Cheap
baskets are not allowed by Santana (10-4), which proved that to Patrick Henry
in Saturday's (Dec. 29) championship game of the NCAA Division 2 bracket of the
SoCal Holiday Prep Classic at El Capitan.
Guided by division MVP NICOLE
BRZECZEK's 13 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, the surprising Sultans were able
to stretch their winning streak to six games with a resounding 49-31 romp over
Patrick Henry.
The unsung driving fiber in Santana's latest conquest was
junior KAILA SMITH, who woke from a scoreless 1st half slumber to finish with
a powerful 17 points and 19 rebounds.
Santana was holding a precarious
16-15 advantage when the second half began.
"I knew I didn't do so
good in the first half and I wanted to make up for that," said Smith.
The 5-foot-10 Smith scored half of Santana's 18 third quarter points, which
included a 16-1 scoring run that carried over to the 4th quarter.
Even
more impressive was Smith's work on the glass.
"I just knew we had
to have the ball so I was trying to get in there," said Smith. "Once
I got a rebound I wanted to outlet to our guards as soon as possible so we could
get it down the court." Smith, an all-tourney choice, took only 9 shots
from the floor, finishing with a.667 accuracy rating.
"I know when
I should shoot and when I shouldn't," Smith said.
Santana junior
JAMIE ELIAS chipped in 11 points, 5 rebounds and 5 steals.
Rebuilding
or not, the Sultans believe they'll be a title contender in the San Diego CIF
Division III playoffs.
"We want to prove what we can do because we
know we weren't looked at as one of the top-ranked teams coming into the season,"
Smith said. "We want to be known."
Santana scoring: Kaila Smith
19, Nicole Brzeczek 13 (7 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Jamie Elias 11 (5 reb, 5 stl, 2
ast), Kim Gross 6 (4 reb, 2 ast), Lauren Mueller 2 (2 ast, 2 reb), Samantha White
(3 reb). OUR LADY OF PEACE 41, EL CAPITAN 37 -- Coach FRANK QUINONES
talked about overall team fatigue after his Vaqueros faltered in Saturday's (Dec.
29) NCAA Division 3 championship game of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic in Lakeside.
"I think it took a lot out of us beating Canyon Crest in (Friday's) semifinals,"
he said. "But I don't want to make excuses even though this is the first
game when I can honestly say the officials took us out of our game."
Whistles
aside, the Vaqueros (11-4) can either credit Our Lady of Peace (12-3) for a superb
defensive effort or only blame themselves on an "off" shooting night.
Bottom line here is El Capitan shot a pitiful 23.7 percent (14 of 59) from
the field, including 2-for-17 in the final quarter.
"Give OLP credit
-- they slowed things down when we wanted to play an uptempo game," Quinones
said.
Despite El Capitan's inconsistent shooting, the Vaqueros stingy
defense made a game of it. The contest was tied 10 times before the Pilots used
a 10-0 scoring run to move in front 39-30 with less than four minutes to play.
Two baskets by all-tourney pick ASHLEY DUFFY and a trio of free throws by
all-tourney choice LIANA PITMAN cut the deficit to 39-37 with 24 seconds remaining.
"We had a chance to pull it out there at the end," Quinones said.
"But we just couldn't make a basket when we needed to." Duffy and
Pitman shared El Capitan's team scoring high with 10 points apiece. Although she
did not have a banner game, ASHLEY BUNCE also earned all-tournament honors.
El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 10 (6 ast, 5 stl, 3 blk), Liana Pitman 10
(4 reb), Samantha Spring 7, Jamie Ferguson 4 (5 reb), Ashley Bunce 2 (2 reb),
Taylor Autry 2 (4 reb), Crisela Banks 2 (5 reb). HELIX 86, NORTH BAKERSFIELD
69 -- If the Highlanders can produce the kind of offense they did in Saturday's
(Dec. 29) third place game of the NCAA D2 Division encounter of the SoCal Holiday
Prep Classic, they might cause a stir in the Grossmont South League chase.
Selected to the All-Tournament Team, senior guard BRITTANY WILLIAMS pounded
in 42 points, landing 16 of 32 shots from the field, as the Highlanders (6-7)
achieved a team scoring high for the season.
This is the second time this
season that Williams has broken the 40-point barrier. The 5-foot-10 San Jose State-bound
scoring machine opened the season with a career high 45 points against Vista.
Williams' game was confined to scoring as she spun a wheel of magnificent
7s -- as in rebounds, assists, and steals.
Nearly overlooked in Williams'
statistical bonanza was the work fo SINOI LEASAU, who buried four 3-balls en route
to a career high 26 points. The 5-foot-7 junior forward also logged 6 assists
and 5 rebounds. KAMI OLIVER topped the Scotties with 12 rebounds.
Helix
fell behind North Bakersfield 17-13 in the opening quarter, but rebounded to gain
a 37-36 edge by the break. A 49-point second half locked up the victory.
"Our
reserves came in key spots in the game and played outstanding defense," said
Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. "I'm happy with the 3rd place finish in this tournament."
Helix
scoring: Brittany Williams 42, Sinoi Leasau 26, Sam Vick 10 (3 reb, 4 ast, 5 stl),
Tatiana Jackson 4 (5 reb), Kami Oliver 2 (2 blk), Nydah Royster 2 (2 reb).
WEST HILLS 47, LA COSTA CANYON 43 -- The Wolf Pack dumped the Mavericks
on Saturday (Dec. 29) to claim the 3rd place trophy in the NCAA Division I game
of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic.
Most believe the youthful Wolf Pack
(10-4) rate as the team to beat in the Grossmont North League.
SHERIKA
MILLER set the tone to Saturday's triumph over LCC with 12 points, 6 rebounds
and 2 steals. KIMBERLY CLARK chipped in with 8 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds.
West Hills started fast, appearing as if it would win in whirlwind fashion.
The Pack edged in front 17-13 in the opening quarter and led 30-17 by intermission.
"We started off real well but were terrible shooting in the 3rd quarter,"
said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. "We died in the 2nd half. We were a little
bit tired and let them back into the game. We are in need of some definite gym
time. There are a few things we need to correct so practice time next week will
be good for us."
MARIAH BENNETT did not enjoy a grand finale, but was
named to the all-tournament team.
ST.
JOSEPH'S 45, VALHALLA 25 -- Although the Norsemen have played the fewest games
in East County, they did well enough to finagle their way into Saturday's (Dec.
29) championship game of the Prep Division of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic.
That didn't matter to St. Joseph's, which marched to a 31-15 halftime
lead and then, despite a sputtering offense, managed to hang on.
"We
just ran out of gas. I'm not disappointed in the team at all -- we're just not
used to playing four games in four days," said coach JON OWENS of his 2-6
Norsemen. "Our shooting was very poor, especially in the 2nd half." All-Tournament
pick EMILY ROBERTS finished strong for Valhalla with 8 points, 10 rebounds and
4 steals.
Also earning an All-Tournament berth was senior KELANI BLACKWELL,
who pitched in 6 points and pulled down 3 rebounds.
Valhalla scoring:
Emily Roberts 8, Tanisha Lee 7, Kelani Blackwell 6, Kelley Seitz 2, Megan Tex
2 (5 reb). ESCONDIDO 62, GROSSMONT 35 -- Escondido was ranked
among the top 10 teams in the preseason ratings but hasn't lived up to it. That
might be hard to convince Grossmont coach MARK DeFEDE after the shellacking his
Grossmont Foothillers took in Saturday's (Dec. 29) WNBA Division game of the SoCal
Holiday Prep Classic.
"We hit a hot shooting team and they were lights
out," DeFede said wryly. "Every time we made a run, they shot a 3. They
just killed us." Escondido (6-8), which forged in front 20-6 during the
first 8 minutes, sank 9 three-pointers. Natalie Curin accounted for 5 of those
connections, while Whitney Wise dropped in 3.
The Cougars outscored the
Hillers in every quarter.
TINA RIOS accounted for 9 points, 4 assists
and 3 steals for the Foothillers (5-7).
HEATHER SPRINGE chipped in with
8 points and 6 rebounds, while TIFFANY TOOSON totaled 7 points and 4 steals. TERRA
MUSGROVE topped Grossmont with 9 boards.
"I was impressed with how
well we did against the L.A. teams," said DeFede. "We were in the top-flight
WNBA Division and we hung with them and beat one of them. It's going to get us
ready for league."
"I'm pleased with a 3rd place finish in our
division. This has been a tough tournament but we learned an awful lot from it.
Its nice to have 10 wins heading into the new year."
Grossmont scoring:
Tina Rios 9, Heather Springe 8, Allison Baxter 7, Tiffany Tooson 7, Danielle Balderas
2, Terra Musgrove 2.
CANYON CREST 79, GRANITE HILLS 61 -- Granite
Hills coach JERRY PARKER must feel like Alfred Hitchcock. Seems like everything
his Eagles do is a mystery -- sometimes heavenly, sometimes nightmarish.
Burdened by fouls to his three top players, the Eagles watched as the visiting
Ravens scored 48 points in the middle two quarters of Saturday's (Dec. 29) 3rd
place NCAA Division 3 game of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic.
"We
didn't shoot well from the free throw line and we gave up a lot of second chance
points," said Parker.
Canyon Crest was 21-26 (81 percent) on free
throws, Granite Hills shot just under 50 percent.
Despite having to battle
foul woes, Granite Hills sophomore point guard, SABRINA JIMENEZ produced 20
points --11 in the 4th quarter. She included a trio of 3s in her offensive output
while dealing 5 assists and recording 5 steals.
"She was really getting
after it," said Parker.
Granite Hills front-line trio of AMY SYLVESTER,
MOLLY HILLENBRAND and LAUREN BENDER, although plagued by foul trouble, combined
for 48 rebounds, but only 21 points.
"They were about the same size
as us so they were able to compete with us on rebounds," said Parker.
Hillenbrand, who scored only 6 points, but yanked down 18 rebounds, was named
to the All-Tournament Team. Sylvester nabbed 19 boards, while Bender pulled down
11.
SWEETWATER 49, STEELE CANYON 29 --
Falling behind Sweetwater 16-6 in the first quarter forced host Steele Canyon
to play chase throughout Saturday's (Dec. 29) NAIA Division 3rd place game of
the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic.
"We got off to a bad start,"
said Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH.
MACE ALAMERI hit 4 of 7 from the
floor and added one free throw to lead the Cougars (3-5) with 9 points. She also
topped the team with 6 steals.
JULIANNE KOLEGRAFF also clicked on 4 of
7 from the floor for 8 points in addition to notching 4 steals.
Take those
two freshmen out of the shooting equation and the Cougars shot a sorry 28 percent
(5 of 18). As a team Steele Canyon was 3 for 9 from the free throw stripe.
Freshman GABRIELLE BEASLEY was a hawk on defense with 4 steals.
"Our
seniors were not moving the ball so I put our four freshmen in," said Smith.
"The young players played real well."
IMPERIAL 47, MONTE VISTA 39 --
The winless Monarchs were closing in on a victory as they earned a 30-29 lead
after three quarters in Saturday's (Dec. 29) Monte Vista Winter Classic contest
played at the Spring Valley Community Center.
"The tempo was much
slower than we wanted," said Monte Vista coach MIKE SKIBBE. "We were
right up there with them up to the end. I really believe that we are getting close
to being a competitive team." Imperial (3-5) was not a believer, as the
Tigers gained an 18-9 scoring edge during the final 8 minutes.
"We
play Imperial again in two weeks at their place," said Skibbe. "We will
beat them the next time." Freshman DeANNA DEMBRY turned in an impressive
double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds. She also had 3 steals.
JILL
MIRANDA chipped in with 10 markers.
"I was really happy with our
defensive effort," said Skibbe. "I like the progress we have made so
far this season." Monte Vista scoring: DeAnna Bembry 13 (3 stl), Jill
Miranda 10, Alex Ross 6, Kayla Pusey 3, Ailene Pamintuan 2, Randi Houser 2, Megan
Boyce 2, LiAiesha Brandon 1.
CASTLE PARK 55, CHRISTIAN 23 -- There
hasn't been much to celebrate for the Christian High Patriots this season. Fifteen
starts, 15 losses. However, Patriots coach SKIP GERLEK believes he saw a ray of
sunshine in Saturday's (Dec. 29) consolation Prep Division game of the SoCal Holiday
Prep Classic.
"We got off to a good start," said Gerlek, whose
team trailed only 14-9 after one quarter. "We were missing three starters
from our normal group. Castle Park had a real good transition game. It got to
us in the 2nd quarter -- we gave them too many layups." The Trojans blanked
the Patriots 21-0 in the 2nd quarter to put the game out of reach.
MARISA
MARVIN had two 3s and 2 free throws in the 3rd quarter to account for 8 of Christian's
12 points.
Christian scoring: Marisa Marvin 11, Joanne Park 4, Jenny
Harrison 4, Kelsey DePriest 2, Carissa Johnson 2.
Dec.
28: Canyon Crest at El Capitan highlights (Photos by Greg Eichelberger)
Tournament
host El Capitan (11-3) will meet Our Lady of Peace for the NCAA Division 3 championship
at 3 o’clock in Lakeside. In Division 2, Santana (9-4) takes on Patrick Henry
for the hardware at that level before Valhalla (2-5) hosts St. Joseph ’s
for the Prep Division crown at 7:30 p.m.
EL CAPITAN 69, CANYON CREST
61 – The word around El Capitan these days is balance. And that’s
what the Vaqueros used to clip Canyon Crest in Friday’s (Dec. 29) NCAA Division
3 game of the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic.
ASHLEY DUFFY, the acclaimed
leader of the Vaqueros, garnered only one rebound. It didn’t matter, as she
used her multiple skills to finish with a team-best 20 points, 8 assists, 5 steals
and 4 blocks to lead the Vaqueros to their fifth straight win and a berth in Saturday’s
finals.
El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES, who has been preaching “teamwork”
from the first day he was hired last fall, has seen his team grant that wish.
ASHLEY
BUNCE scored 9 of her 13 points in the 4th quarter as the Vaqueros snapped a 46-46
tie during the final 8 minutes.
Quinones was quick to credit JAMIE FERGUSON
for “coming up with 3 key defensive rebounds in the 4th quarter. That’s
what I’m talking about. I know a lot of people think the game of basketball
is measured by which player scores the most points. I don’t believe that.”
LIANA
PITMAN added 15 points to El Capitan ’s coffers, which obviously pleased
Quinones, but the first-year mentor pointed to the 3 rebounds that CRISELA BANKS
garnered in the pivotal 4th quarter.
“This is a key win for us because
it came against a Division 3 rival,” Quinones said.
GROSSMONT 52, LEUZINGER 49 (OT) –
The Foothillers (5-6) snapped a 3-game losing streak against a quality opponent
in Friday’s (Dec. 29) El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic action.
Grossmont
went after the Inglewood Leuzinger Olympians with aggression they haven’t
shown in the topflight WNBA Division thus far.
Not surprisingly, senior
guard TINA RIOS accounted for 9 of the Foothillers’ 11 overtime points, scoring
5 from the floor and 4 from the charity stripe. Rios finished with 17 points,
7 assists, 4 steals, and was 7 for 7 on free throws.
“Rios hit a clutch
3 to put us into overtime, and then hit another one in overtime,” said Grossmont
coach MARK DeFEDE. “That was huge.”
Pivot TERRA MUSGROVE enjoyed
probably her best game of the season with 17 points and 9 boards.
HEATHER
SPRINGE was right there too, with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals. Springe
has scored 45 in the last two games.
“Heather carried us most of the
game, then Tina took over in overtime,” said DeFede. “And Terra did
real well, both from the field and on free throws.”
“They were
fast,” said DeFede of Leuzinger. “But Tina, Terra and Heather just kept
scoring.”
