTE-BISHOP AMAT 68, SANTANA 32 -- Although the Sultans (21-10) were completely overmatched by the Lancers (33-1) in Thursday's SoCal Regional semifinals, Sultans coach WADE VICKERY wasn't disappointed by the outcome.

"I'm very proud of the way we finished," Vickery said. "I don't think we were a very good team a couple of months ago. We have come a long way in a very short time."

Vickery concludes his 26th season with a career record of 609-119.

The Lancers, ranked No. 2 in the state behind Troy, led 35-11 at halftime in a game that was never in doubt, as Bishop Amat features a lineup that includes players 6-3, 5-11, 5-11, and 5-9 tall.

"They are a great team, are very quick and well coached," Vickery said. "They have good sportsmanship, have class. They do everything really, really well. I like to see good teams stand for good sportsmanship. I appreciate that."

Santana senior JORDAN FRANEY went out on top of her game. She was 10-for-10 from the free throw line on her way to a 25-point finish. She added one 3-pointer to her totals, and snagged 7 rebounds. In five post-season games, Franey scored 161 points -- an average of 32.2 per game.

Santana scoring: Jordan Franey 25, Ashley Baker 2, Brittany Fenn 2, Shannon Bailey 2, Danielle Balough 1 (4 assists).

Santana's Shae Bass takes a slight elbow to the head, yet still scores the layin in its CIF regional victory over visiting Anaheim-Magnolia, 59-48.
(Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

Sultans, Matadors advance
in SoCal regional playoffs

East County Sports.com
BREA (3-8-06) -- Following a disappointing finish in the San Diego CIF Division II championship game on Saturday (Mar. 4) that resulted in a one-point loss to Kearny, the Mount Miguel Matadors hit the road as underdogs at Brea-Olinda in Tuesday's (Mar. 7) opening round of the State CIF Tournament.

In another close call, the Matadors claimed a 48-47 nod over the Wildcats to advance to the SoCal Regional semifinals on Thursday (Mar. 9) against Fullerton Troy (30-1), the state's top-ranked team.

Mount Miguel (24-7) rebounded nicely from the section setback, taking a 20-12 lead in the second quarter at Brea-Olinda. But the Wildcats (20-12) used an 8-0 run to tie the count at 20-20 by intermission.

LASHAWN JOHNSON scored 7 of her career high 18 points in the 3rd quarter as Mount Miguel moved out to a 10-point lead. But even that lead wasn't safe as the Wildcats clawed back to within 46-44 with less than a minute to play.

PRECIOUS ROBINSON came up with a steal with 30 seconds remaining that would help Mount Miguel dissolve the clock. The seconds did tick away, but Brea-Olinda was still in the game when Mount Miguel's JERICA WILLIAMS missed the front end of a one-and-one.

Or so they thought.

Once again Robinson came up with the big board.

"Once Precious got the ball she kicked it out to MONIQUE (CLAYTON)," Matadors coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL said.

Clayton was fouled with five seconds remaining and hit both ends of a one-and-one to stretch Mount Miguel's lead to 48-44.

Brea-Olinda cut the margin by hitting an uncontested 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded.

Sandoval credited SHANICE HOWARD and VICTORIA MURPHY for their defensive work on Brea-Olinda's Jeanette Pohlen, who scored late to push her game count to 21.

"The big thing about Pohlen is we kept her from getting her teammates involved," Sandoval said.

Ten of the Matadors' wins have come by eight points or fewer, including five by two points or less. Three of their seven losses were by four points or fewer.

Mount Miguel scoring: Johnson 18, Williams 13, Robinson 7, Clayton 6, Howard 4.

Senior forward Jordan Franey makes her move to the basket, en route to 33 points to best visiting Anaheim-Magnolia.
(Photo by Chris Edwards)
FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

SANTANA 59, ANAHEIM MAGNOLIA 48 -- The Santana Sultans are all about senior JORDAN FRANEY.

The 5-foot-11 Franey has become a post-season scoring machine, tabbing an average of 34 points per outing in Santana's four-game playoff sweep.

Franey hit 8 of 19 shots from the field and 12 of 16 free throws for 33 points to log her fourth straight 30-point scoring spree at the expense of the Sentinels (21-11).

Franey garnered half of her game-high 16 rebounds and added 10 points in the 4th quarter.

"They were an awesome team, but we beat them with our defense," Franey said. â€œ"ve been working on perfecting our lock-down defense and learning how to pinch off the driving lanes. It was all about defense. That is what won it for us."

Franey scored 20 points in the first half as Santana claimed a 32-21 halftime advantage.

"I thought we'd be underdogs coming in," Santana coach WADE VICKERY said. "But I thought we played just unbelievable."

Vickery was specific in his critique of the Sultans play. The swift start was sparked by Santanaâ€™s unheralded crew.

"NICOLE BRZECZEK comes in and hits a 3, KELSEY ASH hits a 3, and SHAE BASS, who never dives on the floor dives on the floor in the first half," Vickery said. "I mean the girls played hard."

As excited as Santana (21-9) was by the outcome, the Sultans started out slow, missing nine of their first 10 shots. Fortunately, Santana's defense kept the Sentinels offense in check.

"We got a lot of easy (scoring) opportunities, but were missing them," Vickery said. "Then all of a sudden our defense tightened up, limited them to one shot. I think we played better (than we did in the SDCIF section III final against Kearny) because this team is way better than Kearny."

Santana scoring: Franey 33, Kelsey Ash 8 (5 reb.), Bass 5 (6 ast.), Shannon Bailey 4, Danielle Balough 4, Nicole Brzeczek 3, Ashley Baker 2 (9 reb.).

Road to State CIF opens Tuesday

East County Sports.coim
SANTEE (3-6-06) -- San Diego CIF Division III-champion Santana will host CIF-Southern Section runner-up Magnolia of Anaheim in Tuesday's (Mar. 7) opening round of the Southern California Regional playoffs.

While the Sultans (20-9) are entertaining the Sentinels (21-10), Mount Miguel (23-7) travels to Brea-Olinda (20-11) for a Division II SoCal Regional contest. Both begin at 7.

Magnolia was riding an eight-game winning streak before falling to Diamond Ranch 40-36 in Saturday's (Mar. 4) Southern Section finals. Santana handled Kearny 71-59 in the SDCIF championship game.

One thing Santana coach WADE VICKERY has to like about this match-up is Magnolia and Kearny have similar playing styles.

"They are very quick," Vickery said. "But they aren't real tall and they are quite young, starting three sophomores."

Santana was able to handle Kearny's press, and must do the same to have success against Magnolia.

"We don't want to get into a track meet with them, that's for sure," Vickery said. "If we can handle their press and take advantage of our size it would give us a shot."

Mount Miguel, which is accustomed to enjoying lopsided victories, has been involved in more close encounters than coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL expected this season.

Nine of the Matadors' wins have come by eight points or fewer, including by four by two points or less. Three of their seven losses were by four points or fewer.