Grossmont scoring: Tina Rios 17, Terra Musgrove 17, Heather
Springe 16, Allison Baxter 2 (5 reb).
SANTANA 54, EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 40
– For one half the Sultans made it look easy as they slashed their way
to a 33-10 halftime lead in Friday’s (Dec. 29) El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic
action.
“We looked pretty good at that point,” said Santana coach
JIM MOTTERSHAW, who is not one to pass out compliments freely. “But it seemed
like the second half was never going to end.”
“We’re in that
changeover that most teams go through,” Mottershaw added. “We’re
basically an inexperienced team trying to find itself.”
At 9-4 with
a 5-game winning streak and a berth in the NCAA Division 2 finals, Mottershaw
is pleased by the progress of his youthful squad.
Senior NICOLE BRZECZEK
led the charge against Central Union with 17 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and
3 steals.
Junior KAILA SMITH added 14 points, 7 rebounds and a pair of
assists.
GRANITE HILLS 61,
MISSION HILLS 42 – Not many teams are going to get the best of the Granite
Hills Eagles on the boards this season. That, in itself, makes Granite Hills a
solid power in the San Diego CIF.
Senior MOLLY HILLENBRAND, the Eagles’
ringleader, powered in 21 points and hauled in 15 rebounds as Granite Hills tamed
the Grizzlies in Friday’s (Dec 29) NCAA Division 3 game of the El Capitan
Holiday Prep Classic.
“Molly had a really good night, rebounded really
well,” said Eagles coach JERRY PARKER. “She was real aggressive attacking
the basket. We try to make it a focus to go after the rebounds – we have
the size so we want to take advantage of it.”
Granite Hills totaled
63 rebounds to help offset the big scoring effort of Mission Hills’ Keisha
Cox.
“Cox is probably the best player we’ve faced all year, but
fortunately she fouled out early in the 4th quarter,” said Parker. “We
were doubling her and she still finished with 28 points.”
AMY SYLVESTER
did not score but made major contributions on the boards with 14 grabs.
SABRINA
JIMENEZ turned in a solid all-around game with 19 points – nearly half coming
on a trio of 3s – 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.
LAUREN BENDER
added a dozen points, 7 boards and 3 blocks for the Eagles (8-4).
“Mission
Hills played a 2-3 zone, and Molly, Amy and Lauren worked on the inside and Sabrina
worked on the outside,” Parker said.
HELIX
47, SAN DIMAS 33 – As the Highlanders captured their third win in four
starts by downing the Saints of San Dimas in Friday’s (Dec. 29) NCAA Division
2 game of the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic, they did so without a sterling
solo effort by senior standout BRITTANY WILLIAMS.
Williams, the East County
scoring leader with a 27-point average, tallied only 16 points, but it was enough
to lead the Highlanders. The multi-talented guard, who has a San Jose State scholarship
in hand, also dealt 7 assists, made 7 steals and had 2 blocks.
“Brittany
Williams and SINOI LEASAU really played well again,” said Helix coach TRINA
HANSEN. “Their efforts were key to our performance. I was really pleased
with our defensive effort. We played 32 minutes of hard defense tonight.”
Leasau
pitched in with 10 points, 2 assists and 2 steals.
A pleasant surprise
was the efforts of Helix junior guard NYDAH ROYSTER, who contributed 7 points,
3 steals and 2 rebounds to the mix.
Helix (5-7) secured a 30-14 halftime
lead and then coasted to the finish. Or more accurately, boxed its way to the
finish.
“This game was like a foul fest – the officials didn’t
call fouls at all in the 1st half, but they sure did in the 2nd half. Neither
team was able to build any momentum,” noted Hansen.
Helix scoring:
Brittany Williams 16, Sinoi Leasau 10, Kami Oliver 4 (7 reb), Nydah Royster 7,
Tatiana Jackson 4 (2 reb), Sam Vick 3 (3 (4 stl, 2 ast), Cierra Coleman 2, Natalia
Cano 1.
STEELE CANYON 44, EC SOUTHWEST 30 – Although no one
in the Cougars’ lineup reached double scoring digits in Friday’s (Dec.
29) NAIA Division of the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic duel with El Centro Southwest,
Steele Canyon still found a way to win.
“I honestly think we were
kinda down from yesterday’s game,” said Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH.
“With 4 minutes to go in the 1st quarter, BELINDA PICKENS, our leader, picked
up a technical. I challenged our young girls to step it up, and they did.”
“Freshmen
GABRIELLE BEASLEY and JULIANNE KOLEGRAFF both stepped it up big time,” said
Smith. “I’ve got to give great credit to them. They played pressure
up-in-your-face defense – made it real uncomfortable for Southwest. It was
a two-thumbs-up performance.”
Junior G’KIA MYLES grabbed a game-best
13 rebounds for the Cougars.
VALHALLA 42, MADISON
22 – Junior guard EMILY ROBERTS rolled a triple-double as the Norsemen
mauled Madison in Friday’s (Dec. 29) Prep Division game of the El Capitan
Holiday Prep Classic.
Roberts registered team-highs of 13 points, 11 rebounds
and 10 steals, giving the Norsemen their second win in seven starts. She also
handed out 6 assists.
Valhalla put this one on ice early, taking a 13-1
first period advantage and stretching it to 28-8 by the break.
“We
got off to a great start tonight,” said Valhalla coach JON OWENS. “Our
defense was key – it was better than last night’s defense. This was
a big win for us. Tomorrow’s game (versus St. Joseph ’s) will be our
first chance to play for a championship. It will be nice to play it in our own
gym.”
MISSION PREP 61, WEST HILLS
50 – For one quarter at least, the Wolf Pack had the Royals (10-3) of
state power Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo a little bit wide-eyed in Friday’s
(Dec. 29) NCAA Division 1 game of the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic at Santana.
The
Pack shot better than 50 percent in the first period to take a 19-12 lead and
maintained that advantage to hold a 31-24 halftime edge.
The 3rd quarter
was a disaster for West Hills (9-4) as the Pack was outscored 18-4.
“SHERIKA
MILLER and MARILYN NADERHOFF got into foul trouble in the 3rd quarter and we had
to sit them, and Mission Prep took advantage of it,” said West Hills coach
RYAN KINSER. “Mission Prep came back from halftime ready to play, and we
didn’t.”
MARIAH BENNETT attempted to carry the Pack with her season-best
17 points, more than half of which came on a trio of treys. The ever-reliable
KIMBERLY CLARK also canned 15 points, but West Hills could not find much offense
from the rest of the troops.
West Hills scoring: Mariah Bennett 17 (3 ast,
2 reb), Kimberly Clark 15, Shelby Russo 5, Sherika Miller 4 (6 reb), Marilyn Naderhoff
4 (6 reb, 4 ast), Connie Hines 4 (3 reb), Amber Darby 1 (3 blk).
HORIZON
78, MONTE VISTA 21; OTAY RANCH 49, MONTE VISTA 37 – An ever-optimistic
Monarchs coach, MIKE SKIBBE is not discouraged by Monte Vista’s 0-8 start.
The veteran skipper realizes that injuries and inexperience are impeding the development
of a program he started two years ago at ground zero.
“Our puppies
are playing a lot,” Skibbe said. “Right now it’s like on-the-job
training. Our kids haven’t played a lot of basketball.”
In the
first game of Friday’s (Dec. 29) contests in the Monte Vista Winter Classic,
the Monarchs put up a decent fight against Otay Ranch and trailed only 36-31 after
three quarters.
“We should have won that game,” Skibbe said. “But
again this is an extremely inexperienced team we’re putting on the floor
right now. We’re still making critical mistakes, but we need to remain calm.”
“If
you watched this team from Day One and see where we are now, you can see the progress
that’s being made. We’re not the same team we were a month ago.”
Skibbe
is banking on the return of three key players who have been sidelined by either
injuries or academic problems. He hopes to have all that solved by the time the
Grossmont South League season begins (Jan. 11).
Monte Vista scoring vs.
Horizon: Alex Ross 8, DeAnna Bembry 8, Megan Boyce 2, LiAiesha Brandon 2, Kayla
Pusey 1.
Monte Vista scoring vs. Otay Ranch: Jill Miranda 8, Kayla Pusey
8, LiAiesha Brandon 6, DeAnna Bembry 5, Ailene Pamintuan 4, Randi Houser 2, Megan
Boyce 2, Alex Ross 2.
MOUNTAIN VIEW (Wash.) 50, CHRISTIAN 6 –
KELSEY DePRIEST scored 4 points and MARISA MARRIN scored 2 in Friday’s (Dec.
29) Prep Division game of the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic.
Christian
scoring: Kelsey DePriest 4, Marisa Marrin 2.
Dec.
27: Brawley at El Capitan highlights (Slideshow by Leslie Autry)
This trio is fearless, they play a
physical brand of ball inside the paint.
“We’re a real good rebounding
team,” said Hillenbrand, who scored 18 points and bagged 14 rebounds in the
Eagles’ 75-41 romp over visiting Reseda in Thursday’s (Dec. 27) NCAA
Division 3 contest of the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic.
“If we rebound
like we can, we’re golden,” Hillenbrand continued. “We’re
all about 6-foot-1 and we play about 6-foot-7.”
Sylvester chimed in
with 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Eagles improved to 7-4. Bender added 8 points
and 8 boards, but could have had more as well as her inside comrades had the game
not been so lop-sided.
“Amy is a huge part of our team,” said
Hillenbrand. “I’m still working on getting more post moves like she
has.”
While Granite Hills’ strength is clearly inside the paint,
the Eagles are hardly vulnerable outside, where SABRINA JIMENEZ operates. The
sophomore southpaw punched in 16 points while dealing 5 assists and notching 6
steals in the Eagles’ latest victory.
“Sabrina lives basketball,
it’s her life,” Hillenbrand said. “She’s so good with a ball
in her hands.”
Granite Hills stormed to a 39-15 lead and would have
won by an even larger margin had Reseda not landed 6 long-range 3-pointers.
EL
CAPITAN 60, BRAWLEY 17 – After an ultra-sluggish start, host El Capitan
used three consecutive baskets by SAMANTHA SPRING to turn a 10-6 lead into a 17-point
halftime advantage in Thursday’s (Dec. 27) NCAA Division 3 game of the El
Capitan Holiday Prep Classic.
The Vaqueros (10-3) closed out the 2nd quarter
with a 17-0 run for a 27-6 lead by intermission. El Capitan’s onslaught continued
as the Vaqueros forged in front 42-8 before El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES benched
his starters for unusual amounts of time.
No doubt Quinones thought Brawley,
which came in with an 8-2 record, would provide a greater challenge for his Vaqueros.
That never materialized as the Wildcats committed 32 turnovers and were clearly
overmatched.
After netting only 2 of 16 shots in the first quarter, the
Vaqueros hit 59 percent over the final three frames.
This is a team where
everybody seems to know their role.
“I feel like we have an arsenal
of girls who can score,” said Quinones. “We’re not one dimensional.
If they want to concentrate on one of our players, so be it. We’re going
to attack you from somewhere else.”
Eight Vaqueros pitched into the
scoring totals led by ASHLEY DUFFY’s 19 markers. Duffy continues to be the
Vaqueros’ ringleader as she dealt 8 assists and recorded 8 steals.
LIANA
PITMAN tossed in 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, while CRISELA BANKS
also tacked on 9 points, hitting 4 of 5 shots from the field.
SANTANA 69, KEARNY
34 – Never count the Santana Sultans out, whether it’s injuries,
lack of experience or a shortage of talent, coach JIM MOTTERSHAW’s crew will
always be heard from.
Maybe they shouldn’t be called the Sizzling Sultans
(8-4), but Santana outscored the visiting Komets in every quarter of Thursday’s
(Dec. 27) NCAA Division 2 blowout of the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic.
“Everybody
played well tonight,” said Mottershaw, who is not liberal in passing out
praise. “We got strong contributions from everybody.”
Junior KAILA
SMITH punched in 17 points to lead a truly balanced Santana offense that included
11 contributors.
JAMIE ELIAS added 15 points, including a pair of treys,
and shared team-high rebounding honors with SAMANTHA WHITE and NICOLE BRZECZEK.
The return of Brzeczek, a four-year varsity letterman, no doubt helped
light a fire under the Sultans. Sidelined with a thumb injury for several games
recently, Brzeczek received clearance from her doctor and has made an immediate
impact.
While wearing a cloth brace on her injured hand, the 5-foot-7 Brzeczek
hardly skipped a beat as she pitched in 11 points and 6 assists.
Santana
scored the last 8 points of the 1st quarter to take a 16-10 lead and never looked
back.
The poker-faced Mottershaw kept all the good news under his sleeve,
uttering only one thing: “It was nice to see that we only turned the ball
over 12 times, especially after throwing it away 34 times the night before.”
Santana
scoring: Kaila Smith 17, Jamie Elias 15, Nicole Brzeczek 11, Chelsea Eason 4,
Tawnya Proctor 4, Samantha White 3, Kim Gross 3, Mikaela Samuels 2, Keila Morris
2.
HELIX 67, HILLTOP 52 – When senior standout BRITTANY WILLIAMS
receives offensive support from her teammates, the Highlanders can be pretty hard
to beat, as they proved in Thursday’s (Dec. 27) NCAA Division 2 contest of
the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic.
While Williams was generating her
usual spectacular game of 26 points, 12 assists, 8 steals and 8 rebounds, SINOI
LEASAU was casting the swing vote as the Highlanders low-bridged the Lancers.
Leasau, a 5-foot-7 junior, connected on 6 of 12 shots from the field and
2 free throws to finish with 16 points. She also grabbed 5 rebounds and dished
4 assists.
“Brittany Williams played her typical outstanding all-around
game, and Sinoi Leasau was aggressive on both ends of the floor. She was the key
to our overall effort,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN.
Senior KAMI
OLIVER made the most of 5 shots to finish with 8 points, but her story was about
how she dominated the glass with 18 rebounds.
“Kami Oliver was really
aggressive on the boards,” said Hansen. “I told her after the game how
proud I was of her efforts.”
It wasn’t until the 4th quarter
that Helix (4-6) could celebrate a victory. Sparked by Williams’ 11 points,
2 treys by Leasau and a couple of buckets by SAM VICK, the Highlanders salted
away the victory.
Helix scoring: Brittany Williams 26, Sinoi Leasau 16,
Kami Oliver 8, Sam Vick 8 (6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Tatiana Jackson 7 (8 reb, 1 blk),
Mariah Walker 2.
CASTLE PARK 70, VALHALLA 66 (OT) – Only a week
ago the Castle Park Trojans clubbed the Norsemen by 20 points. So the fact that
the Norsemen lost by only 4 in overtime to that same team has to indicate that
coach JON OWENS’ ballclub is making rapid improvements.
The score was
knotted at 21-all by intermission of Thursday’s (Dec. 27) Prep Division contest
of the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic. Valhalla took a 5 point lead by the end
of the 3rd period, only to surrender it to the Trojans by the end of regulation
to force overtime.
To Valhalla ’s way of thinking, the game should
have ended in regulation.
The Norsemen led 58-57 with 12 seconds left to
play, but committed a critical turnover. With one second left, TANISHA LEE fouled
out in double bonus.
Castle Park was at the line and Owens called for a
time out. The referee denied the request, and Castle Park missed the first shot.
Owens got his time out, and Castle Park missed the second free throw… but
a Valhalla player was called for a lane violation. Castle Park made the free throw
to send the game into overtime.
“We couldn’t make a shot in overtime,
the emotions of how the game ended in regulation took a lot out of us,” said
Owens. “I thought we played well and should have won the game.”
Despite
the loss senior KELANI BLACKWELL scored a team-best 21 points in a balanced Valhalla
offense. Tanisha Lee added 14 points and 7 rebounds and 7 rebounds, while KELSEY
CARTMILL had 13 points and 8 rebounds.
Ever reliable EMILY ROBERTS turned
in a triple double of 11 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and 6 steals.
Valhalla
scoring: Kelani Blackwell 21, Tanisha Lee 14, Kelsey Cartmill 13, Emily Roberts
11, Nichole Miller 4, Amy Woods 2, Megan Tex 1.
POWAY 60, WEST HILLS
46 – Although they hadn’t played a game in two weeks, the Wolf Pack
was flirting with an upset that could cause their name to be rattled around among
the San Diego CIF elite teams.
West Hills (8-3) used a strong 2nd quarter
to gain a 28-25 halftime lead of Thursday’s (Dec. 27) NCAA Division 1 game
of the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic.
The Pack, however, could not maintain
their intensity in the 2nd half.
MARIAH BENNETT was the only West Hills
player to reach double digits with 15 points, anchored by her 7 of 9 free throw
shooting. She also had 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.
“I knew
we’d struggle in this game,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “We
died in the 2nd half, just didn’t have any intensity.”
WEST
HILLS 56, GARDENA 48 – Considering it had lost an earlier showdown against
No. 5 ranked Poway, the Wolf Pack (9-3) came back strong against Gardena in Thursday’s
(Dec. 27) second NCAA Division 1 game of the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic.
“It
was tough to play two games in one day,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER.
“We got off to a great start in this game and rode that to the victory. We
had more energy tonight than in the earlier game.”
Nobody was more
electric than sophomore guard KIMBERLY CLARK, who sank 6 three-pointers on her
way to a career-high 24 points. Clark was also 4 for 4 from the charity stripe
and still found time to gather 4 rebounds.
“Kimberly was really on
top of her game tonight,” said Kinser.
MARILYN NADERHOFF, who seems
to have a sense for delivering whatever her team needs at the moment, contributed
13 points, 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 rebounds.
West Hills (9-3) jumped out
to a 15-5 first quarter lead and made it stand up despite repeated challenges
from Gardena. The closest the Panthers got was 4 points in the 3rd quarter, but
the Wolf Pack methodically pulled away.
West Hills scoring: Kimberly Clark
24, Marilyn Naderhoff 13, Sherika Miller 9 (2 treys, 3 stl), Connie Hines 4, Shelby
Russo 2, Amber Darby 2, Mariah Bennett 1 (4 ast, 5 stl), Corryn Kivett 1 (5 reb).
BURROUGHS
45, STEELE CANYON 36 – This was a painful loss for the Steele Canyon
Cougars, who folded down the stretch against Ridgecrest Burroughs in
Thursday’s
(Dec. 27) NAIA Division of the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic.
With 4:32
remaining, Steele Canyon was clinging to a precarious 32-31 lead.
“Then
we had 8 consecutive turnovers,” said Cougars coach PENNY SMITH. “It
was a lack of discipline. We had way too many turnovers tonight (24) – 10
in the 4th quarter alone. You can’t win games doing that. As a coach, I take
full responsibility for the way we played tonight.”
It was not all
dismal for the Cougars (2-4), as 5-foot-10 senior forward BELINDA PICKENS produced
a powerful double-double of 16 points, 14 rebounds and 3 steals. Pickens also
had a keen shooting eye, clicking on 5 of 9 from the floor and 6 of 9 from the
free throw stripe.
“Belinda Pickens carried us tonight – she played
her heart out,” said Smith.
“There were no excuses for the way
we played defense tonight,” he added. “We gave them the game. We’ll
learn from it though.”
CASTLEMONT
57, GROSSMONT 51 – HEATHER SPRINGE was assigned a support role in last
year’s Foothillers drive to the Grossmont North League championship and a
24-6 finish.
She was clearly overshadowed by Division I college standouts
La’KENYA SIMON-WEST and THERESE REIDEL, who are both now playing at the University
of Idaho this season.
So Springe had to be ecstatic after scoring a career-high
29 points in
Thursday’s (Dec. 27) WNBA Division of the El Capitan
Holiday Prep Classic, even though the results were a loss to Oakland ’s Castlemont.
“Springe
ran the floor real well and TINA RIOS did a good job getting the ball to her,”
said Grossmont coach MARK DeFEDE.
DeFede said the Foothillers were down
by 17 points with 2 minutes left but were able to cut the lead to 3 points.
“Then
we missed a couple of easy shots,” he said.
Rios, the senior sparkplug,
finished with 7 assists, 4 steals and 6 points.
“Castlemont was big
and they were athletic, with three girls well over 6 feet, and they had quick
guards,” said DeFede. “They keyed on Tina a lot. We got in a little
bit of foul trouble, but we played great help defense.”
ST. JOSEPH’S 42,
CHRISTIAN 19 – The painful rebuilding process continues for the Christian
High Patriots, who took it on the chin for the 13th straight time in Thursday’s
(Dec. 27) Prep Division of the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic.
A couple
of high points for the Patriots was KELSEY DePRIEST reached double digits with
10 points and MARISA MARRIN landed a 3-pointer.
“We played well tonight
because they didn’t pressure us,” said Christian coach SKIP GERLEK.
"This is a young team
with talent, but a different kind of talent," said the point guard, who directed
the Hillers to the 2007 GNL title. "This year's team is just a lot different
than last year's team."
And one showing signs of improvement.
Despite
not fielding a single go-to scoring threat, the Hillers stayed close and even
made a late run against Orange County's Villa Park before the Spartans pulled
away in Wednesday's (Dec. 26) 73-51 first round decision in the opening round
of the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic WNBA Division.
"We just keep working
together -- we're getting closer," Rios added about a team which posted 46
victories (Santana won 45 in four additional games) over her sophomore and junior
years. "Once we start finishing off plays, we might be able to contend for
the title."
Grossmont was frustrated after shooting just 27 percent
from the floor against the Spartans. But the figure is misleading, as the Foothillers
were fouled all night, leading to a parade of free throws. And shooting a respectable
70 percent from the line kept the team close until the fourth period.
Moments
after Grossmont turned three steals into a series of layins to trim a 24-point
deficit down to 41-31 moments into the fourth period, Villa Park guard Brianna
Salvatore got hot, scoring 10 of her game-high 36 points over the next six minutes
to pull away. Most of Salvatore's scoring came courtesy of guard Nicole Ballestero,
who finished with 18 points and 10 assists.
"They were passing the
way we want to pass," noted Rios, who officially registered just two assists,
but lost six others on plays which led to foul shots.
Grossmont forward
HEATHER SPRINGE posted 11 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals, while center TERRA
MUSGROVE also scored 11 and grabbed 6 boards.
EL CAPITAN
72, SHAFTER 36 – One of the goals coach FRANK QUIONNES has set for his
Vaqueros this year is not to let an invader beat El Capitan on its home floor.
So
far, so good. The Vaqueros (9-3) ran their home gym mark to 4-0 in Wednesday’s
(Dec. 26) first round of the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division 3
contest.
Bakersfield Shafter hardly offered a challenge as the Vaqueros
grabbed a 21-9 first quarter lead and ballooned that advantage to 41-20 by halftime.
“One
of our biggest goals this year is not to lose a home game,” said El Capitan
coach FRANK QUINONES. “It’s a nice feeling when you have the girls playing
hard and jelling together – it’s a fun environment.”
ASHLEY
DUFFY was the grand marshall of El Capitan ’s latest victory parade with
21 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 7 steals.
“Our strength today
was we passed a lot and made good passes,” said Duffy, a junior guard. “Today
was one of our more together games. We finished a lot of our shots – we were
taking good shots and playing smart. I like playing at home.”
Teammate
ASHLEY BUNCE, who tallied 10 points and 7 rebounds, agreed.
“We have
got to protect our home court,” said Bunce. “I liked in the fourth quarter
when we were up by a lot and were able to still push the ball and get steals.
We never quit.”
SAMANTHA SPRING enjoyed one of her best outings of
the campaign with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals for the Vaqueros (9-3).
SANTANA 72,
NORTH BAKERSFIELD 63 – Santana coach JIM MOTTERSHAW has to like what
he sees in the Sultans’ future after his club equaled its season-high against
a quality opponent in Wednesday’s (Dec. 26) NCAA Division 2 of the El Capitan
Holiday Prep Classic.
“We scored 72 points tonight with just one senior,
BRITTANY FENN, contributing,” said Mottershaw. “Their press hurt us.
Without NICOLE BRZECZEK (missing due to a thumb injury), teams are going to continue
to press us. We played well but our 34 turnovers hurt us.”
Sophomore
ALYSSA PADBERG scored a career-high 15 points to lead the Sultans with 15 points
and 4 assists. She was 7 for 7 from the free throw line, helping Santana (7-4)
convert better than 74 percent of 35 free throws.
“Our three freshmen
(KIM GROSS, MIKAELA SAMUELS and SAMANTHA WHITE) all were a key part of our victory
tonight, accounting for 24 of our 72 points (33 percent),” said Mottershaw.
KAILA
SMITH made a solid contribution of her own. The 5-foot-10 junior dropped in 14
points and muscled down 13 rebounds for the Sultans.
“ North Bakersfield
is a fine team. They will win their three other games here in San Diego,”
Mottershaw predicted.
Santana scoring: Alyssa Padberg 15, Kaila Smith 14,
Kim Gross 11, Jamie Elias 8, Samantha White 8, Lauren Mueller 6, Brittany Fenn
5, Mikaela Samuels 5.
VALHALLA 47, VALLEY CENTER 45 – The Norsemen
broke into the win column for the first time in five starts in Wednesday’s
(Dec. 26) Prep Division of the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic.
With 11
seconds remaining in the 4th quarter and Valhalla leading 46-45, the Norsemen
forced a jump ball and got the ball on the alternate possession.
With 6
seconds left KELANI BLACKWELL was fouled. She made the first free throw to move
the score to 47-45, but was called for a lane violation on the second.
Valhalla
put on full-court pressure to deny Valley Center any chance at a desperation shot.
Blackwell,
a senior guard, paced the Norsemen with a career-high 16 points, while sophomore
TANISHA LEE tossed in 11 points.
Junior EMILY ROBERTS led a strong Valhalla
rebounding effort with 12 caroms to go along with 6 points, 6 assists and 3 steals.
“Valley
Center is a real good team and this was a good win,” said Valhalla coach
JON OWENS. “It was nice to get our first win of the season in front of the
home crowd. Everybody stepped up and played well.”
Valhalla (1-4) led
30-16 after one half and then fell on its face as the Jaguars claimed a 12-2 scoring
edge in the 3rd period.
“We were really flat after the 3rd quarter
– the second half was a real battle,” Owens noted.
STEELE CANYON 46, POINT LOMA 39 – Having sized
up the competition, Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH likes the Cougars chances
in the NAIA Division of the El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic.
“We can
win this division,” Smith said optimistically.
KATY SNEW, who had
been unavailable to the team for two games due to bereavement commitments, centered
7 of 10 shots from the floor and finished with a team-best 16 points to go along
with 6 steals as the Cougars punched out the Pointers on Wednesday (Dec. 26).
BELINDA
PICKENS turned in a strong double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. G’KIA
MYLES also cleared 11 caroms off the glass.
“We got contributions
from everyone who played. Our defense was outstanding today. I’m happy with
the way we played,” said Smith.
PATRICK HENRY 55, HELIX 50 – BRITTANY WILLIAMS scored
23 points and SINOI LEASAU added 16, but it wasn’t enough as the Highlanders
tumbled in
Wednesday’s (Dec. 26) El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic,
NCAA Division 2 contest at Santana.
Williams hit 11 of 20 shots, including
one trey, for the Highlanders (3-7). Leasau knocked down a trio of treys, grabbed
7 rebounds and logged 2 steals.
“It actually was a pretty good game,”
said Helix assistant coach WILLY HATHAWAY. “We didn’t play as well defensively
as I thought we would. I’m a little disappointed in our overall effort –
we can improve.”
Patrick Henry (8-3) led 32-29 at halftime. The Highlanders
drew within 50-49 late in the 4th quarter and Patriots popped their bubble with
a 3-pointer.
KAMI OLIVER did a nifty job inside for the Highlanders, corralling
10 rebounds and blocking 2 shots. TATIANA JACKSON also snagged 7 rebounds for
Helix.
Helix scoring: Brittany Williams 23 (4 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Sinoi
Leasau 16, Sam Vick 6 (3 reb, 2 ast), Tatiana Jackson 3, Nydah Royster (2 ast).
OCEANSIDE
73, MONTE VISTA 31 – One thing can be said about Monte Vista’s second-year
head coach MIKE SKIBBE – the guy is optimistic. His positive influence never
wanes despite the trials and tribulations of his rebuilding Monte Vista squad.
Eight Monarchs scored in Wednesday’s (Dec. 26) first round of the
Monte Vista Winter Classic. That in itself is a team high for the season.
JILL
MIRANDA set the scoring pace with 8 points, while freshman DeANNA BEMBRY enjoyed
a more balanced effort which included 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals to go
along with 4 points.
“We had four girls – and all four are guards
– out today for one reason or another,” said Skibbe. “Our (four)
freshmen played a lot and we’re showing well. I know that we’re getting
a whole lot better. We walked in today with one guard against Oceanside, who ran
and pressed us.”
Monte Vista scoring: Jill Miranda 8, Alex Ross 5,
Janay Patton 4, LiAiesha Brandon 4, DeAnna Bembry 4 (7 reb, 3 blk, 3 stl), Randi
Houser 2, Megan Boyce 2, Kayla Pusey 2.
CALEXICO 50, CHRISTIAN 14 –
The struggle continues for the Patriots of Christian High, who were cuffed around
by Calexico in Wednesday’s (Dec. 26) first round of the El Capitan Holiday
Prep Classic, Prep Division.
The Patriots fell behind the Bulldogs (2-2)
16-4 in the first quarter and trailed 19-8 at halftime.
Chrisitian scoring:
Kelsey DePriest 5, Jenny Harrison 4, Marisa Marrin 2, Ricki Gentry 2, Joanne Park
1.
OUR LADY OF PEACE 57, GRANITE HILLS 54 (OT) – Wednesday (Dec.
26) El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division 3. No further details reported.
Granite Hills had plenty of opportunities
to fold, especially after the Red Devils mounted a 10-point lead late in the third
quarter of Saturday's (Dec. 22) Colts-Eagles Classic championship contest.
"We
were getting frustrated as a team but we kept at it," said point guard SABRINA
JIMENEZ. "We kept pushing and encouraging each other. We thought it was our
game from the beginning and we knew we could finish this."
Despite
losing a pair of starters to fouls, the Eagles still found steam enough behind
the play of Jimenz, the tournament MVP, who hit key 3-point goals late in both
the fourth period and overtime, to finally nip the Red Devils, 56-52.
Sweetwater
does well in two phases of the game: disrupting an opponent's offense despite
its lack of height, then shooting the triple. In fact, every time Granite Hills
moved into position to tie or take the lead, the Devils would manage to immediately
answer with a basket on a shot from the outside.
"We were trying to
get the ball down low, runnng different plays to get the ball in there,"
said center LAUREN BENDER. "And when we did, it was getting frustrating because
their defense was collapsing on us."
Jonalynn Furetes, who joined
teammate Jennifer Valentin on the all-tournament team, registered all of her 15
points on treys. But when Sweetwater's shooters finally went cold -- sinking just
one field goal in the fourth period, and one more in overtime -- Granite Hills
rediscovered its inside-outside attack.
A Jennifer Fuentes steal for a layin
while being fouled gave Sweetwater a 3-point play and a 40-30 lead with 50 second
left in the third. However, the Eagles started to hit some shots, including a
Jimenez triple to move within 46-44, followed by a putback by LAUREN BENDER to
tie the contest with 2:17 remaining.
Sylvester then took a feed from KYLEE
WILSON to drain a 10-footer with 1:20 left for the Eagles' first lead since the
first half. But when Sarah Guerrero hit two fouls shots in the final minute, the
game was extended an extra four minutes.