Mount Miguel has been East County's most successful girls team in the SoCal playoffs. The Matadors reached Division II regional finals last year before falling to top-seeded Fullerton Troy.

East County Sports.com
ALCALA PARK (3-5-06) -- Santana coach WADE VICKERY has seen his share of talented basketball players dribble through East County during his 26 years as the coach of the Sultans.

Few have caught his eye more than senior JORDAN FRANEY -- a 5-foot-11 senior, who carried Santana Sultans to its 9th San Diego CIF championship on Saturday (Mar. 4) at the Jenny Craig Pavilion at the University of San Diego.

Franey scored 35 points and pulled down 14 rebounds as the Sultans clipped Kearny 71-59 to advance to the Southern California Regionals against a yet-to-be-named opponent on Tuesday night (Mar. 7). The only sure thing is the game will be played in Santee.

"That's a relief in itself,"said Vickery, who was spewing accolades Franey's way after her dominating performance against the physical Komets (15-13).

Vickery, the winningest coach in SDCIF girls basketball history with 607 wins, mentioned several other top-notch seniors finishing their career this year, but could not rate any of them higher than his own four-year star pupil.

Franey produced 103 points and 38 rebounds in Santana's three-game sweep to the SDCIF Division III title.

"If she's not the best player in the county, I don't know who it would be,"Vickery said. "I like (Ramona's London) Houchin and I like (El Capitan's ALLISON) DUFFY, but Franey played big in our biggest game of the year so far."

That kind of effort will be demanded of Franey -- bound for the University of California-Santa Barbara to play basketball next season.

"She's not afraid to mix it up," Vickery said. "She's determined to do whatever it takes to win."

For the moment, Franey's focus is on the Southern California CIF Regional playoffs that begin on Tuesday (Mar. 7).

"We want to keep on winning, take this thing as far as we can go," Franey said. "This was a physical game and all of our girls stood up to it."

Franey is averaging 24.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 4.2 steals for the Sultans (20-9).

"I've had more talented players, but not many work harder than Jordan," Vickery said. "She came up big when we needed her to."

Not that Kearny (15-13) was ready to play the role of spectator. But the Komets never led after the opening minute.

Santana was on top 68-49 when Vickery flooded the floor with reserves with 2:49 unplayed.

Guard SHAE BASS added 8 points, 7 assists and 3 steals, while SHANNON BAILEY came up with 8 points off the bench.

Santana shot 45 percent from the floor and made 17 of 21 free throws. Those are numbers of champions.

"I feel like I've just run a marathon," Vickery said following Saturday's latest addition to the Santana trophy case. "It's been a tough season in a lot of ways. But we are playing well at the right time now."

Santana scoring: Franey 35, Shannon Bailey 8, Shae Bass 8, Danielle Balough 6, Nicole Brzeczek 6, Kelsey Ash 5, Ashley Baker 2, Jamie Elias 1.

East County Sports.com
ALCALA PARK (3-4-06) -- It could easily have been the comeback of a lifetime.

Looking hopelessly lost after trailing by 18 points, Mount Miguel somehow pieced together a rally to take its first lead with 2:01 remaining, moving into position to equal Point Loma's mammoth record of four straight CIF girls basketball titles among the larger school divisions.

However, Mt. Carmel center Whitney Spence answered by sinking two foul shots with 9.2 seconds to play, then the Sundevils survived a last-second shot by the Matadors to upset the 3-time defending champions to capture the Division II girls basketball title, 52-51, at USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion.

After the Matadors' LASHAWN JOHNSON hit one of two free throws for a 51-50 lead with 18.3 seconds remaining, Spence, who dominated the boards all night, grabbed an offensive rebound -- her 16th board of the contest -- and was fouled on the putback.

Needing a basket to keep their string of titles in tact, the Matadors' senior MONIQUE CLAYTON found herself with the ball but trapped on the baseline. The senior guard wisely called a timeout. Two seconds remained, so Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL made the obvious selection in the huddle.

"If I had to make that choice 10 times, I would choose JERICA WILLIAMS all 10 times," said Sandoval. "She's been here for us all four years, so I trust her no matter the situation."

Williams, a reigning SDCIF Division II player of the year with a scholarship to UCLA in her pocket, collected the ball to the left of the basket. She turned and let loose, but the storybook finish was not to be when the ball hit off the backiron, giving Mt. Carmel its first SDCIF title since switching to the classification.

The Sundevils owned four previous Division I crowns, including consecutive wins in 2000-01. Among their five overall titles, three have come by just one point, with the others coming in 1990 against Santana, and 2000 over El Camino in overtime.

Williams, who has been battling nagging ankle injury for the past two weeks, said, "My ankle is blue, but it's the championship game." She wanted to play, even if it meant going at less than 100 percent. The lastg shot, she believed, belonged in someone else's hands.

"Honestly, I thought someone else should've taken the shot," said Williams. "I wasn't shooting well, while others like PRECIOUS (ROBINSON), Monique or Lashawn were."

The miss overshadowed Mount Miguel's rally after trailing 33-15 late in the first half, unable to generate many second-chance opportunities as the 6-foot-2 Spence was clearing the glass.

But it was a different set of Matadors following the intermission, utilizing a 17-7 scoring advantage in the third period to leap back into the contest.

"Our defense showed some intensity and heart," Williams explained. "We didn't save anything since it was the last game -- and I'm proud of our year."

Fortunately for Mount Miguel, because of the San Diego Section's recent success in the division, including teams like the Matadors, El Capitan and Santana (before the Sultans were switched to Division III), two teams will probably make the CIF state tournament, although the Matadors will probably open on the road this Tuesday (Mar. 7).

Johnson paced Mount Miguel with 14 points, including a layin with 3:22 left to finally move the team level at 46-all. The junior forward was also named recipient of the CIF Sportsmanship Award.

Clayton went 6-for-6 at the foul line for half of her 12 points, including a pair for its initial lead at 48-46 with 2:01 left, while Robinson scored seven of her 11 points in the fourth period.

Spence scored eight of her 14 points in the final quarter after hitting just 2-of-12 shots in the first three periods. Meanwhile, the Sundevils Jenna Breite scored all of her 14 points in the first half to mount the huge advantage, but was shutout in the second half before fouling out with 2:28 remaining.

Mount Miguel scoring: Johnson 14, Clayton 12, Robinson 11, Victoria Murphy 7, Williams 4, Shanice Howard 2, Tavasha Yarbrough 1.

East County Sports.com
SANTEE (3-2-06) -- One school has dominated its CIF division over the current decade; the other has been a long-time San Diego Section power. And both of these East County programs will yet again play for championships as Mount Miguel and Santana high schools took different paths through Wednesday's (Mar. 1) semifinal round contests to gain finals berths at USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Mount Miguel gained its fifth consecutive appearance in Division II after holding off Grossmont North League titlist El Capitan, 54-52. The second-ranked Matadors (23-6) will tangle with No. 10 Mt. Carmel in Friday's (Mar. 3) 6 p.m. title contest. The Sundevils advanced by mowing over Ramona, 67-50.