“We didn't have Molly, then
we lost Amy (late in overtime), so our main post players were gone," added
Jimenez. "Sometimes you have to take control and know where your strengths
are."
In overtime, after the teams exchanged baskets, Jimenez (13 points,
9 rebounds) hit another 3-ball, then her inbounds pass to Sylvester (team-high
15 points) resulted in a layin to clinch the tournament title.
"We
were grinding and working -- the girls kept their head and kept their cool --
but they fought through everything and didn't make excuses," said Eagles
coach JERRY PARKER. "And I can't give Sabrina enough credit for her work
ethic. She had big shoes to fill for MORGAN (SABALA, now at Whittier College )
by coming into the gym and working hard all summer."
Granite Hills
stayed close in the first half behind MOLLY HILLENBRAND, who collected 10 points
and 14 boards by the intermission. However, a fourth foul early in the third period
left her effectively ineffective the rest of the night. Hillenbrand, an all-tournament
pick, finished with 14 points, 16 boards, and blocked three shots.
Hillenbrand,
Sylvester and Bender all finished with double-doubles, as the Eagles held a 67-52
rebounding advantage.
SANTANA 35, GROSSMONT 27 – What occurred
between these longtime Grossmont North league rivals in Saturday’s (Dec.
22) final day of the Kiwanis Tournament is probably not indicative of the intensity
level that will occur when these teams face of in league action next month.
“This
was a typical 10:45 a.m. early game,” said Santana coach JIM MOTTERSHAW.
“I feel both teams were not ready to play. It was our fourth game in four
days and it was another one of those meaningless tournament games that, when you
look back at the end of the season, you will be glad you had a chance to play.”
Talk
about slow starts – this one got out of the gates pretty lethargically with
Santana leading 5-3. Grossmont has scored only 5 points in the first quarter of
their last two games combined.
Santana’s JAMIE ELIAS sank a pair of
3-pointers on her way to a game-high 12 points. She also shared team-high rebounding
honors with freshman SAMANTHA WHITE at 6 apiece.
White was a force at the
free throw line for the Sultans, hitting 6 of 7 chances as she finished with 10
points for the game.
“Although we had too many turnovers (25), we played
better basketball today,” said Mottershaw.
Santana (6-3) used a 13-6
scoring spread to secure the victory in the final quarter.
NICOLE BRZECZEK,
who suffered a heavy sprain in her left thumb in a drill on Monday, will miss
all next week. The Sultans hope to get her back in January.
TERRA MUSGROVE
(11 points) and HEATHER SPRINGE (10) accounted for the bulk of the offense for
Grossmont (4-4).
“We’re just not shooting the ball very well
right now,” said Grossmont coach MARK DeFEDE.
Santana scoring: Jamie
Elias 12, Samantha White 10, Lauren Mueller 6, Kaila Smith 5, Alyssa Padberg 2,
Kim Gross (3 ast).
Grossmont scoring: Terra Musgrove 11, Heather Springe
10, Tina Rios 5, Carley Applegate 1.
RANCHO BUENA VISTA 70, MONTE VISTA
30 – The Monarchs aren’t exactly ready to throw a parade, but they
have to be pleased that they’re gradually finding their offense.
After
totaling just 22 points in their first three games combined, Monte Vista scored
17 markers in the second quarter of Saturday’s (Dec. 22) Kiwanis Tournament
consolation game to trail the North County Longhorns 34-23 at halftime.
Monte
Vista (0-4) could not keep up the momentum in the second half, however.
JANAY
PATTON paced the Monarchs with 7 points. No other information was reported.
Monte
Vista scoring: Janay Patton 7, DeAnna Bembry 6, Alexandria Conwright 6, Jill Miranda
6, Kayla Pusey 3, Megan Boyce 2.
Granite Hills will host Sweetwater for
the tournament title at 6 p.m.
The Eagles’ semifinal punch-out of the
Patriots was bittersweet for Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER.
“As
much as I am excited about getting this impressive victory, it’s kind of
an awkward situation for me, since I coached so many of Patrick Henry’s players
in the past,” said Parker. “When I first came out here, the Patrick
Henry people were so kind to me, invited me out to barbecues and stuff like that.
I coached these kids for quite a while as sixth graders, seventh graders, eighth
graders and as their JV coach too.”
But that’s the past. Parker’s
present focus is on Granite Hills (6-3), and his Eagles performed masterfully
against a quality Patrick Henry squad (7-2).
Sophomore SABRINA JIMENEZ lit
up the Granite Hills offense by swishing five 3-pointers on her way to a game-high
19 points.
The Eagles trudged to an 18-13 halftime lead before turning the
game into a blowout in the final 16 minutes by outscoring the Patriots 30-6.
“This
is a big win for us because it came against a quality Division I team,” Parker
said. “We don’t have that many games against Division I teams and the
only team in our (Grossmont South) league that’s Division I is Helix. So
we have to make the most of any opportunity we get like this.”
Parker
was most proud about his girls rationing the Patriots to a mere 6 points in the
second half.
“I’d have to say that this is one of the better defensive
games for us,” he said. “We came out and tweaked our 2-3 zone and forced
them to go left. I think dictating which side we wanted them to play was a major
factor.”
SANTANA
56, RANCHO BUENA VISTA 32 – Playing without scoring leader NICOLE BRZECZEK,
who is out indefinitely with an injury, the Sultans looked to other sources to
find a victory combination during Friday’s (Dec. 21) consolation contest
of the Kiwanis Tournament at Mira Mesa.
Santana (5-4) outscored the Longhorns
(1-6) in all four quarters.
KAILA SMITH stepped to the forefront as Santana’s
scoring leader with 13 points and 8 rebounds.
JAMIE ELIAS and ALYSSA PADBERG
led the Sultans’ supporting cast with 10 points apiece.
“We played
a little bit better than we have in the last few games,” said Santana coach
JIM MOTTERSHAW. “We also shot better than we have recently and did not have
as many turnovers. We had a good balance offensively and played well defensively.”
Santana
scoring: Kaila Smith 13, Alyssa Padberg 10, Jamie Elias 10, Lauren Mueller 6,
Samantha White 6, Mikaela Samuels 4, Brittany Fenn 4, Kim Gross 3.
GROSSMONT
52, MONTE VISTA 6 – Although these teams are not scheduled to meet during
the regular season, the Foothillers rumbled to a lop-sided victory in Friday’s
(Dec. 21) Kiwanis Tournament contest.
Senior sparkplug TINA RIOS rang up
20 points, 6 assists and 6 steals for the Foothillers (4-3), who streaked to an
18-0 first quarter lead and extended that advantage to 28-2 by the break.
“We
needed a win after shooting 12 percent last night,” said Foothillers’
coach MARK DeFEDE. “Tina ran the show, had a good night for us. She was 8
for 12 shooting. TERRA MUSGROVE did a good job inside.”
Monte Vista scoring: Ruby Ross 2, DeAnna Bembry 2, Megan Boyce 2.
BONITA
VISTA 51, VALHALLA 29 – Despite losing for the fourth time in as many
starts, the Norsemen under second-year head coach JON OWENS, are making marked
improvement.
The Norsemen were competitive against Bonita Vista in Friday’s
(Dec. 21) Colts-Eagles Holiday Invitational tilt, even though they were outscored
in all four quarters.
EMILY ROBERTS continues to be the stalwart for the
Norsemen (0-4) as she led the squad with 13 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals and
3 assists.
Even though she did not score a points, junior AMY WOODS secured
9 rebounds for Valhalla.
“We started out much better than we have in
the last few games,” said Owens. “We rebounded better and played better
defense tonight. Our shooting still needs to improve for us to improve. We are
paying the price for being such a young team.”
UNIVERSITY CITY 53, EL CAJON VALLEY
35 – El Cajon Valley was overmatched by University City in Friday’s
(Dec. 21) Colts-Eagles Holiday Invitational at Granite Hills. But the much-improved
Braves (5-9) forced the more experienced Centurions to work for their points.
JEENA
NORWAREKAR led the Braves with 10 points, while SAMANTHA JULIEN contributed 9
points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists.
El Cajon Valley scoring: Jeena Norwarekar
10, Samantha Julien 9, Kaylani Faten 8, Hazel Doe 3, Sheraina Moon 3, Kelly Wimberly
2.
Redondo Union (8-0),
ranked No. 3 in the state, used a pivotal 18-9 scoring advantage in the 3rd quarter
to down No. 7 ranked Mount Miguel 57-43 in a non-league game here Thursday night
(Dec. 20).
“The final score does not show how close the game really
was,” said Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL. “People might think I’m
talking silly, but I really think we could have won this game.”
“These
two teams, us and them, are so similar in makeup, but our inside people got in
foul trouble and that allowed them to score easily underneath.”
Redondo
Union jumped out to a 21-9 lead early in the 2nd quarter, but the Matadors fought
back to trail by only 5 by intermission.
The game was still in doubt midway
through the 3rd quarter with Redondo clinging to a 35-32 advantage.
Things
changed drastically for Mount Miguel when 6-foot-1 senior wing AUTUMN SPIKES picked
up her fourth personal foul at that point.
After Spikes retreated to the
bench Redondo rolled to a 10-0 streak to end the quarter with a 47-33 lead.
“To
be honest, we were right there with them till we lost Autumn,” Sandoval said.
“Spikes was doing a really good job defensively on their bigs inside even
though she didn’t give us any offense.”
Redondo Union’s Atonye
Nyingifa, a 6-foot-1 UCLA-bound pivot for 18 points and 10 rebounds.
“They
run a triangle offense, which means everything goes through her,” Sandoval
noted. “Spikes was doing a decent job against her, but when Autumn got in
foul trouble, we were in trouble.”
Spikes finished with just 4 points
but did manage 8 rebounds and 2 blocks.
CINDY EKWEOZOR added 10 rebounds
and 2 blocks but also struggled on the offensive end with only 4 points.
“They
killed us on the glass,” Sandoval said of Redondo’s 49-33 advantage
on the boards. “We gave them a lot of second-chance points.”
One
Matador player Redondo Union did not have an answer for was junior guard DANESIA
WILLIAMSON, who scored her season-high 26 points. The speedy Mount Miguel floor
leader nailed 8 field goals – including a pair of treys – and also converted
8 of 13 shots from the charity stripe.
Nobody else in the Mount Miguel lineup
scored more than 4 points.
Mount Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 26 (4
reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Shateara Anderson 4 (3 reb), Autumn Spikes 4, Cindy Ekweozor
4, Nicole Fountain 3 (5 reb, 1 trey), Danielle Miller 2 (3 reb, 2 stl).
EL
CAPITAN 66, EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 38 – Buoyed by a week’s rest, the
host Vaqueros looked a little more crisp as they used a 22-7 scoring spree to
blow out visiting El Centro-Central Union in a non-league game Thursday (Dec.
20) in Lakeside.
SAMANTHA SPRING paced the Vaqueros (8-3) with 17 points,
while ASHLEY DUFFY chimed in with 9 points, 11 rebounds, 14 assists and 9 steals.
Rested
as they were, El Capitan found itself down 8-2 in the early stages of the game,
but rebounded by scoring the final 9 points in the period.
“After the
1st quarter I challenged them,” said Vaqueros coach FRANK QUINONES. “One
thing about this team is I’ve got nine girls. If Duffy is covered, I’ve
got other girls who can score. Duffy contributes offensively with her assists.
She continues to amaze me – every game she does something better and better.”
LIANA
PITMAN pitched in with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals. CRISELA BANKS added
8 points and 3 boards, while JAMIE FERGUSON garnered 6 points and 7 rebounds,
as did BRITNEY LORING.
“Ferguson reminds me of Dennis Rodman getting
rebounds,” chuckled Quinones. “I’m almost positive she could dunk
a golf ball.”
LA
COSTA CANYON 44, GROSSMONT 33 – First-year Grossmont High head coach
MARK DeFEDE was so frustrated he could hardly speak after his Foothillers (3-3)
shot only 12 percent in the first half as they fell behind La Costa Canyon 23-12
in Thursday’s (Dec. 20) Kiwanis Tournament game.
“We only made
two free throws in the first quarter, whose Hillers trailed the Mavericks 17-2
after the first eight minutes. “I couldn’t believe it when I looked
at the shooting charts that we’d made only 4 of 31 shots in the first half.”
Grossmont
warmed up a bit in the second half to hit 8 of 25 shots from the field, but by
then it was too late.
Foul-plagued TINA RIOS paced the Hillers with 10 points,
6 steals and 4 assists.
CASTLE PARK 59, VALHALLA 52 – EMILY
ROBERTS turned in a powerful performance for Valhalla in Thursday’s (Dec.
20) Colts-Eagles Holiday Invitational at Crawford.
The junior guard rang
up team-highs of 18 points, 19 rebounds, 8 steals and 5 assists. But it wasn’t
enough to help the Norsemen avoid their third straight loss.
“EMILY
ROBERTS played a great all-around game on both ends of the floor,” said Valhalla
coach JON OWENS.
KELSEY CARTMILL punched in 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3
assists, while KELANI BLACKWELL tossed in 9 points, and TANISHA LEE tallied 8
points and bagged 9 boards.
“We can’t start from behind like we
did these last two nights,” said Owens. “We’re paying for being
a young team – too little experience, not enough good shooting, too many
mistakes.”
SWEETWATER 39, EL CAJON VALLEY
26 – If nothing else, credit the El Cajon Valley Braves for being in
tip-top shape. Playing their 13th game in 15 days, the Braves have to be proud
of their 5-8 record, which far surpasses their forgettable showing of 2-24 a year
ago.
El Cajon Valley enjoyed a small lead in the 3rd quarter Thursday’s
(Dec. 20) Colts-Eagles Holiday Invitational, but trailed 26-21 entering the final
eight minutes.
“I believe for 22 minutes we played great basketball,”
said Braves coach RANDY ROBINSON. “There was electricity. To me it was the
best sustained effort we’ve had.”
Bottom line though, is Sweetwater
used a 13-5 fourth quarter flourish to deny the Braves.
“We had a lead
in the 3rd quarter but couldn’t hold it,” said Robinson. “That
ultimately caused us to be frustrated. The fact that we were 10 for 49 from the
floor didn’t help. We have learned to lead, we are learning to adjust. We
backed off a little late in the 3rd quarter. We played as good a defensive “man”
as I’ve seen since coaching for the last year and a half. It was one of our
best defensive efforts.”
El Cajon Valley scoring: Jeena Norwarekar
6, Sheraina Moon 6 (12 reb), Kelly Wimberly 6 (6 reb), Samantha Julien 4 (6 reb),
Shelena Moon 2, Kaylani Faten 2 (6 reb), Hazel Doe (4 stl).
RANCHO BERNARDO
71, MONTE VISTA 11 – The Monarchs doubled their scoring output from the
day before, but it didn’t matter, as their anemic attack was hardly challenging
to the Broncos (4-2) in Thursday’s (Dec. 20) Kiwanis Tournament action.
“We
were a whole lot better tonight,” said Monte Vista coach MIKE SKIBBE. “We’ll
be OK by the time league starts. We’re playing real tough teams at the start
of the season. We’re in the toughest girls’ tournaments and that will
help us later on.”
Monte Vista scoring: Ailene Pamintuan 4, Jill Miranda
3, LiAiesha Brandon 2, Janay Patton 2.
That
includes Wednesday’s (Dec. 19) 49-35 triumph over Madison in the Colts-Eagles
Holiday Invitational at Crawford High.
Unlike last year when the Braves
rarely led any game at any stage, El Cajon Valley pounced on Madison to take a
12-6 first-quarter lead and then expanded that advantage to 27-10 by the break.
“We
jumped out to a good lead early and played consistent,” said Robinson. “Our
evolution is working. We can’t sustain our intensity but this whole thing
is a process.”