With a victory, head coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL could equal the all-time San Diego Section record with four consecutive crowns among the large-school divisions, first set by the Terri Mann led teams of Point Loma from 1984-87, considered by many as the top team in area history.

Meanwhile, Santana will play for a championship for an 11th time -- the 10th under head coach WADE VICKERY -- by going "run rule" for the second straight outing. After whipping Mission Bay by 41 points in the quarterfinals, the Sultans did one better by tipping La Jolla by a 42-point margin, 82-40, to earn a shot at an eighth section banner.

Santana will meet Kearny at 1 p.m. Saturday (Mar. 1) at USD. The Komets gained their ticket after rolling over Valley Center, 57-40.

Vickery owns a stellar 7-2 record in section finals, with crowns in 1991, '94-95, '97, 2000, '02 and last season. His fourth and fifth titles were in Division II, while the remainder were in Division III.

MOUNT MIGUEL 54,
EL CAPITAN 52 -- The Matadors are probably glad they only had to face the El Capitan Vaqueros one time this season -- it was that close.

Mount Miguel fans were given complimentary seat cushions as they entered Wednesday's (Mar. 1) semifinal against the visiting Vaqueros, but hardly had the opportunity to test them out. The action on the floor kept spectators standing a good part of the contest.

It was "on-your-feet-only" in the final minutes of the game, as the Vaqueros (17-11) overcame a 12-point deficit to force fans into nail-biter position. After a TAVASHA YARBROUGH basket pushed Mount Miguel's lead to a comfortable 47-35 early in the fourth quarter, the Vaqueros made their move.

An 11-2 run El Capitan run -- led by MORGAN CRAIG's seven points -- gave the Vaqueros new life. El Capitan eventually tied the game 51-51 and 52-52, but the Matadors tucked the victory away on free throws by LASHAWN JOHNSON and JERCIA WILLIAMS in the final 12 seconds.

"El Cap wasn't just going to give us the game," Matadors coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL said. "They fought their hearts out. That's typical El Cap -- they never quit. They had opportunities to take the lead there at the end, but our kids wouldn't give in. It was just one of those games for us where we get a lead and let a team back in."

Credit El Capitan for breaking down the door. Senior ALLISON DUFFY, who will attend SDSU on a basketball scholarship next season, wasn't ready to see her high school career end.

Burdened with her fourth foul with 4:18 unplayed in the third quarter, Duffy had to sit for more than four minutes while the Matadors (23-6) inflated their lead to 12 points. Upon return, Duffy scored seven of her game-high 19 points down the stretch, including a three-point-play that knotted the score 51-51 with 1:32 left.

"Even in practice Allison is an unbelievably hard-worker," El Capitan coach JEFF GERKEN said. "She is so good at encouraging her teammates. She is such a positive influence and tremendous role model for our program."

After Yarbrough hit a free throw to give Mount Miguel a 52-51 edge with 40 seconds left, Duffy hit one of two charity shots to tie it with 31 ticks remaining.

Free throws aside, El Capitan missed three shots inside 15 feet in the final minute where any one of them would have given the Vaqueros the lead.

"It was one of those games where we found a way to hang on," Sandoval said. "This was a good, close game -- a test that should help us down the road."

Trailing by two with 7 seconds left, El Capitan had the ball and hoped to launch a game-winning shot. That never happened as Mount Miguel guard TORI MURPHY intercepted an outlet pass with 4 seconds left and managed to dribble away the final seconds.

"Tori doesn't score a lot of points, but she does all those little things," Sandoval said. â€œShe is probably our best on-ball defender."

In addition to the cushions, Mount Miguel fans also received a free mini-towel, which is modeled after the infamous Pittsburgh Steelers' "Terrible Towels."

The Matadors could easily have thrown in the towel under the late onslaught by El Capitan. But Mount Miguel isn't that kind of team.

"We had to fight for this win, but we've still got more to go," said Johnson, who has been a member of two of the Matadors' last three SDCIF Division II championship teams.

Junior PRECIOUS ROBINSON led the Matadors with 12 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Williams, her mobility slowed by an ankle sprain a week ago, finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and six steals.

For El Capitan, Duffy concluded her illustrious four-year career with 19 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and twoblocks. Her freshman sister, ASHLEY DUFFY, totaled only five points, seven steals and five assists, but was uninhabited by Mount Miguel's hands-on defense.

One of the unsung heroes of El Capitan's season was Craig, who went out with a sterling effort of 14 points (two 3s), four rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.

Another sometimes overlooked stalwart was CARAMIE HUNTINGTON, who hit 4-of-5 shots for eight points and five rebounds.

"These girls are all winners," Gerken said. "Overall, I am pleased that these girls learned to trust each other and came together as a unit. I believe they played up to their potential and will be champions in the game of life."

Mount Miguel scoring: Precious Robinson 12, Jerica Williams 11, Lashawn Johnson 8, Victoria Murphy 8, Tavasha Yarbrough 7, Monique Clayton 6, Shanice Howard 2.

El Capitan scoring: Allison Duffy 19, Morgan Craig 14, Caramie Huntington 8, Ashley Duffy 5, Jamie Ferguson 3, Liana Pitman 2, Lisa Wilkins 1.

SANTANA 82, LA JOLLA 40 -- Ever since the Sultans fell to El Capitan to allow a share of the Grossmont North League title slip from their fingers, the team has turned it up a notch -- well, maybe more than one -- in easily whipping a pair of Western League opponents.

Behind a career record-tying 38-point performance by senior JORDAN FRANEY, Santana reversed a recent trend by racing to a 28-6 first-quarter lead to quickly sink the Vikings.

"We have a history of starting slowly," noted Franey, the East County scoring champion, who also hauled down 14rebounds and recorded seven steals. "So we talked about needing to play hard and defend from the very beginning. And we defended well."

Even with Franey's career numbers, a host of other Sultans contributed to prevent La Jolla from gaining a sniff of staying in the contest.

"There were a lot of girls that played well -- not just Jordan," Vickery added. "SHAE BASS did a good job defending and had a lot of assists, DANIELLE BALOUGH defended well and was diving on the floor all over the place, and ASHLEY BAKER played well, too."

Bass registered the best numbers among the trio, compiling eight assists, six boards and five steals to go along with her 11 points. Balough also scored 11.

"We moved the ball well and I found the gaps in their defense," said Bass, the point guard. "We just executed well, then Jordan hit some threes."

Franey connected three times from beyond the arc and did most of her damage long before the third period came to an end. The fourth quarter utilized a running clock once the margin reached 40 points.

"If we control the ball and make smart passes, we should do well in the final," Bass added.

The lone La Jolla player to make a dent was senior Sam Mohan, who finished with 12 points.

Franey's 38 points equaled her personal mark set earlier this season against Valley Center, then later tied by ALLISON DUFFY of El Capitan against El Cajon Valley for the best mark in East County this season. Both players are among the favorites for East County player of the year laurels, along with Jerica Williams of Mount Miguel.

Santana scoring: Franey 38 (14 rebs.), Bass 11 (8 ast., 6 reb., 5 stl.), Balough 11, Baker 6, Brianna Padilla 4, Shannon Bailey 4, Kelsey Ash 3, Brittany Fenn 2, Nicole Brzeczek 2, Lorena Bernal 1.

East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (2-26-06) -- It would suffice to say that the El Capitan Vaqueros were probably peeking ahead to a possible San Diego CIF Division II semifinal showdown against Mount Miguel when they were warming up for Saturday's (Feb. 25) quarterfinal contest against Westview.

The Vaqueros bolted out to a 13-6 lead against the Wolverines and then the whistles started blowing. The officials slowed things down to crawl, but El Capitan (17-10), which had three starters foul out and two other players with four personals when the game ended, held on to take a 49-34 win.

"When you play the style of ball that we play, you have a reputation and everybody knows it," El Capitan coach JEFF GERKEN said. "That includes the referees as well. I don't think there is any malicious conduct on their part. But you are your reputation. It's good news, bad news. It gets in the other team's head, and sometimes you get the whistle yelled at you a few times. But we survived it."

By winning, El Capitan earned a trip to Spring Valley where the Vaqueros will travel to Mount Miguel to face the three-time defending Division II Matadors (22-6) on Wednesday (Mar. 1) at 7 p.m. This will mark the first meeting of the season between these crosstown rivals. Mount Miguel advanced via a 50-26 romp over Scripps Ranch.

Senior ALLISON DUFFY, who was bogged down by foul problems throughout, hung around long enough to score 25 points, grab 16 rebounds, make 6 steals and block 3 shots for the Vaqueros, who have won seven in a row and 10 of their last 11.

"It was tough because we had Mount Miguel in the back of our minds," Duffy said. "You start thinking about the next game when you should be thinking about this game."

Despite a general agreement by both teams that referees were doing a questionable job at best, the play on the floor fell a little below textbook quality as well.

El Capitan turned the ball over 22 times and shot a mediocre 34 percent (17 of 50) from the floor. They were so-so from the free-throw line, hitting 14 of 23.

After hitting six of 14 floor shots in the first quarter, the Vaqueros were 0-for-10 in the second quarter. All five of El Capitan's second stanza points came from the free throw line, which helped the Vaqueros cling to a 20-16 halftime lead.

"We were doing OK on defense," Duffy said. "They are better shooters than drivers, but still let them have shots that we shouldn’t have."

Westview (20-9), a team that lives on its perimeter shooting, was 1-for-13 from above the arc against El Capitan. Had it not been for their free throw success (15-for-27), the Wolverines might have suffered an even more stinging defeat. Westview was only 9-for-41 from the floor -- less than 22 percent.

"Even though we were messing up, making mistakes that shouldn't be made, we didn't fall apart," Duffy said. "We didn't turned against or start yelling at each other. We stayed together."

"We forget sometimes that Ashley is a freshman," Gerken said. "I think she is the best point guard in East County. She's just becoming mature now with a great future. We just have to be patient with her. She does what we don't expect her to do, and most of the time it's a positive experience."

Senior LISA WILKINS did not score and fouled out, but pitched in 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and blocked a shot before she departed.

MORGAN CRAIG played despite feeling ill. The referees provided her with plenty of unplanned rest, tagging her with her fourth foul in the opening minute of the third quarter. She did score 6 points, while JAMIE FERGUSON added 4 points and 5 rebounds.

El Capitan scoring: Allison Duffy 25, Ashley Duffy 10, Craig 6, Ferguson 4, Caramie Huntington 4.

SANTANA 70, MISSION BAY 29 -- More than a week since playing a game, over two weeks since registering a victory -- if you want to say the Santana Sultans were a bit on edge, even antsy to get back onto the court, you would be correct.

"Just before the game, we talked about playing great defense," explained Santana senior LORENA BERNAL. "And this was a lose-able game if we did not prepare ourselves to play great defense."

Denying every single pass, including simple entry passes when the Buccaneers attempted to start their offense, Santana demonstrated why the school is the top seed to the San Diego CIF Division III playoffs. The Sultans forced 26 turnovers and prevented Mission Bay from scoring in double figures in all four quarters in Saturday's (Feb. 25) surprisingly easy 70-29 conquest to gain a berth in the San Diego Section semifinals.

The demolition was all but complete after JORDAN FRANEY collected 13 of her game-high 30 points in the opening period in key the offense.

"Mission Bay played a zone, so our main goal was to dive in and open up our shooters," said guard DANIELLE BALOUGH. "They let down after that."

SHAE BASS took advantage by passing for nine assists, while Balough garnered two helpers for baskets, including a fine give-and-go for a layin by ASHLEY BAKER during a 13-0 run in the second period to mount a 41-13 halftime lead.

But it was the pressure from Santana's constant substitute rotation on defense which sank Mission Bay's offense. Balough and Franey each forced turnovers by taking charges, while the Sultans allowed just a single offensive rebound (besides ball bouncing out of bounds) all contest.

"We played team defense and helped each other -- it paid off," noted Baker, who was second behind Franey with 13 points, then grabbed four boards in the opening minutes to seize early control.

Franey had 25 points by the half, then Santana pushed the lead to more than 40 points, allowing the final period to be played with a running clock and an easy look ahead to Wednesday's (Mar. 1) semifinals where they will face No. 4 seed La Jolla (20-8) at home.

"It was easy to look ahead, but we needed to come and play hard," noted Franey. "Since we hadn't played in a week, we came out hard in the first half. The coaches emphasized that if the offense isn't working, you can rely on defense in order to go further into the playoffs."

KELSEY ASH added six points for Santana, plus four important offensive rebounds in the first half, while Bass and CARINA VICKERY added five points each.

For Mission Bay, 6-foot-2 point guard Jadawn Holler collected 14 points, including all seven Bucs' points in the opening period, as none of her teammates could hit the scoresheet until there was 6:16 left in the half on a foul shot, and none on a basket until there was 2:20 remaining.

Santana scoring: Franey 30 (10 reb., 5 stl., 4 ast.), Baker 13 (5 reb.), Ash 6, Bass 4 (9 ast.), Vickery 5, Balough 4 (3 stl.), Elias 3, Bernal 2.

MOUNT MIGUEL 50, SCRIPPS RANCH 24 -- Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL didn't have San Diego CIF Player of the Year JERICA WILLIAMS at his disposal in Saturday's (Feb. 25) Division II quarterfinal contest against Scripps Ranch in Spring Valley.

Sandoval said Williams was ill and unable to play. She is, however, expected to be fit to face El Capitan in Wednesday's (Mar. 1) Division II semifinals at Mount Miguel.

"That's why we at Mount Miguel don't plan our game around just one player," Sandoval said. "We look to all of our girls to contribute."