Senior SHERAINA MOON was the shining star as she tallied
21 points, including 9 of 11 free throws. Her efforts did not stop there, however,
as she also topped the Braves (5-7) with 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
KAYLANI
FATEN pitched in 11 points and 5 rebounds for El Cajon Valley.
SAMANTHA
JULIEN garnered 5 points and 6 rebounds, while HAZEL DOE joined the statistical
parade with 5 points and 5 steals.
“We are no longer in the bottom
20 in the county,” said Robinson. “It shows the kids what hard work
can do. Madison beat us last year, but we beat them this year.”
El
Cajon Valley scoring: Sheraina Moon 21, Kaylani Faten 11, Hazel Doe 5, Samantha
Julien 5, Kelly Wimberly 4, Shelena Moon 2, Jeena Norwarekar 1.
GRANITE
HILLS 47, ORANGE GLEN 38 – Paced by the career-high 24 points of sophomore
SABRINA JIMENEZ, the Eagles won their fourth straight during Wednesday night’s
Colts-Eagles Holiday Invitational.
By winning their pool, Granite Hills
(5-3) now advances to the bracketed segment of the tournament.
“Jimenez
was looking to set up players last year,” said Granite Hills coach JERRY
PARKER. “This year she is looking to be more aggressive and so is MOLLY HILLENBRAND.”
“Sabrina
has really worked a lot on her game – she was shooting 300-500 threes during
her workouts as soon as the season was over last year. Right now she’s a
little over 40 percent at the 3-point line.”
Jimenez landed 4 treys
in the Eagles squeeze of Orange Glen.
Hillenbrand, meanwhile, scored only
5 points but led the Eagles on the glass with 15 boards.
Not to be overlooked
was AMY SYLVESTER, who punched in 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
“Orange
Glen was pretty solid,” said Parker. “It was pretty even most of the
game. We pounded the ball inside and got some of their girls in foul trouble.
I wish we would have shot from the free throw line a little better (the Eagles
were only 7 of 18).”
MISSION
HILLS 52, GROSSMONT 51 (OT) – This was an interesting duel between San
Diego CIF Division II rivals that surely will by jockeying for a Top 4 seed come
playoff time.
Thanks to a 35-point scoring spree by Keisha Cox, Mission
Hills (3-3) gained the early edge over Grossmont in playoff consideration by coming
from behind to dump the Foothillers in Wednesday’s (Dec. 19) first round
of the Kiwanis Tournament.
It took the Grizzlies overtime to nip the Foothillers.
Cox accounted for 4 of Mission Hills’ 7 overtime points. The Foothillers
(3-2) did not go down easily, as they forced the game into overtime. Once again,
Mission Hills counted on Cox, who cabled in 4 of the Grizzlies’ 7 points
in the extra stanza.
But according to Grossmont coach MARK DeFEDE, the Foothillers
were in position to avoid overtime as they led by 4 points in the waning seconds
of regulation. Two turnovers, however, allowed Mission Hills to forge a tie and
send the game into OT.
“We were down by 10 points and came back and
took a 10-point lead,” said DeFede. “We started out real slow, we were
rusty. In the 2nd half we pressured them a lot. We hadn’t played in two weeks
but we turned it on in the 2nd half.”
“It just came down to free
throws,” added DeFede.
TINA RIOS, who did not shoot a free throw during
regulation, was 4 of 6 in overtime. CHANEL PUTRIS scored her only basket in the
extra period. Still, it was not enough.
Rios finished with 11 points, 6
steals, 5 assists and 5 rebounds – a typical night for her.
It was
a career night for her teammate HEATHER SPRINGE, who muscled in a 20 points and
12 rebounds to lead Grossmont.
TERRA MUSGROVE added 9 points and 8 rebounds.
“Springe
played real well in the 2nd half,” said DeFede. “She was very consistent
in the middle two quarters. She picked up the slack, rebounded well, and Musgrove
did well on the boards.”
LA JOLLA
36, VALHALLA 24 – Give Valhalla coach JON OWENS credit for letting his
feelings be known. A man of reality is this Owens.
Just the thought of seeing
his Norsemen shoot a paltry 19 percent (19 of 53) would be enough to make the
man cringe. But dig deeper and the tale gets even more frustrating. That was the
case in Wednesday’s (Dec. 19) Kiwanis Tournament opener.
“I’ll
never complain again about shooting 20 percent in a game,” said Owens. “We
were 0-14 in the 1st quarter. It seemed like an eternity until we scored.”
While
the Norsemen (0-2) failed to score until the 2nd quarter, they should have felt
thankful they were down only 25-11 by intermission.
Things didn’t get
a whole lot better in the 2nd half.
Junior JENN GOLD suffered a broken nose
in the 4th quarter and will be out for 4-6 weeks. Senior forward LAUREL SCOVIE
rolled her ankle also in the 4th quarter.
KELSEY CARTMILL led the Norsemen
with 9 points, including one trey. EMILY ROBERTS added 5 points, a team-high 11
rebounds, and a team-best 4 steals. AMY WOODS didn’t score but did corral
8 rebounds.
“We’re a very young team, return only two starters
and have a long way to go,” said Owens.
Valhalla scoring: Kelsey Cartmill
9, Emily Roberts 5, Megan Tex 5 (4 reb.), Tanisha Lee 5 (4 reb.).
POWAY
54, MONTE VISTA 5 – Talk about a painful beginning. First of all, Monte
Vista coach MIKE SKIBBE needs to have a word with the person who pitted the Monarchs
against unbeaten and No. 5-ranked Poway (8-0) in the opening round of Wednesday’s
(Dec. 19) Kiwanis Tournament at Scripps Ranch.
“It was our first game
out of the chute and it was bad,” said Skibbe. “Our girls weren’t
interested in summer or fall league, they just wanted to show up and play. We’re
a lot better team than we looked like tonight. This group of girls is going to
figure it out. We will play 16 games in the next two weeks. We just need to be
a little more aggressive.”
Monte Vista scoring: LiAiesha Brandon 2,
DeAnna Bembry 2, Angelica Miranda1.
SERRA 67, SANTANA 27 – No
other information was reported in Wednesday’s (Dec. 19) Kiwanis Tournament
opener at Serra.
Santana scoring: Kaila Smith 11, Alyssa Padberg 6, Jamie
Elias 5, Kim Gross 2, Lauren Mueller 2, Samantha White 1.
Included was Tuesday's (Dec. 18) yawner against Kearny in
a Colts-Eagles Holiday Invitational contest. Once again, the Eagles vaulted to
a double-digit lead before the opponent could score, with the fourth quarter again
employing a running clock in the 59-21 blowout.
Following the contest, Eagles
starters AMY SYLVESTER and MOLLY HILLENBRAND were showing off their reptiles.
In the school parking lot, members of Sylvester's entourage noted she's had snakes
since elementary school, but the one she currently sporting around her wrist on
this occasion actually belonged to Hillenbrand.
"This one isn't poisonous,
but it does bite," Sylvester noted.
However, Hillenbrand remained in
basketball mode.
"We're playing so much better because we know where
we are on the court, so our ball movement is so much better," said the senior.
"We just need to work on our press offense, so SABRINA (JIMENEZ, the point
guard) doesn't need to work so hard -- we need all of us to help her move the
ball down court and not give her all of the responsibility."
Should
no upsets occur during the remainder of pool play, Granite Hills foresees a showdown
with tournament co-host Crawford in the final.
"Crawford can run, but
we can defend," added Hillenbrand. "Hopefully, that will get us ready
when we play Mount Miguel."
Unlike Monday's first period shutout, the
Komets got on the scoreboard with a 3-point shot with 2:01 remaining after Granite
Hills (4-3) raced to a 14-0 advantage. The leads went to 20-3, 30-5 and 45-7 in
the one-sided affair.
Granite Hills scoring: Molly Hillenbrand 24, Sabrina
Jimenez 12, Amy Sylvester 8, Lauren Bender 6, Kylee Wilson 4, Kari Hubert 2, Monique
Ybarra 2, Sam Silva 1.
The on-the-court fruits include already doubling
last season's victory total, as ECV moved to 4-7 overall after rolling Mountain
Empire, 62-26, in Monday's (Dec. 17) opening Colts-Eagles Holiday Invitational
contest.
"We just stayed pumped up -- always," said sophomore
KAYLANI FATEN, who scored 12 points. "We get along now, so we're hustling
on offense and defense and just working hard."
The Braves jumped to
a quick 18-5 lead through the first period, when Faten scored six of her points
out of the gate, while JEENA NORWAREKAR posted 5 of her 7 points to quickly put
away the visiting Redhawks (0-5).
"For me, my shooting is a lot better,
while the team's defense is a lot better," added Faten, the team's power
forward. "We're going to go far and hope we have a good season."
The
experience playing for the Braves has included much more than basketball, which
should aid the developing program.
"We finally are coming together
on the court," noted junior center SAMANTHA JULIEN. "We went to Brawley
and the trip really brought us together -- we had some good times."
Remembered
from the roadie included a first-time experience; erasing the memory of the team's
winless record at the tournament.
"When we came back, we pulled off
to the side of the road and there was snow," Julien recalled. "For some
of our girls, it was the first time they'd ever seen snow, so it was pretty funny
throwing snowballs at each other."
The team bonding is making life
easier for veteran East County coach RANDY ROBINSON, who is being assisted by
former El Capitan High and Grossmont College standout JESSICA CABLE.
"We
can go pretty far over the next year or two -- even this year," added Julien.
"But we have to keep working together and making good passes and good shots."
SHERAINA
MOON paced the Braves with 14 points and 5 assists, while TERICKA WILLIAMS registered
6 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals.
Mountain Empire, which received a team-high
10 points by Cynthia Durflinger, were coached for the first time by Thomas Silva
following the resignation of Rod Davis, who accepted a position out of the school
district. The Redhawks also received 9 points from Laila Oden.
El Cajon
Valley scoring: Sheraina Moon 14 (5 ast.), Kaylani Faten 12, Samantha Julien 8,
Jeena Norwarekar 7, Tericka Williams 6 (6 reb., 5 stl.), Hazel Doe 5 (6 stl.),
Stephanie Jacobs 4, Aundria Myles 2, Kelly Wimberly2, Shelena Moon 2.
Set
the screen
Granite
Hills forward Amy Sylvester springs teammate Molly Hillenbrand (far left) for
a layin with this screen in a 56-12 win over Mar Vista. (Photo by Chris
DeRosier)
GRANITE HILLS 56, MAR VISTA 12 -- The
tournament co-host Eagles skated to a 29-0 lead before the Mariners finally got
on the scoreboard with 4:15 remaining -- in the second quarter.
Strides
were made by Granite Hills in starting a new winning streak with its second victory
in as many starts.
"There's always the team bonding thing, so every
game is helpful," said guard SABRINA JIMENEZ, who scored 16 points and added
five steals in the opening minutes to ignite the romp.
Jimenez likes to
emulate the skills of Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash to get the ball to teammates.
"Steve
Nash has style and is a great passer," said Jimenez. "He can get the
ball to his teammates, and his knows how to control a game, whether to go fast
or slow down the court. And he knows where everybody's at -- he's just a great
point guard."
Jimenez attempted one of Nash's patented behind-the-back
passes against the Mariners (1-7), although without the same results.
"If
I learned one thing in this game, it was not to try a round-the-back pass,"
she mused.
MOLLY HILLENBRAND paced Granite Hills with a double-double, scoring
17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, helping the Eagles reached the.500 plateau
with a 3-3 record.
Meanwhile, Steele Canyon transfer SAM SILVA marked her
return from nearly a year-long absence due to an ACL injury by nailing a 3-point
shot to open the second period after the Eagles mounted a 15-0 lead through the
first quarter.
On defense, AMY SYLVESTER paced the Eagles with 8 rebounds
and blocking a pair of Mar Vista shots.
CRAWFORD
66, VALHALLA 33 – Even though Valhalla coach JON OWENS intentionally
delayed the start of the Norsemen’s basketball season, he still encountered
scheduling conflicts among some of his players for Monday night’s (Dec. 17)
opening game of the Colts-Eagles Holiday Invitational at Crawford.
Bottom
line, Valhalla played with a limited roster, missing four team members, including
two starters, for one reason or another.
Not that Owens was making excuses,
because the Colts of Crawford came out kicking up their heels – nailing 8
three-pointers for the game.
Crawford led 28-17 at halftime and broke the
game open with a 22-7 spurt in the 3rd quarter.
Junior guard EMILY ROBERTS
led the Norsemen with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.
Sophomore TANISHA
LEE connected for Valhalla ’s only 3-pointer and totaled 11 points in the
game.
“This was a positive first step,” said Owens. “The
kids played hard, but we didn’t shoot very well. We’re not good enough
to trade baskets with anybody yet.”
In
Saturday’s (Dec. 15) final round of the Mount Miguel Invitational, Naderhoff
injected a healthy dose of offense as the Wolf Pack toppled Temecula’s Chaparral,
67-57.
Naderhoff did the majority of her damage from the free throw line,
where she converted 13 of 21 free throws and – not to mention – tagged
Chaparral defenders with several personal fouls.
KIMBERLY CLARK charted
17 points, including a pair of 3-balls for the Wolf Pack (8-2). She also grabbed
5 rebounds, as did Naderhoff and AMBER DARBY.
The Pack’s game leader
on the boards, however, was SHERIKA MILLER with 8.
“Everybody did their
part, everybody contributed in their own way,” said West Hills coach RYAN
KINSER. “Today’s game was a very tough one, Chaparral is a very good
team.”
West Hills trailed by 2 at the end of the opening quarter, but
used a 23-10 burst to forge in front 35-24 by intermission. The Wolf Pack led
by as many as 15 points midway through the 3rd quarter and was never threatened
thereafter.
“I’m very happy with the team’s performance thus
far,” said Kinser. “Considering how late I got the team, I’m pleased
with the way things have gone. To be 8-2 at this point in the season is a great
accomplishment.”
West Hills scoring: Marilyn Naderhoff 21, Kimberly
Clark 17 (2 ast.), Sherika Miller 8, Shelby Russo 7, Amber Darby 4 (2 blk.), Danielle
Hays 3 (3 reb.), Connie Hines 2, Corryn Kivett 2 (2 ast.), Mariah Bennett 2 (2
ast.), Becca Jones 1.
HELIX 50, BONITA VISTA 47 – Although the
box scores at the high school level won’t show it, Helix junior forward SINOI
LEASAU made a game-turning stand as the Highlanders edged the Barons in Saturday’s
(Dec. 15) Mount Miguel Invitational.
With less than a minute remaining and
Helix clinging to a 48-47 lead, Leasau drew an offensive charging foul against
the Barons’ Danielle Boykins. It was her 5th foul.
“That one defensive
play in particular stood out,” said Helix assistant coach WILLY HATHAWAY.
From
there, Helix took possession and put the ball into the hands of ever-reliable
guard BRITTANY WILLIAMS. Forced to foul as time was running out, the Barons challenged
Williams by sending her to the charity stripe.
Williams responded by making
both of her free throws to secure the victory for the Highlanders (3-6).
“It
was a good win for us,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. “Bonita Vista
was unbeaten in this tournament. We needed this win going into the holidays. I
was concerned how we might react after last night’s game (a 61-36 loss to
Chaparral).”
As always, Williams was Helix’ offensive force with
a game-high 26 points. She also handed out 6 assists, made 6 steals, blocked 2
shots and gathered in 4 rebounds.
“Williams handled the ball and distributed
it well, and Sinoi Leasau played outstanding defense,” said Hansen.
Leasau
claimed 4 of Helix’s 11 steals in the game.
Not to be overlooked was
the play of senior center KAMI OLIVER, who turned in a double-double of 14 points
and 12 rebounds. Oliver was deadly from the field, making 7 of 9 shots. She also
rejected 3 enemy shots in one of her better efforts of the year.