PRECIOUS ROBINSON led the Matadors with 13 points, eigjht rebounds and five blocks. LASHAWN JOHNSON added 12 points and 9 rebounds, while TAVASHA YARBROUGH punched in nine points and MONIQUE CLAYTON cleared 8 rebounds.

Mount Miguel's defense devoured the Falcons (20-9), holding them to five points (two field goals) in the first half. The Matadors (22-6) led 23-5 at the break.

A key component to Mount Miguel's latest win was the defensive work turned in by SHANICE HOWARD and Clayton on Scripps Ranch's Kaitlyn DeVaney, who averages 18 points a game. The Matadors duo blanked her in the first half and limited her to eight points for the night.

Mount Miguel scoring: Robinson 13, Johnson 12, Yarbrough 9, Clayton 6, Victoria Murphy 6, Danesia Williamson 2, Cindy Ekweozor 2.

Montgomery's Samantha Aguinaldo, who scored only six points in the game, turned a steal into a game-winning lay-up with 10 seconds remaining.

The Aztecs (20-8), who lost at home to the Highlanders, 63-56, in December, took a 14-9 lead in the first quarter of the playoff encounter. But that didn't hold as the two teams battled back-and-forth until the final buzzer.

A pair of free throws by MELE LEASAU gave Helix a 47-46 advantage with 30 seconds remaining. Leasau canned a team-high 16 points to go with 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

All of that was impressive, but coach Lori Morris' Aztecs refused to throw in the towel. Thus, Montgomery will advance to Wednesday's (Mar. 1) Division I semifinals at Eastlake.

"We did a lot of good things with this team," said Helix assistant coach WILLY HATHAWAY. "We have no reason to hang our heads. We stayed in the Top 10 all year and just came up a little bit short."

The biggest thrill for the Highlanders was knocking off Mount Miguel 37-34 earlier this month, which snapped the Matadors' 52-game Grossmont South League win streak.

"It was an unbelievable year," said Helix head coach TRINA HANSEN. "To put this season in words it was a phenomenal year -- any season with 20 wins is commendable. These girls have really turned Helix basketball around. "

DIANA LEASAU played on an ankle sprained against Patrick Henry three days previous in round one of the playoffs. Leasau's play was obviously inhibited.

"She hasn't practiced for two days but tonight she played aggressively and really overcame what could have been a huge obstacle," said Hansen.

"It was 32 minutes of good high school girls' basketball. It was a fun year and that makes a difference. We will lose seven seniors but we have a solid nucleus for next year."

One of the winningest boys' basketball coach of all-time, Helix' JOHN SINGER commented that this was one of the best girls' basketball games he's ever seen. Singer knows a little bit about the subject. He coached the Highlanders girls' team to a San Diego CIF Division 2A championship in 1980 with a perfect 28-0 record.

Helix scoring: Mele Leasau 16, Brittany Willliams 13 (6 assists, 5 rebs.), Diana Leasau 9, Racquel Primas 5 (5 assists), Sharika Thompson 4 (7 rebs.).

TORREY PINES 47, GRANITE HILLS 39 -- Shooting at a 21 percent clip doesn't lead to too many championships as the Granite Hills Eagles found out in Saturday's (Feb. 25) San Diego CIF Division I quarterfinals at Torrey Pines.

"We had two field goals in the first half -- terrible start," said a disappointed Granite Hills coach JAY ROWLETT.

Granite Hills (19-11) scored the first point of the night and then Torrey Pines scored 10 straight points to take control. The Falcons (23-6) led 22-10 by intermission and the Eagles were unable to find their offense.

"We made them look good," Rowlett said. "We got our shots, just didn't hit them. I mean we were getting good looks, just couldn't make any shots."

Senior JOY EDWARDS scored a game high 16 points for the Eagles. MOLLY HILLENBRAND added eight points, nine rebounds and three steals for Granite Hills.

"Overall, we beat most of the teams we were supposed to beat," Rowlett said. "There were some games that maybe we should have won that we didn't. This last game was very disappointing."

"If you're going to go out, you should at least do it with your 'A' game, not a 'C' or 'D' game."

Granite Hills scoring: Edwards 16, Marnesha Hall 9, Hillenbrand 8, Morgan Sabala 5, Madonna Najor 1.

RAMONA 68, GROSSMONT 41 -- Visiting teams that test the Bulldogs at Ramona are in for a memorable experience. Make that nightmare. These hometown fans are rabid and use their vocal cords to prove it.

The visiting Foothillers (22-9), who set a school record for victories, couldn't make a layup with a ladder as they were demolished by Ramona and London Houchin's 28 points. Houchin was one of three Bulldogs to roll a double-double.

A team built on its trapping defense, Grossmont was stone cold at the offensive end. The Foothillers shot a chilly 20 percent (14 for 70). The only Hiller shooter with respective numbers was LA'KENYA SIMON-WEST, who hit 8-of-18 -- four of them 3-pointers -- for a team-best 22 points. Her teammates were a forgettable 6-for-52 from the floor.

"We had open looks, but just couldn't make our shots," Grossmont coach TIM JOLLETT said.

The Foothillers were also on the wrong end of a 28-14 foul count, which helped Ramona (22-6) gain an edge at the free throw line. The Bulldogs were 18-of-20 from the foul line. Grossmont made six of its 10 free throws.

"This last game cannot define our season," Jollett said. "We've had a great year and that's what we have to remember about this team."

Grossmont scoring: Simon-West 22, Therese Riedel 6 (12 rebounds), Tina Rios 5, Shandise Rios 3, Kayannie Ward 3, Michelle Gonzalez 2.

MARIAN CATHOLIC 67, CHRISTIAN 48 -- Senior HEATHER MEIER scored 24 points -- half of them coming on four 3-point baskets -- for the Christian Patriots, but it wasn't near enough as host Marian Catholic (24-4) posted an easy victory in Saturday's (Feb. 25) San Diego CIF Division IV quarterfinals.

"We knew coming into this game that we needed to stop their transition and limit our turnovers," Christian coach CORI ESPELET said. "Well, we could not do either one. In addition, they shot extremely well from the field. In summary we got outplayed by a very good team."

The Crusaders broke the game open with a 18-4 run in the third quarter after leading only 32-27 by halftime.

Christian, undefeated champions of the Central League, finished the season 18-9.

"We hate to lose this group of seniors, they are dream players for any coach," Espelet said. "We'll miss them all."

Christian scoring: Meier 24, Holly Erickson 8, Katie Gerlek 7, Britni McCaskill 6, Sarah Seymour 3.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-23-06) -- Is there a point for the San Diego CIF Section to continue to operate expanded playoff brackets of 16 teams in many of its divisions, even though many of the participating ballclubs have little or no chance of even being competitive, never mind actually winning against far superior competition?

While those debates continue behind closed doors, there was little debate to determine which teams would capture many of Wednesday's (Feb. 22) opening-round games in the San Diego CIF girls basketball playoffs. Many contests ended earlier than normal when a running clock was enacted after margins exceeded 40 points -- the so-called "mercy rule" -- as several teams were blasted by the not-so-sweet sound of cannonballs.

GROSSMONT 63, EL CENTRO-SOUTHWEST 10 -- The Hillers placed their collective "Foots" on the throat of the Eagles early, carrying a shutout into the second quarter after mounting a 27-0 lead out of the gate. Southwest then hit a pair of shots, then Grossmont ran off 19 more points without an answer for a 46-5 halftime lead.

Like so many of Wednesday's (Feb. 22) games, this became ugly early. And it in no way resembled Grossmont's 55-46 victory over Southwest (16-12) back on Dec. 1.

The Foothillers' press was so dominating that Southwest was unable to advance the ball past the Grossmont free throw line for the opening three minutes, recording five turnovers and a long 3-point shot for an air-ball in an attempt to beat the shot clock.

"I took the press off after one quarter," Grossmont coach TIM JOLLETT said after his Foothillers won a school-record 22nd decision and earned a trip to Ramona to face the third-seeded Bulldogs (21-6) in Saturday's (Feb. 25) quarterfinals.

In all, Grossmont collected 20 steals in the first half, including seven by MICHELLE GONZALEZ, who scored all 13 points of her points by the intermission, mostly on easy transition baskets. She also registered six assists by the break. Gonzalez finished with a team-best 10 steals and added a seventh assist in limited second half playing time.

Meanwhile, center THERESE RIEDEL scored 10 of her 14 points in the first half, while controlling the other end of the court with seven rebounds in the first period alone. Riedel led the Hillers with 14 rebounds.

Grossmont's scoring ace LA'KENYA SIMON-WEST put in just 11 points despite playing little more than half the game.

"One thing I really liked about this game was all of our girls played hard the whole night," Jollett said. "That's difficult to do when you are so far ahead like we were tonight."

Grossmont scoring: Therese Riedel 14, Gonzalez 13, Simon-West 11, Tina Rios 7, Kayannie Ward 7, Marcee Fitzpatrick 6, Phylicia Schultz 2, Lauren Krueger 2, Liz Riedel 1.

EL CAPITAN 87, SAN YSIDRO 25 -- Senior ALLISON DUFFY collected game-highs of 25 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots, while MORGAN CRAIG jump-started the Vaqueros attack by hitting 6-of-7 shots en route to a 19-point performance in another mercy rule blowout.

El Capitan (16-10) built leads of 29-5, 53-10 and 78-18 after each of the first three quarters before the running clock rule was enforced. The hosts inflicted much of its damage on defense, including 13 steals and 13 points by ASHLEY DUFFY.

"We showed we're ready and put it all together," said Ashley Duffy. "We played smart as a team, smart as individuals, and are gelling at the right time."

The development of the Vaqueros underclassmen took a turn to the positive at midseason, giving the team hopes to do better than their No. 4 seed in Division II and maintain hopes for a berth to the championship game for the third time in four years.

"We didn't expect a blowout like this," noted ASHLEY BUNCE, called one of the team's "stars of the future" by head coach JEFF GERKIN. "We were rebounding and really denying everything out there."

Bunce finished with six points, while three other Vaqueros -- JAMIE FERGUSON, CARAMIE HUNTINGTON and LISA WILKINS -- tallied eight points each. Craig, a senior, has now scored 62 points in her last three outings.

"The last 9 of 10 games -- and 6 in a row -- have been pretty strong games for us," said Gerkin. "We're peaking at the right time. There is good team chemistry; as Peter Pan said to Wendy â€˜Happy thoughts and pixie dust -- that's how to fly.'"

El Capitan scoring: Allison Duffy 25, Morgan Craig 19, Ashley Duffy 13, Huntington 8, Ferguson 8, Wilkins 8, Bunce 6.

MOUNT MIGUEL 93, EL CAJON VALLEY 8 -- Three-time San Diego CIF Division II champion Mount Miguel executed the expected rout of El Cajon Valley in Wednesday's (Feb.22) playoff opener.

It was another no-doubter as the top-seeded Matadors (21-6) marched to leads of 22-2, 51-2 and 81-8 before the running clock came into play in the final quarter.

All five Mount Miguel starters reached double figures with PRECIOUS ROBINSON and JERICA WILLIAMS topping the list with 17 points apiece. Robinson added 11 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 steals. Williams tacked on 10 rebounds and 7 steals.

LASHAWN JOHNSON chucked in 16 points and MONIQUE CLAYTON popped in 13 points plus 7 steals and 9 assists, SHANICE HOWARD added 10 points,9 assists and 6 steals to Mount Miguel's hefty totals.

"Everybody played well -- we're just taking the necessary steps to be ready for the playoffs," said Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL.

"My hat's off to Mount Miguel," said El Cajon Valley coach GLENN LEE. "I think Robbie is doing a great job. We knew going into the game that we were going to be outmatched, but we had some other issues with our team. We had a number of our girls come up ineligible. So we brought four girls up from JV and one from our practice squad."

"On the court tonight we had eight players who had never played varsity ball in their life," Lee said. "From a coaching aspect, they tried. They did their best... I saw a lot of heart tonight, a lot of great potential."

Mount Miguel scoring: Robinson 17, Williams 17, Lashawn Johnson 16, Monique Clayton 13, Shanice Howard 10, Tavasha Yarbrough 8, Rona Carino 6, Victoria Murphy 2, Branesha Johnson 2, Cindy Ekweozor 2.

HELIX 80, PATRICK HENRY 44 -- This was another playoff game decided in the first quarter as the Highlanders (21-7) vaulted to a 26-7 advantage in Wednesday's (Feb. 22) SDCIF Division II opening round of the playoffs.

BRITTANY WILLIAMS hit 9 of 14 shots -- two of them 3-pointers -- on her way to a 22-point finish.

MELE LEASAU also enjoyed a big shooting night, netting 8 of 13 shots from the field en route to a 19-point outing. She also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, blocked 4 shots and made 5 steals.

Williams scored 13 points in the first quarter burst and Mele Leasau knocked down 11 in the 2nd quarter as Helix secured a 42-22 halftime advantage.

"We played really good "D" in the first half and the 3rd quarter," Helix assistajnt coach WILLY HATHAWAY said. "(Henry) had a run in the 2nd quarter so we came out in the 3rd quarter and took control."

Helix, which won its 7th straight game, sent the Patriots packing with a 19-7 scoring spread in the pivotal third.

SHARIKA THOMPSON, a defensive dynamo, rang up a career-high 15 points for the Highlanders.

Helix scoring: Williams 22, Mele Leasau 19, Thompson 15, Diana Leasau 10, Mallerie Brown 4, Racquel Primas 2, Tempy Glenn 2, Adriana Horner 2, Vicky Winston 2, Liz Caldwell 1.