Helix scoring:
Brittany Williams 26, Kami Oliver 14, Sinoi Leasau 4 (3 reb.), Sam Vick 3 (3 ast.),
Krista Ronning 2 (3 reb., 2 ast.), Mariah Walker 1.
EL CAJON VALLEY 46,
PREUSS 27 – El Cajon Valley rebounded from an earlier loss in Saturday’s
(Dec. 15) final day of the San Dieguito Tournament to slam Preuss.
It was
the third win in 10 decisions for the Braves, who have won two of their last three
starts.
Senior SHERAINA MOON came up big for the Braves, knocking down 18
points, snaring 7 rebounds, logging 6 steals and dishing 5 assists.
“Sheraina
played very well, is providing nice senior leadership,” said El Cajon Valley
coach RANDY ROBINSON. “She plays so hard that she sets the tone of how we
should be playing.”
The Braves took a 15-11 first-quarter lead and
opened up a 25-15 advantage by halftime. In the second half they gradually broke
the game open.
“Again, we played hard, played pretty well defensively,’
Robinson said. “We’re young, our team is mostly sophomores.
El
Cajon Valley was tough on the boards. KAYLANI FATEN grabbed a team-best 8 caroms,
while Moon, HAZEL DOE and KELLY WIMBERLY gathered in 7 rebounds apiece. Doe also
had a game-high 8 steals.
“Where other kids start playing basketball
in the 3rd grade and then get to play travel ball, we are just now learning the
game,” said Robinson. “We’ll continue to improve.”
El
Cajon Valley scoring: Sheraina Moon 18, Samantha Julien 8, Kaylani Faten 6, Jeena
Norwarekar 6, Kelly Wimberly 4, Hazel Doe 2, Aundria Myles 2.
SAN DIEGUITO
48, EL CAJON VALLEY 26 – Coach RANDY ROBINSON’s Braves couldn’t
find their offense in Saturday’s (Dec. 15) first game of the San Dieguito
Tournament.
“There were good things that we did, just not enough of
them,” Robinson said. “We needed to cut down on turnovers. Our effort
was right and the intensity was pretty good.”
El Cajon Valley scoring:
Samantha Julien 7, Sheraina Moon 6, Hazel Doe 4, Kaylani Faten 3, Jeena Norwarekar
2, Stephanie Jacobs 2, Tericka Williams 2.
CHULA VISTA 50, STEELE CANYON
41 – The Cougars used a strong 3rd quarter to pull even with Chula Vista
at 36-36 with 8 minutes remaining in Saturday’s (Dec. 15) Mount Miguel Invitational
consolation contest.
But Steele Canyon ’s comeback bid stalled in the
final quarter, as the Spartans claimed a 14-5 scoring edge to take the victory.
“We
tried something new, to be a more structured and disciplined basketball team,”
said Cougars coach PENNY SMITH. “We were in the game until the last three
or four minutes. We were tired and we had no bench.”
One of the reasons
that the bench was depleted some was the absence of KATY SNEW, who was out of
town on bereavement leave.
On the bright side, the Cougars (1-4) received
another power-packed performance from BELINDA PICKENS, who contributed 13 points
and 17 rebounds. The 5-foot-10 senior put through 6 of 10 shots from the field.
BRIANA
EITER scored a game-best 14 points, which included a pair of treys, for Steele
Canyon.
Although she only scored 2 points, G’KIA MYLES claimed 17 ricochets
off the glass. MACE ALAMERI added 10 points for the Cougars.
West Hills
(7-2) scored an impressive 57-24 romp over San Diego in Friday night’s (Dec.
14) Mount Miguel Invitational encounter.
Although the Cavers are only 5-4,
there were those who were sure that San Diego was of Top 10 caliber in the preseason
voting. If that is true, West Hills has to be in there somewhere, based on its
convincing crushing of the Cavers.
SHERIKA MILLER (18 points, 8 rebound,
4 steals, 2 blocks), KIMBERLY CLARK (14 points, 6 rebounds) and CONNIE HINES (10
points, 3 steals) carried the offensive load in the Wolf Pack’s smearing
of San Diego.
“We emphasized trying to come out strong and jumping
out early, and we did that tonight,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER.
West
Hills led 18-5 after one quarter and 32-12 by intermission.
One of the keys
to the victory was the Pack’s ability to force 29 turnovers.
“Our
pressure took them away from what they wanted to do,” Kinser noted.
Although
she scored more points in her freshman season, MARILYN NADERHOFF has become more
of a quarterback to the West Hills offense. She dealt 5 assists in the Pack’s
latest conquest.
“Marilyn Naderhoff and Sherika Miller were our leaders
tonight,” said Kinser. “They played outstanding on both ends of the
floor. Marilyn distributed the ball well. We played an excellent game defensively.”
West
Hills scoring: Sherika Miller 18, Kimberly Clark 14, Connie Hines 10, Amber Darby
5 (9 reb., 2 ast., 2 blk.), Shelby Russo 4, Marilyn Naderhoff 4 (3 reb.), Danielle
Hays 2.
EL CAPITAN 49, VISTA 45 – After falling behind 10-5
in the opening quarter, the Vaqueros came to life in the 2nd period to score 25
points and claim a 20-30 halftime advantage in Friday’s (Dec. 14) non-league
game in Vista , snapping a 3-game losing streak.
“I’m not making
excuses, but a 2-hour bus trip to Vista in traffic on a Friday night… it
took us some time to get going, but we pulled it out,” said El Capitan coach
FRANK QUINONES. “ Vista is my alma mater and it was nice to see some of the
staff members that were there when I was.”
It was not that the Panthers
faithful were rolling out the welcome mat for Quinones’ crew.
“We
shot 1-for-7 on free throws in the 1st quarter and that didn’t help us,”
Quinones admitted. “In the 2nd quarter we started making better passes and
that started turning things in our favor.”
The indomitable ASHLEY DUFFY
hurled in a trio of 3s on her way to 11 points, crashed the boards for 10 caroms,
picked off 8 passes and logged 8 assists.
SAMANTHA SPRING also added 11
points, while CRISELA BANKS popped in 10 points, snagged 3 boards and made 2 steals
for the Vaqueros (7-3).
El Capitan’s defensive focus was on stopping
Vista ’s 5-foot-10 Monique Cable.
“We tried containing Coble,
who will attend San Diego State on scholarship,” said Quinones. “We
held her to 12 points in the 1st half and 8 in the 2nd. Our main concentration
was stopping her.”
Another distraction for El Capitan was finding practice
times.
“The only day we practiced in our own gym this week was Monday
because of drama performances. We weren’t in our own element this week,”
Quinones noted.
El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 11, Sam Spring 11, Crisela
Banks 10, Liana Pitman 9 (4 stl., 3 reb., 2 ast.), Jamie Ferguson 4 (5 reb.),
Taylor Autry 2, Ashley Bunce 2.
MOUNT MIGUEL 69, LINCOLN 19 –
It seems like the Matadors are having difficulty finding teams that are brave
enough to engage them on the basketball court. When you’re top-ranked, such
problems exist.
Playing for only the 6th time this season, the Matadors
stormed out to a 25-8 first quarter lead and then breezed past the 1-6 Hornets
in Friday night’s (Dec. 14) non-league encounter at Lincoln.
Junior
DANESIA WILLIAMSON was at the point of the undefeated Matadors’ latest conquest,
pouring in 25 points as part of a triple-double that included 10 assists and 10
steals.
“I think our kids were playing kinda inspired tonight because
the ( San Diego ) CIF denied two of our kids’ eligibility today – sisters
SOULIJAH and DECHAE EVANS. Now we have to appeal to the state (CIF),” said
Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL.
CINDY EKWEOZOR added 16 points and 8
rebounds, while AUTUMN SPIKES contributed 14 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks, 6
steals and 5 assists.
The Matadors (6-0) held the Hornets to 5 points in
the 2nd half.
Mount Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 25, Cindy Ekweozor
16, Autumn Spikes 14, Danielle Miller 8 (3 reb., 3 stl.), Nicole Fountain 4, Trina
Clark 2 (3 ast.).
CHAPARRAL 61, HELIX 36 – The Highlanders found out
that shooting 26 percent is not conducive to winning basketball games in Friday’s
(Dec. 14)
Mount Miguel Invitational duel with Temecula Chaparral at Bishop’s.
In
spite of not being able to score with any consistency, the Highlanders (2-6) trailed
only 31-30 midway through the 3rd quarter.
After that the bottom fell out
for Helix. Chaparral scored 30 of the final 36 points over the last 12 minutes,
turning the game into a rout.
Senior guard BRITTANY WILLIAMS tried to pick
up the slack for the Highlanders as she scored 24 points, made 7 steals, dished
4 assists and snagged 4 rebounds.
Even so, it was not one of Williams’
better shooting nights as she missed 27 of 38 attempts. Her teammates did not
give her much help, as collectively they were 3 of 17 from the field.
“We
need to play better team ball,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. “Tonight
we didn’t. We need to block out better, our rebounding effort was very poor.”
Helix
scoring: Brittany Williams 24, Sinoi Leasau 6 (5 reb., 2 blk.), Tatiana Jackson
3 (5 reb.), Sam Vick 2, Chanelle McNutt 1, Kami Oliver (5 reb.).
MONTGOMERY
48, STEELE CANYON 27 – This was a strange game. The Aztecs of Montgomery
scored 32 of their points in the opening quarter of Friday’s (Dec. 14) game
of the Mount Miguel Invitational and coasted from there.
If you look at
it from the eyes of Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH, the Cougars held the Aztecs
to 16 points over the final three periods.
The Cougars played without one
of their floor leaders, KATY SNEW, whose grandmother passed away,
“Katy
flew the Mexico for her grandmother’s funeral,” said Smith. “Without
her everyone was thinking about her. It was strange not having her – she
is our motor.”
BELINDA PICKENS scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds
to pace the Cougars (1-2). Pickens also made 9 of 11 free throws in the contest.
Only
two other Steele Canyon players reached the scoring column, including MACE ALAMERI,
who netted 6 points and BRIANA EITER, who dropped in 2.
Although she did
not contribute to the scoring, G’KIA MYLES collected 10 rebounds.
“Credit
Belinda and Mace for picking it up,” said Smith. “I really give them
two thumbs up for leading the team tonight.”
OCEANSIDE
58, EL CAJON VALLEY 18 – This was not a game the El Cajon Valley Braves
plan to dwell upon. Consider Friday’s (Dec. 14) San Dieguito Tournament blow
out nothing more than a blip on the screen.
Thirty-three turnovers and poor
shooting added up to a forgettable disaster for the Braves (2-6). El Cajon Valley
fell behind Oceanside (5-2) by a 15-2 count in the opening quarter and trailed
31-8 by halftime. Things only got worse after that.
“We continue to
play hard,” said El Cajon Valley coach RANDY ROBINSON. “I’m very,
very happy with the fact that my kids don’t quit. Today we were overmatched.
We just weren’t able to do the things we’d have liked to have done.
We’re just awfully young and (basketball skills) take awhile to develop.
Like the song, “You can’t hurry love.”
El Cajon Valley scoring:
Sheraina Moon 4 (4 rebs), Hazel Doe 4 (3 rebs), Tericka Williams 3, Kaylani Faten
3, Kelly Wimberly 3, Samantha Julien 1.
Her development was evident Thursday (Dec. 13) when Brzeczek
took over the ballgame in the third quarter against Hilltop. During the period,
the senior passed for six of her game-high 10 assists while also scoring six of
a team-best 19 points to break open a close contest and lift the Sultans to a
72-45 non-league triumph over the visiting Lancers.
"We executed well
in that quarter by finally putting in a play that coach wanted to run," said
Brzeczek, who hopes to attend BYU-Hawai'i next fall. "We realized what we
were up against in their 1-3-1 (zone) and how we were able to beat it. We're a
young team, but we're still able to make those passes."
Brzeczek penetrated
the Hilltop defense, then kicked the ball out to wide-open teammates both in and
out of the lane for easy baskets. And when the Lancers laid back, Brzeczek was
wise enough to keep the ball and hit her own short-range jumpshots.
"I
feel I had a good night, and hope to keep up the scoring and assists," added
Brzeczek, who finished two rebounds shy of a triple-double. "We're a young
team, but we can still go out there and play with the best."
Brzeczek
was already a skilled defender under former coach WADE VICKERY, but now her prowess
on offense under a new offense from current mentor JIM MOTTERSHAW has opened an
array of scoring opportunities for Santana.
"It's been a hard transition
in some respects," she noted. "Coach Vickery was a very good coach --
I enjoyed playing for him -- and now it's coach Mottershaw's time and he's taught
me a lot, too."
"He likes to work a lot with the guards and he
takes pride in his players. He worked with us individually to get us where we
need to go."
Santana led 33-18 at the half, then Brzeczek registered
five assists over as many possessions, including three straight passes to JAMIE
ELIAS (15 points) for layins to push the lead to more than 20 points.
Freshman
starter KIM GROSS then added four baskets without a miss from the low block, finishing
with 10 points to put the polish on the victory, the Sultans' third in their last
four starts.
Hilltop (3-7) received a game-high 20 points from point guard
Stephanie Mendoza.
Santana scoring: Nicole Brzeczek 19 (10 ast., 8 reb.),
Jamie Elias 15 (5 ast.), Kaila Smith 13, Kim Gross 10, Samantha White 6 (9 reb.),
Mikaela Samuels 4, Brittany Fenn 3, Lauren Mueller 2.
EL CAJON VALLEY
60, TRI-CITY CHRISTIAN 32 – The Braves scored more points in the first
quarter of Thursday’s (Dec. 13) opening round of the San Dieguito Tournament
than they have in some games this season.
El Cajon Valley (2-5) took a 23-7
lead over Tri-City Christian and went on to snap a 5-game losing streak.
JEENA
NORWAREKAR scored the majority of her game-high 19 points from above the arc where
she connected four times. The junior guard also recorded 7 assists, 6 steals and
5 rebounds.
HAZEL DOE, a 5-foot-3 sophomore guard also enjoyed a big night,
posting 16 points, 7 steals, 4 assists and 5 rebounds. In addition, she hit a
pair of 3s.
“Hazel Doe is quick on quick on quick,” said Braves
coach RANDY ROBINSON.
Seven Braves contributed to El Cajon Valley ’s
highest scoring output in two seasons.
“I thought we played very hard
tonight,” Robinson continued. “We picked up a lot of fouls in the second
half. SHERAINA MOON, Doe and Norwarekar are our leaders and they play very hard.
They inspire the others. We are still very young – Moon is the only senior.”
“I’m
very, very happy with their effort. They don’t know about giving up. Other
coaches have told me ‘You guys never quit.’”
El Cajon Valley
scoring: Jeena Norwarekar 19, Hazel Doe 16, Tericka Williams 6, Kelly Wimberly
6 (6 reb.), Kaylani Faten 5, Sheraina Moon 4, Samantha Julien 4.
Helix’
fast start added up to a 66-42 triumph over Point Loma in Wednesday’s (Dec.
12) Mount Miguel Invitational.
The Highlanders (2-5) jumped on top 17-4
in the first quarter and were riding a 35-13 halftime lead. It was never close
after that.
“We needed this one,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN,
who’s Highlanders snapped a 3-game losing streak. “We pressed them early
and took them out of their game.”
Helix welcomed the return of senior
guard BRITTANY WILLIAMS, who produced a game-high 28 points, most of which came
on 13 of 30 shooting. Williams also found time to deal 6 assists while collecting
4 rebounds and making 2 steals.
SINOI LEASAU is proving to be excellent
scoring support for Williams. She scored 18 points against Point Loma, one more
than she did the previous day against Westview.
Leasau shared team-high
rebounding honors with KAMI OLIVER at 5 apiece.