GRANITE HILLS 53, FALLBROOK 42 -- Shooting hasn't been the Eagles' strong suite for several years. Defense, though, has been a Granite Hills staple.

The Eagles (18-11) got the best of both worlds in Wednesday's (Feb. 22) first round of the San Diego CIF Division I playoffs as they defeated visiting Fallbrook (17-11).

"This was a sweet win for our seniors, who were freshmen on JV the last time we won a playoff game," Granite Hills coach JAY ROWLETT said.

Granite Hills, which jumped on top 22-8, was in control throughout as the Eagles earned a quarterfinal showdown Saturday (Feb. 25) at Torrey Pines (22-6).

Not known for their shooting ability, the Eagles shot 62 percent from the field in the opening quarter, which ended with Granite Hills leading 19-7.

MORGAN SABALA led the Eagles with 16 points, while MARNESHA HALL added 15 points,7 rebounds and 5 assists.

"What were we up, 20 points with two minutes left?" Rowlett queried. "We were in control."

Granite Hills scoring: Sabala 16, Hall 15, Molly Hillenbrand 10, Joy Edwards 7, Amy Sylvester 5.

CHRISTIAN 59, CALIPATRIA 10 -- Another no-contest endeavor at the San Diego CIF Division IV level, as host Christian swatted the Hornets from Imperial Valley in Wednesday's (Feb. 22) first round of playoff activity.

"Tonight's game was a good opportunity for getting our younger players some playing time and giving them more experience in varsity competition," said Christian coach CORI ESPELET, whose Patriots led 51-10 after three quarters.

Nine Patriots pitched in points as Christian (18-8) advances to Saturday's (Feb. 25) quarterfinal at against the 4th-seeded Crusaders (23-4) at Marian Catholic at 7 p.m.

"I just want to recognize Coach (Martin) Gaines and thank him and his girls for coming all the way here and playing us. They had a long drive and we want to thank him for making the trip," Espelet said of the 7-16 Hornets.

Christian scoring: Britni McCaskill 17, Sarah Seymour 12, Katie Gerlek 10, Jessie Ekard 7, Holly Erickson 4, Heather DePriest 3, Heather Meier 2, Kelsey DePriest 2, Rachel Criswell 2.

SCRIPPS RANCH 59, STEELE CANYON 43 -- Bad news hit the Cougars only hours prior to Wednesday's (Feb. 22) opening tip of Steele Canyon's first ever playoff game at Scripps Ranch.

""It was a long, emotional day," said Steele Canyon coach FRANK QUINONES. "I wasn't sure I'd be at the game, my grandmother passed away this afternoon.

But after saying my good-byes I know she would have wanted me to be at the game."

Quinones took his coaching stance and his Cougars, decisive underdogs in the eyes of most experts, made a game of it despite a slow start.

The Falcons (20-8) posted their sixth straight win as they flew out to a 24-12 advantage after one quarter and led 38-21 at the half. The Cougars (14-14) fought back in the 3rd quarter to cut the margin to 8 points. The Steelers did not have enough mettle to carry on the momentum during the final eight minutes.

Six-foot-3 sophomore KELLY HANSEN was once again Steele Canyon's main attraction, finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds. TINA MERLINO also grabbed 11 rebounds and added 8 points to the Cougars' best season in four years.

Steele Canyon scoring: Hansen 22, Merlino 8, Celeste Martins 6, Hayley Johnston 3, Samantha Beasley 2, Alexis Robinson 2.

WESTVIEW 50, WEST HILLS 30 -- The bottom fell out of the West Hills offense as the Wolf Pack was knocked out early in Wednesday's (Feb. 22) opening round of the SDCIF Division II playoffs at Westview.

"We got spanked by a good team," said West Hills assistant coach SIG CHABROWSKI.

The Wolverines (20-8) stepped out to an 11-6 lead in the 1st quarter and then pulled away to a 29-8 bulge by halftime.

MEGAN EHMKE was West Hills' leader with 9 points and 10 rebounds. MUAAU NADERHOFF also had 9 points, while DALIA GHANDOUR pitched in five assists the Wolf Pack (12-16).

West Hills scoring: Ehmke 9, Naderhoff 9, Ghandour 4, Leilani Yawn 4, Ilda Llamas 4.

East County Sports.com
LINDA VISTA (2-19-06) -- Since the CIF-San Diego Section expanded its playoff format a few years ago, it comes as no surprise that 10 of East County's 12 girls basketball teams advanced to the postseason, including a pair of top seeds in Mount Miguel and Santana.

The two-time defending Division II titlist from Mount Miguel saw its 2-1/2 year winning streak against San Diego County opposition snapped, but the season-long leader in the county rankings until last week still easily claimed the top spot over Mt. Carmel.

The Matadors will host No. 16-seed El Cajon Valley when all first round action gets underway Wednesday (Feb. 22) at 7 p.m.

Meanwhile, Santana drew the top spot in Division III, but with a smaller field of just 12 schools, the Sultans gained an opening-round bye, and will host the winner between Mission Bay at San Marcos on Saturday (Feb. 25).

Helix, which defeated the Matadors two weeks ago, was positioned as the No. 2 seed in Division I, with top-ranked San Diego gaining the top seed. The Highlanders will host nearby Patrick Henry in Round One on Wednesday (Feb. 22).

Other East County schools gaining home games include: No. 4 El Capitan against San Ysidro in Div. II; No. 5 Granite Hills hosting Fallbrook in Div. I; No. 5 Christian entertaining Calipatria in Div. IV; and No. 6 Grossmont welcoming El Centro-Southwest.

Local teams opening on the road include a pair of Div. II schools, as West Hills goes to No. 5 Westview, while Steele Canyon plays its first-ever CIF contest at No. 8 Scripps Ranch.

The semifinals are slated for Mar. 1, then the finals are slated for either Mar. 3 or 4 (depending on division) at USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion.

East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (2-18-06) -- Not many teams appear to be more prepared for the San Diego CIF playoffs than the Helix Highlanders. Energized by an 18-2 first quarter start in Friday's (Feb.17) Grossmont South League finale, the Highlanders spiked host Steele Canyon 65-32 for their sixth straight win.

Senior DIANA LEASAU hit 10 of 14 shots on her way to a game high 22 points and 7 steals for the Highlanders, who outscored the Cougars in all four quarters. MELE LEASAU rolled a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds. She also had five assists and thresteals to go with a pair of blocks.

"We played really good in the first quarter, pressed them," said Helix assistant coach WILLY HATHAWAY. "We were really pleased with how our kids have been playing. We've got a roll going here. Everybody is playing good team defense. Beating Granite Hills and Steele Canyon so we could secure second place in league was something we wanted to do. It was a good season for Helix."

Not that the Highlanders are satisfied just yet. Knowing that they were able to beat perennial powerhouse Mount Miguel has to give Helix hopes of making waves in the San Diego CIF Division I playoffs.