“We were able to get
all of our reserves significant playing time,” said Hansen. “We controlled
the pass throughout the whole game. Because of the score, we had some interesting
combinations on the floor.”
The Highlanders made 47 percent of their
62 shots from the field.
WEST HILLS 64, CHULA VISTA 43 – It was less than
an ideal start for West Hills in Wednesday’s (Dec. 12) Mount Miguel Invitational
encounter against Chula Vista.
The Wolf Pack trailed 20-13 after the opening
eight minutes. That seemed to rile up the Pack as they turned things around in
a hurry and continued on for their 6th win in 8 starts.
“Our defense
was stifling in the last three quarters,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER.
West
Hills limited Chula Vista to 8 points in the second period, 6 in the third and
9 in the fourth quarter.
Ten players contributed to West Hills’ scoring
attack, led by KIMBERLY CLARK’s 17 markers.
SHERIKA MILLER added 13
points, gobbled up 11 rebounds and blocked 3 shots for the Pack.
In addition
to her scoring spree, Clark also dished 6 assists and chalked up 3 steals.
SHELBY
RUSSO chipped in 8 points, 2 blocks, 3 steals and 2 assists, while CONNIE HINES
hammered down 7 points, bagged 6 boards and logged 2 steals.
“Everybody
participated in this game and they all had a big role in the victory,” said
Kinser. “The second unit played real well the entire game.”
West
Hills scoring: Kimberly Clark 17, Sherika Miller 13, Shelby Russo 8, Connie Hines
7, Corryn Kivett 4 (3 reb.), Becca Jones 4 (2 reb., 2 stl.), Danielle Hays 4,
Marilyn Naderhoff 3 (5 reb.), Amber Darby 2, Mariah Bennett 2 (3 reb., 2 ast.,
2 stl., 1 blk.).
BONITA VISTA 68, STEELE CANYON 45 – Despite
a sparkling debut that the Steele Canyon Cougars enjoyed on Monday night (Dec.
10), the shine was dimmed a bit on Wednesday’s (Dec. 12) game against Bonita
Vista in the Mount Miguel Invitational in Spring Valley.
“We’re
going through a transition stage where there is a lot of teaching involved,”
said Cougars coach PENNY SMITH. “I think our girls thought it was going to
be easy, based on that first game. We’re in the process of getting rid of
some old habits.”
Once thing Smith would like to eliminate is having
30 turnovers, as the Cougars experienced in the lop-sided loss to Bonita Vista.
Steele
Canyon ’s first-year head coach believes his squad can put together a better
shooting effort than the 19 for 60 (32 percent) they garnered against the Barons.
“Yeah,
our shots weren’t falling, but that’s because they forced us to take
bad shots,” Smith said. “There are no excuses.”
Two of the
Cougars enjoyed a respectable shooting night. BRIANA EITER scored a team-best
17 points, which included 3 for 5 shooting from long distance. She was also 2
for 2 from the foul line.
KATY SNEW hit 5 of 13 shots on her way to an 11-point
night.
BELINDA PICKENS plucked 12 rebounds off the glass to top Steele Canyon
in that department.
The Cougars fell behind at the outset and trailed 62-29
after three periods.
That is,
first-year head coach PENNY SMITH was coaching his first varsity game against
San Diego Southwest in the opening round of Tuesday’s (Dec. 11) Mount Miguel
Invitational at the spankin’ new Spring Valley Recreation Center.
On
the court, the Cougars pulled an inside-out job on the Raiders (0-3). BELINDA
PICKENS pounded inside, pouring in 21 points while collecting 17 rebounds and
making 3 steals.
Out front the game belonged to guard KATY SNEW, who finished
with 19 points and 8 steals. No doubt the most impressive stat by the 5-foot-4
Snew was her ability to gather up 13 rebounds.
The Cougars started fast,
clawing their way to a 19-6 first-quarter lead. Their offense stalled in the second
quarter, but their defense held up, allowing Steele Canyon to maintain a 23-10
halftime lead, en route to a 60-29 triumph..
“We’re trying to
teach the girls how to finish the game, and they really are learning how,”
Smith said. “At halftime we set our goal at 60 points and we made it.”
It
took a strong second half to meet that goal, as the Cougars outscored the Raiders
37-19 in the second half.
“Pickens and Snew really stepped it up,”
said Smith. “The team came together with Belinda’s and Katy’s leadership
in the third and fourth quarters.”
JAZMIN DAIGLE contributed 8 points,
8 rebounds and 4 steals, while BRIANA EITER added 8 points, 2 rebounds and one
steal for the Cougars.
“I tell my girls to concentrate on discipline,
defense and rebounding the basketball,” said Smith. “If we do that,
we make smarter decisions.”
THE
BISHOP’S 71, WEST HILLS 60 – Never mind what West Hills does in
the preseason, because the chemistry between first-year coach RYAN KINSER and
his Wolf Pack could concoct a Grossmont North League championship.
Sure,
traditional powers like Santana and El Capitan and fast-breaking Grossmont scoff
at the idea. But those who saw West Hills’ performance against powerhouse
The Bishop’s Tuesday night (Dec. 11) in the opening round of the Mount Miguel
Invitational certainly took note.
After watching The Bishop’s' Gizelle
Studevent scored a game-high 26 points, which included making 6 baskets in a row
– 5 of them 3-pointers – all in the first half, would have intimidated
most teams. Her hot-handed shooting gave the Knights a 36-28 halftime lead.
Kinser
& Company were undaunted. The Pack ganged up on Studevent and proceeded to
shut her out in the second half. That in itself, was a goal that had to please
Kinser.
“We made some halftime adjustments and shut her down completely
in the second half,” said Kinser. “We played 3½ really good quarters.
We didn’t shoot well in the first half.
Despite that shortcoming, the
Wolf Pack was even at 46-all late in the third quarter.
“We just completely
ran out of gas in the fourth quarter,” said Kinser.
West Hills scoring:
Sherika Miller 17, Marilyn Naderhoff 12 (6 reb., 2 blk.), Kimberly Clark 9, Mariah
Bennett 8 (5 ast., 3 reb.), Corryn Kivett 4, Amber Darby 4 (7 reb.), Connie Hines
3, Becca Jones 3.
WESTVIEW 68, HELIX 55 – The Helix Highlanders
found out what life is like without super senior BRITTANY WILLIAMS Tuesday night
(Dec. 11) in the opening round of the Mount Miguel Invitational.
Averaging
better than 25 points per game, Williams has been taking a class at Grossmont
College and her final exam was scheduled for this night. She had to choose between
playing a basketball game and furthering her education.
In her absence,
junior forward SINOI LEASAU and 6-foot senior center KAMI OLIVER delivered season-highs
of 17 points apiece to pace the Highlanders. Oliver also grabbed 5 rebounds.
“(Without
Williams) we had to make some adjustments,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN.
“Sinoi and Kami both stepped up and played well. We learned a lot tonight
about some of our other players.”
Helix (1-5) enjoyed its best shooting
night of the season, connecting on 51 percent of 49 shots. Oliver hit on 8 of
12 chances, while Leasau netted half of her 14 tries.
Helix scoring: Sinoi
Leasau 17 (2 stl.), Kami Oliver 17 (5 reb.), Sam Vick 6, Simone Corder 5, Tatiana
Jackson 4 (3 reb.), Becky Almeraz 4, Krista Ronning 2.
Despite
several second-half runs, the Wolf Pack finally saw their season-opening winning
streak come to an end, falling to Westview, 62-52, in the Silver Bracket final
of the Matador Classic at Mount Miguel.
Wolverines guard Jenny Bryant poured
in a game-high 26 points, including a series of 3-point shots seemingly every
time the Pack moved near.
"Jenny can really shoot with a hand in her
face, so I have to give her (credit for) that," said Pack shooting guard
KIMBERLY CLARK, who answered Bryant with 14 points and a pair of assists. "MARILYN
(NADERHOFF) did a good job guarding Jenny, but their whole team has a lot of very
good shooters."
West Hills showed it could compete with the best, making
the team a front-runner to make a run for the Grossmont North League title this
season. Changes in the offense have allowed all five players on the court to contribute
on offense.
"It's been a hard change -- we've already had two coaches
before this one," added Clark. "Everything's different in what they
want for us."
The previous coach resigned to take a job in the City
Conference, then the replacement only lasted the summer before moving on.
"It's
been a hard change," noted Clark. "And our new coach was a football
coach who moved to West Hills. However, he (RYAN (KINSER) has seen all of our
strengths, so he's revamped our plays to help our strengths."
The players
are pleased with the changes despite the revolving door among the coaching staff.
"Now
we have a couple of different sets to find a mismatch, whether low post or out
wide," said Kinser. "We have a few different things we run to get people
the ball and take advantage of what the defense is giving us."
The
changes allowed West Hills to rally from a 10-point deficit to move within one
possession of taking the lead. However, Bryant answered.
When the Pack trimmed
the lead to 3, Bryant hit a trey. The deficit then was clipped to 2, and Bryant
hit another 3. And when West Hills moved to within 48-47 when SHERIKA MILLER stole
the ball and sent MARIAH BENNETT off on a breakaway layin, Westview responded
by going 5-for-6 from the field, including triples by Patch Cunanan and Marie
Shimansky.
"We played pretty good defense for 3 1/2 quarters, but they
just made some big shots," added Kinser. "But that's why they’re
one of the best Division II team schools out there."
"We still
are 4-1 and have some key wins over Escondido and Montgomery. Now we can see what
we need to work on to compete with the top teams."
The late 14-5 run
was ignited on a bench technical foul for comments on the officiating, followed
by a flood of outside shots for baskets.
"We have a lot of good shooters,"
explained Bryant, a senior. "We can all shoot 3s and we kept our composure
the whole game -- it was all about composure."
West Hills scoring:
Sherika Miller 16 (6 reb.), Kimberly Clark 14 (5 reb.), Corryn Kivett 12 (8 reb.,
4 ast.), Mariah Bennett 4, Marilyn Naderhoff 4 (6 reb.), Connie Hines 2.
VALLEY
CENTER 41, EL CAJON VALLEY 32 – It is not often that a basketball team
at any level can find happiness after finishing a tournament 0 and 5.
Although
the Braves of coach RANDY ROBINSON played well only to come up short in the Brawley-Pepsi
Tournament, which concluded Saturday (Dec. 8) in the Imperial Valley, they did
not leave town distraught.
This was about more than just basketball. This
was a learning experience, the kind of stuff that kids put in their diaries and
remember forever.
“We were 0 and 5 in the tourney but the joy is incredible,”
said Robinson. “Eight of my kids saw and touched snow for the first time
in their lives in the (Laguna) mountains on the way back, four kids stayed in
a motel for the first time, one of my kids put snow in a cup and couldn’t
understand why it was disappearing.”
“They T.P.'ed (assistant
coach) JESSICA CABLE’s room in the desert, and couldn’t stop laughing
about it. It was a trip for all of us to remember.”
If ever there was
a sojourn intended for bonding, this was it.
In Saturday’s final round
of the tournament, the Braves fell behind 16-9 in the first quarter, but trailed
by only 5 entering the final period.
JEENA NORWAREKAR led the Braves with
10 points with more than half coming on a pair of treys.
SHERAINA MOON added
8 points and a team-best 10 rebounds, while KAYLANI FATEN pitched in 6 points
and 5 rebounds.
El Cajon Valley scoring: Jeena Norwarekar 10, Sheraina Moon
8, Kaylani Faten 6, Stephanie Smith 3, Hazel Doe 2, Tericka Williams 2, Kelly
Wimberly 1 (5 reb.).
El Capitan made only 18 percent of its shots
from the field (13 of 48) as they fell to Francis Parker, 57-38.
“We
couldn’t hit a shot tonight,” lamented El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES.
“I hate to make excuses and maybe it’s my error for the scheduling.
There was no reason except not having legs and poor shooting to lose to Francis
Parker. They had three girls that did all their scoring. We held their Adele Walton,
who has a full ride to Long Beach State, to 14 points.”
It was the
third straight loss for the Vaqueros, who began the year with six consecutive
victories.
“It’s early season still,” Quinones added. “I
hope that after a couple of days’ rest we can refocus and go at Vista with
everything we’ve got. No excuses.”
The Vaqueros have only two
games in the next two weeks.
CALVIN CHRISTIAN 36, CHRISTIAN 16 – One thing
the Christian High Patriots have going for them is they’ll have the next
19 days to prepare for their next game.
That will allow first-year head
coach SKIP GERLAK a little time to work in some practice time.
Working the lane in every conceivable way -- drives,
bounce passes and lobs to the block -- the Eagles consistently scored from the
paint or earned trips to the foul line to stave off Mira Mesa, 63-55, in Thursday's
(Dec. 6) Matador Classic game at Granite Hills.
"We have really good
chemistry," said senior MOLLY HILLENBRAND. "We know exactly where our
posts are, our guards are really good passers."
"We all look for
the players at the post and they look for us, then they know exactly where the
basket is and finish plays -- they're not just flaying it up anymore."
And
everyone shared in getting the ball down low.
Granite Hills utilized a 10-0
run in the first quarter when KYLEE WILSON and SABRINA JIMENEZ combined for five
assists to mount an 18-9 lead.
"Our coach (JERRY PARKER) makes it a
point for us to get the ball to the post first," said Jimenez, who shared
scoring honors with AMY SYLVESTER with 16 points each. "It's always been
our priority because we have more of an inside game than an outside game."
Mira
Mesa (1-3) made several runs and even took short-lived leads in the second half.
But down the stretch, after the Marauders trimmed the margin to 3 points, Jimenez
exploited the visitors with three consecutive steals.
"We could read
them," noted Jimenez. "They were rushing and we picked up on that."
The
result was three straight transition baskets to lock away the victory. Included
was a Jimenez pass to Sylvester for a layin and a foul for a 3-point play, a LAUREN
BENDER pass to Sylvester for a short jumper in the lane, then Hillenbrand found
Bender breaking to the basket for yet another layin.
The streak was also
ignited by some fresh starters, many who sat out the first few minutes of the
fourth period. However, the Eagles bench maintained the lead before Hillenbrand
returned to grab a defensive rebound, then dribbled the length of the court of
a layin with 6:45 remaining.
"We're trying to make our bench as good
as our starters," said Hillenbrand. "We're going to need a whole team
if someone gets in foul trouble and we need them to play."
Hillenbrand,
a senior, finished with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Meanwhile, Jimenez
passed for 6 assists, then led the defense with a team season-high 9 steals, including
4 in the final period.
PATRICK HENRY 56, HELIX 55 – Frustration continues for the
Helix Highlanders, who missed two chances to pull out a victory in Thursday’s
(Dec. 6)
Matador Classic affair at Patrick Henry.
Helix had a 5 point
lead late in the fourth quarter, then Henry hit a pair of 3s to take the lead.
The
Highlanders had one more chance to win the game but missed a shot. KAMI OLIVER
got the offensive rebound and passed it out to Williams who missed a long 3 at
the buzzer.
“This one hurts,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN after
her Highlanders lost for the fourth time in five starts.
Helix led 15-14
after one quarter but trailed by a point at halftime. The Highlanders regained
the advantage, 34-33 by the end of the third quarter. The two teams accounted
for 44 points in the final period.
“This game was a real shootout,
close all the way,” said Hansen.
Once again BRITTANY WILLIAMS was the
focal point of Helix’ attack with 24 points. The senior guard also had 4
assists, 4 steals and 4 rebounds.
SINOI LEASAU hit 5 of 11 shots, including
a trio of treys, for 13 points.
SAM VICK chipped in 7 points and 5 rebounds,
while TATIANA JACKSON added 6 points and 5 boards.
Helix scoring: Brittany
Williams 24, Sinoi Leasau 13, Sam Vick 7, Tatiana Jackson 6, Kami Oliver 4, Mariah
Walker 1.