"Helix's focus was to keep KELLY HANSEN contained and they did a good job of it," Steele Canyon coach FRANK QUINONES said. The 6-3 Hansen finished with a subpar 2 points and 6 rebounds.

Steele Canyon (14-13, 3-7 GSL) is in line to make its appearance in postseason play.

"If we do make the playoffs, I hope we get off the funk we've been on," Quinones said. "CELESTE (MARTINS) got hit above the eyebrow in the second quarter and required stitches."

Despite her abbreviated play, Martins managed 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks along with 3 points.

"You have to give her credit," Quinones said . "She's a warrior. I know a couple of stitches won't keep her out of the playoffs."

Helix scoring: Diana Leasau 22, Mele Leasau 11, Brittany Williams 8, Racquel Primas 6, Jazlyn Afusia 6, Sinoi Leasau 3, Adriana Horner 3, Vicky Winston 2, Sharika Thompson 2, Liz Caldwell 1, Sarah Fairweather 1.

Steele Canyon scoring: Merlino 9, Xanning Tyler 5, Alexis Robinson 4, Briana Eiter 4, Hayley Johnston 3, Martins 3, Kelly Hansen 2, Amanda Rice 2.

EL CAPITAN 63, WEST HILLS 39 -- Grossmont North League champion El Capitan used a 25-point second quarter scoring spree to break open a close game and continued on to an easy victory in Friday's (Feb. 17) regular season finale.

Senior ALLISON DUFFY scored 36 points on 12 of 18 shooting while gathering 15 rebounds in leading El Capitan (15-10,7-1 GNL) to the victory.

MEAGAN EHMKE punched in 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead West Hills (12-15, 2-6 GNL), while Wolf Pack teammate MUAAU NADERHOFF had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"We just turned the ball around too much, didn't hit the free throws (4-10 in the first half)," said West Hills assistant coach SIG CHABROWSKI. "If we had made our free throws in the first quarter (1-6) we would have been okay."

El Capitan scoring: Allison Duffy 36, Morgan Craig 13, Ashley Duffy 5, Caramie Huntington 3, Lisa Wilkins 2, Pitman 2, Ashley Bunce 2.

West Hills scoring: Ehmke 14, Naderhoff 10, Dalia Ghandour 4, Leilani Yawn 3, Ilda Llamas 2, Kylee Krings 2, Rebecca Jones 2, Ashley Alderton 2.

GRANITE HILLS 49, MONTE VISTA 19 -- The Eagles (17-11,7-3 GSL) turned in their finest defensive effort of the season as they stuffed the visiting Monarchs in Friday's (Feb.17) Grossmont South League finale for both teams.

MARNESHA HALL hit 7 of 10 shots to lead the Eagles with 14 points, while ASHLEY MILLER rolled a dozen to pace the Monarchs.

Granite Hills senior MADONNA NAJOR was the queen of the backboards with 12 rebounds and 4 steals.

MORGAN SABALA added 11 points, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 boards for the Eagles, who led Monte Vista 44-13 after three quarters.

Despite the discrepancy in records, both teams have a shot at making the San Diego CIF playoffs. Granite Hills is a lock in Division I, while Monte Vista (8-20, 3-7 GSL) has a shot at qualifying in Division II.

Granite Hills scoring: Hall 14, Sabala 11, Molly Hillenbrand 8, Joy Edwards 7, Madonna Najor 5, Kylee Wilson 2, Aulani Delker 2.

Monte Vista scoring: Miller 12, Britney Small 4, Victoria Richmond 2, Rachel Finks 1.

CHRISTIAN 69, HOOVER 22 -- It took one period to prove Christian's dominance as Central League champion in Friday's (Feb. 17) finale against hapless Hoover at the Ryan Athletic Center.

The Patriots (17-8,10-0 CNL) led 27-3 after eight minutes and then breezed the rest of the way to the easy victory.

"Tonight was an emotional night," said Christian coach CORI ESPELET. "It was the last regular season game for our four seniors: BRITNI McCASKILL, HOLLY ERICKSON, HEATHER MEIER, and HEATHER DEPRIEST. They all had a great game as well. The girls carried the good executions that we had against Coronado into tonights' game. They took great care of the ball (no turnovers in the first quarter, 2 at the half), and shot good percentage shots.

"I just want to take a minute and mention the four seniors that are graduating this year; they have been awesome to coach. They are all great, both inside and outside the court and they are going to be extremely missed."

Christian scoring: McCaskill 22, Erickson 18, DePriest 14, Meier 6, Katie Gerlek 5, Sarah Seymour 4.

MOUNT MIGUEL 76, VALHALLA 7 -- For the second time this season the Grossmont South League champion Matadors (20-6, 9-1 GSL) held an opponent to single digits in Friday's (Feb.17) regular season finale.

JERICA WILLIAMS scored a season high 26 points to lead the Matadors to their 55th win in 56 league games over the past six seasons.

PRECIOUS ROBINSON produced a powerful double-double of 15 points and 20 rebounds for Mount Miguel, which led 44-13 after three periods.

Only three Valhalla players reached the scoring column as the Norsemen concluded a 5-22 campaign.

"It was the end of a long season," sighed Valhalla coach ROBERT WILSON. "The girls are tired."

Mount Miguel scoring: Williams 26, Robinson 15, Lashawn Johnson 9, Tavasha Yarbrough 8, Shanice Howard 7, Monique Clayton 5, Danesia Williamson 4, Victoria Murphy 2.

GROSSMONT 61, EL CAJON VALLEY 19 -- LA'KENYA SIMON-WEST scored 22 points as Grossmont won a school record 21st game in Friday's (Feb.17) Grossmont North League finale.

The Foothillers (21-8, 5-3 GNL) led 37-8 at halftime and then waltzed to their record victory.

"We created 35 turnovers," said Grossmont coach TIM JOLLETT. "It was a good Senior Night for LIZ RIEDEL -- she played the majority of the game. She's been great, works hard and has a lot of maturity. I was happy that she went out (graduates) on a winning game."

"Michelle had a good night," Jollett said. "She broke El Cajon Valley's press pretty easily."

Grossmont scoring: Simon-West 22, Gonzalez 11, Tina Rios 8, Liz Riedel 7, Therese Riedel 7, Marcee Fitzpatrick 4, Phylicia Schultz 2, Kayannie Ward 2.

El Cajon Valley: Kim Vasquez 6, Marissa Martinez 4, Mercy Ledezma 3, Veronica Tamai 3, Sheraina Moon 2, Jeanette Woods 1.

East County Sports.com
SANTEE (2-15-06) -- Two months ago, the path El Capitan utilized to reach its third consecutive Grossmont North League championship was inconceivable.

"If I shot the ball, I would get taken out of the game," recalled Vaqueros senior MORGAN CRAIG. "Now things are a lot better and everybody gets along."

After scoring just a handful of points early in the season, Craig has turned into the extra scorer needed to revitalize a team which was .500 over the opening six weeks of the season. Craig posted a career-high 23 points (43 in her last two games), while AS