CATHEDRAL 75, EL CAPITAN 50 – Undefeated Cathedral
Catholic ran past visiting El Capitan in Thursday’s (Dec. 6) Matador Classic
game in North County.
The No. 3 Dons led 24-13 after one quarter. Weary
El Capitan trailed only 14-9 midway through the period but couldn’t match
strides.
“At least we saw them early and there’s a good chance
we’ll see them again in playoffs,” said El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES.
“They are a good team, but I don’t think they are 25 points better than
we are. I honestly think (No. 5) Poway is a better team than Cathedral. I’m
glad we played them because we’re going to get better for it. I wish we could
have played both of them when we were fresh.”
Cathedral was sparked
by 22 points from MacKenzie Mathias and 18 points from Victoria Lippert.
“We
got Lippert into foul trouble early,” said Quinones. “She works hard
for her points, and she got ‘em.”
Quinones was not surprised that
the Dons focused their defensive attention on ASHLEY DUFFY, who still managed
18 points, including 7 of 8 free throw shooting. Duffy also had 10 rebounds, 3assists,
4 steals and 2 blocks.
“The girls played with a lot of heart tonight,
never gave upl,” Quinones said. “The coaching staff is extremely pleased
with the way they have come together as a team.”
PALO VERDE VALLEY 42, EL CAJON VALLEY 34 – Despite
losing twice in a single day at the Brawley-Pepsi Tournament, El Cajon Valley
’s veteran coach RANDY ROBINSON remains optimistic.
Sophomore TERICKA
WILLIAMS scored 12 points for El Cajon Valley, which trailed by only 2 points
with a minute remaining.
“My goal is to win six games this year,”
said Robinson said. “The girls don’t really know how to be competitive
so a lot of this year is about practicing and learning how to be competitive.”
El
Cajon Valley has improved light years compared to last year when the Braves finished
2-24.
El Cajon Valley scoring: Tericka Williams 12, Kaylani Faten 10 (6
rebs), Sheraina Moon 4 (7 rebs, 7 ast.), Kelly Wimberly 4, Stephanie Smith 2,
Hazel Doe 2.
PALM DESERT 41, EL CAJON VALLEY 31 – One thing
about this year’s El Cajon Valley girls basketball team is they have an optimistic
outlook. They believe they have a chance in almost every game, and so does their
coach, RANDY ROBINSON.
The Braves began the Brawley Tournament by taking
a 12-10 first quarter lead but could not maintain enough offensive energy to pull
this one out.
“We were down by 2 points at half time and were within
4 points with a minute and a half to go,” said El Cajon Valley coach RANDY
ROBINSON. “It’s just great to see what progress we have made in a year.
We are in a good tournament for us, we’re competing. (Palm Desert) hit some
foul shots that made the difference.”
SHERAINA MOON paced the Braves
with 10 points and 4 steals. SAMANTHA JULIEN collected 10 rebounds and added 6
points to El Cajon Valley’s totals.
“We’re a young, inexperienced
team – we have five sophomores,” said Robinson. “I convinced the
girls last year that if they want to get better they had to get in the gym all
year round. And they want to get better. They are fun to coach.”
El
Cajon Valley scoring: Sheraina Moon 10, Kaylani Faten 6, Samantha Julien 6, Stephanie
Smith 3, Tericka Williams 3, Jeena Norwarekar 2, Kelly Wimberly 1.
POINT
LOMA 2, CHRISTIAN 0 – Matador Classic – [forfeit]
Top-ranked Mount Miguel steamed out to a 24-5 lead
during the first seven minutes of Wednesday’s (Dec. 5) Matador Classic encounter,
and continued on to a 68-32 rout of visiting Scripps Ranch.
Steady DANESIA
WILLIAMSON hammered down four 3-pointers on her way to a game-high 21 points for
the Matadors (5-0). The speedy sophomore guard, who is averaging 24.4 points per
game, also had 8 assists and 5 steals.
Senior AUTUMN SPIKES, a 6-foot-1
wing, recorded a solid double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds while dishing
5 assists.
In terms of balance, this was arguably Mount Miguel ’s best
game to date. There was balance throughout the lineup, including a 9-point, 7-rebound
and 4-block effort by 6-3 CINDY EKWEOZOR.
Freshman DANIELLE MILLER pitched
in 8 points, 5 steals and 3 rebounds, while NICOLE FOUNTAIN added 5 points, 5
steals and 2 blocks. Although she did not score, sophomore SHATEARA ANDERSON collected
7 boards.
“It’s a process,” said Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE
SANDOVAL. “We’ve put together three pretty solid efforts, including
the last two games. We’re doing what we need to do, and that’s establish
ourselves as an aggressive defensive team.”
“We didn’t do
anything fancy against Scripps Ranch,” he continued. “We played basic
man-to-man and threw in a little pressure here and there. We’re comin’
along.”
Mount Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 21, Autumn Spikes
19, Cindy Ekweozor 9, Danielle Miller 8, Trina Clark 6, Nicole Fountain 5.
WEST
HILLS 50, MONTGOMERY 36 – Once the Wolf Pack clicked its offense into
synch in the second half, it was smooth sailing Wednesday night (Dec. 5) as West
Hills toppled Montgomery for its fourth Matador Classic victory in as many decisions.
RYAN
KINSER’s Wolf Pack snapped a 19-19 halftime deadlock with a 14-5 third quarter
run to clinch a berth in one of the Matador Classic championship games on Saturday
(Dec. 8).
Sophomore SHERIKA MILLER fueled West Hills’ momentum with
team highs of 18 points and 9 rebounds. She was 4 for 4 from the free throw line.
Guard
KIMBERLY CLARK, also a sophomore, tallied 15 points and collected 8 rebounds and
a pair of steals for the unbeaten Pack.
“We played very good defense
throughout the game,” said Kinser. “We did not play well offensively
in the first half. We made a few adjustments at halftime and they all paid off.
Tonight was a total team effort. Every player had significant minutes and made
major contributions.”
West Hills scoring: Sherika Miller 18, Kimberly
Clark 15, Corryn Kivett 5 (4 reb.), Mariah Bennett 4 (2 reb., 2 ast.), Shelby
Russo 3 (4 reb., 2 ast.), Marilyn Naderhoff 3 (6 reb., 4 ast.), Becca Jones 2
(3 reb., 3 stl.), Amber Darby (3 reb.).
SANTANA 51, SAN MARCOS 21 –
The Santana Sultans made it look easy Wednesday night (Dec. 5) as they mowed down
the host San Marcos Knights in a Matador Classic contest.
Santana (3-2)
opened up a 20-6 first quarter lead and was sitting on a 34-10 cushion by halftime.
NICOLE
BRZECZEK hit three 3-pointers as did JAMIE ELIAS to spark the Sultans. They shared
high point honors with 11 apiece. Brzeczek also had 6 assists and 5 rebounds for
the Sultans.
Freshman KIM GROSS enjoyed one of her better games as a varsity
rookie, registering 10 points.
“It was pretty much over by the end
of the first quarter,” said Santana coach JIM MOTTERSHAW. “Our young
players got a lot of floor time tonight. They all played well and our veterans
distributed the ball well.”
Santana scoring: Nicole Brzeczek 11, Jamie
Elias 11, Kim Gross 10, Mikaela Samuels 7, Kaila Smith 4, Samantha White 4, Tawnya
Proctor 2, Brittany Fenn 2.
SAN PASQUAL 2, CHRISTIAN 0 – Matador
Classic – [forfeit]
“They
shot the lights out,” said El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES of the unbeaten
Titans, who rolled over the visiting Vaqueros 66-39.
“They made 8 threes
– even their post players made threes,” Quinones said. “I think
they should have a higher rank. If you give us a week off I know we could compete
with them.”
El Capitan is slated to play 10 games in the first two
weeks of the season. The rigorous schedule has pushed the Vaqueros to the brink.
Still ahead is a Thursday (Dec. 6) night bout at No. 3 ranked Cathedral Catholic.
“Fatigue
set in tonight,” Quinones said after his team fell behind 35-18 by intermission.
“We contested every shot, we were just a step behind.”
Poway (3-0)
extended its advantage to 48-27 by the close of the third quarter.
The ever
reliable ASHLEY DUFFY held her own for the Vaqueros, registering team-highs of
16 points, 10 steals and 8 rebounds.
“The closest we got was 5 points,”
said Quinones.
El Capitan made only 12 buckets in the game and converted
just 12 of 22 free throws.
“Our free throw shooting was the worst we
have shot all season. We couldn’t hit 15 footers – we were flat,”
Quinones added. “ Poway took advantage of us, as we were playing without
5-foot-10 ASHLEY BUNCE, who was ill with the flu.
Quinones gave special
mention to SAMANTHA SPRING , JAMIE FERGUSON and CRISELA BANKS.
“Their
scoring doesn’t show as much as what they do defensively, getting rebounds
and steals. They are the spark plugs of our team. This is the second night in
a row that Spring has stepped up.”
Commenting on the heavy schedule
that he had set up for his Vaqueros early in the season, Quinones said, “I
wanted to play a lot of North County teams this year. It’s been a good test
for us. I tell my girls we play three seasons: tournament, league and playoffs.”
THE BISHOP’S 74, HELIX 57 – The final
score might not show it, but the Helix Highlanders probably played their best
game of the young season in Wednesday (Dec. 4) night’s Matador Classic game
against No. 4 ranked The Bishop’s in La Mesa.
After falling behind
37-23 in the first half, senior BRITTANY WILLIAMS led Helix to a 24-17 third quarter
surge. The Highlanders trailed the Knights only 54-47 with 8 minutes to play.
For
the third time in four starts Williams reached the 30-point plateau. The San Jose
State-bound guard did most of her damage from the field, hitting 13 buckets (2
of them 3s) to finish with 30 points. Williams had 10 steals, which led to several
transition baskets. She also blocked 3 shots, handed out 3 assists and snared
3 rebounds.
“Brittany Williams had another outstanding game,”
said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN.
SINOI LEASAU hit a pair of 3s on her way
to an 11-point outing for Helix (1-3).
SAM VICK contributed 7 points and
5 boards, while KAMI OLIVER topped the Highlanders with 8 rebounds.
“We
got within four points once and seven points another time but couldn’t hit
our shots down the stretch,” said Hansen. “We did a good job with our
man defense but we gave up too many second chance shots. Our rebounding was spotty.
Bishop’s is a very good team that plays well together.”
Helix
scoring: Brittany Williams 30, Sinoi Leasau 11, Sam Vick 7, Kami Oliver 4, Tatiana
Jackson 4 (4 reb.), Krista Ronning 1.
WESTVIEW 58, SANTANA 44 –
This Matador Classic encounter was about 3-point shooting.
While the
visiting Wolverines were drilling in 10 of 22 shots from above the arc in the
first half, Santana was 0 for 8 from long distance. Of Westview’s 39 points
in the first half, 30 were from 3-pointers.
The Sultans (2-2) could not
recover from that 30-point difference in Wednesday’s (Dec. 4) match-up.
In
the second half Santana netted twice as many 3s as Westview to gain a 28-19 scoring
edge over the final two quarters. The problem was JAMIE ELIAS was the only Sultan
to connect on a 3-pointer and she did so twice.
Westview returned to earth
and made only one shot from above the arc in the second half.
Santana scoring:
Jamie Elias 7, Alyssa Padberg 7, Nicole Brzeczek 7, Kaila Smith 5, Samantha White
6, Lauren Mueller 6, Brittany Fenn 4, Mikaela Samuels 1, Chelsea Eason 1.
SCRIPPS
RANCH 50, GRANITE HILLS 36 – Things started out on a positive note for
the visiting Eagles in Wednesday’s (Dec. 4) Matador Classic contest at Scripps
Ranch.
Granite Hills, in fact scored the first 11 points of the game. After
that, things fell apart for the Eagles (1-3).
“Then they started switching
defenses,” said Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER.
Scripps Ranch applied
the press and pulled away in the second quarter, outscoring the Eagles 14-4 to
lead 25-17 at the half.
After scoring 62 points in a season-opening victory
over Canyon Crest, the Eagles’ offense has sputtered. In its last three games
Granite Hills has averaged just 39 points, which helps explain the team’s
losing streak.
The fact that SABRINA JIMENEZ, Granite Hills’ leading
scorer, played against Scripps Ranch with the flu didn’t help matters. Jimenez
still registered a team-best 11 points.
KYLEE WILSON added 9 points and
LAUREN BENDER chipped in 8.
“Sabrina played with the flu – came
out in the second quarter and played sporadically in the third and fourth,”
Parker said. “Kylee really stepped up with the ball handling.”
“It’s a good feeling,” Quinones
said after his Vaqueros ran their record to a San Diego CIF best 6-0. “We’ve
played a pretty tough schedule and four of our wins have come on the road. My
assistant coaches and I are really proud of what these girls have accomplished
so far. They’re hungry and they want more.”
The visiting Vaqueros
moved out to a 16-13 first quarter lead and gradually added widened the margin
to a 10 point advantage with a little more than three minutes left in the game.
But
that’s when the Cougars struck cat quick, connecting on 3 consecutive 3-pointers
and cutting El Capitan’s advantage to a single point with 2:01 remaining.
“
Escondido is a real aggressive team and we were playing an up-tempo game with
them,” Quinones said. “The 21 points in that last quarter is probably
the most we’ve had in one quarter.”
The Cougars’ aggression
actually backfired in the final eight minutes, as they gave El Capitan 15 chances
at the free throw line. The Vaqueros responded by making 11 charity tosses to
put the victory away.
Quinones offered special praise for 6-foot-1 senior
BRITNEY LORING.
“She did a great job when the game was on the line,”
the coach said. “She hurt her back sometime in the second or third quarter
and I’m not sure how she did it, but we had to play her sparingly down the
stretch. She came through for us though with a key rebound, a putback and a steal
that seemed to spark us. She deserves a lot of credit.”
Loring, the
Vaqueros’ tallest player, who did not have her inside sidekick ASHLEY BUNCE
(at home with the flu), finished with 6 rebounds, 1 block and 4 points.
Quinones
likes to preach team effort and this time he was right on the mark.
Senior
LIANA PITMAN buried 5 three-pointers on her way to a game-high 21 points.
ASHLEY
DUFFY turned in another all-purpose performance with 18 points, 11 rebounds, 8
assists and 6 steals.
TAYLOR AUTRY contributed 10 points and 5 rebounds.
JAMIE
FERGUSON did not make a splash in the scoring column but came away with 7 rebounds
and 4 assists.
Things don’t get any easier for the Vaqueros who take
on No. 5 ranked Poway Tuesday (Dec. 4) in North County.
El Capitan scoring:
Liana Pitman 21, Ashley Duffy 18, Taylor Autry 10, Crisela Banks 8, Samantha Spring
6, Britney Loring 4, Jamie Ferguson 1.
MOUNT MIGUEL 54, HORIZON 17 –
Coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL wanted to talk about defense following Monday’s
(Dec. 3) Matador Classic game against visiting Horizon.
Sophomore DANESIA
WILLIAMSON scored 20 points, dished 8 assists, made 6 steals and grabbed 5 rebounds
to move top-ranked Mount Miguel ’s record to 4-0.
AUTUMN SPIKES also
came up strong for the Matadors, producing 15 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks and
3 steals.
Mount Miguel pounded the Panthers (3-1) on the boards, as CINDY
EKWEOZOR, DANIELLE MILLER and NICOLE FOUNTAIN each came down with 8 caroms.
As
well as the Matadors spread their numbers equally across the board, Sandoval’s
focus remained on defense.
And why not? Horizon never scored more than 6
points in a quarter.
“Each game our defense is getting better, we played
really good defense tonight,” said Sandoval. “I thought our team defense
was the best so far this year. I’m going to try to focus on that.”
Mount
Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 20, Autumn Spikes 15, Danielle Miller 7, Cindy
Ekweozor 6, Trina Clark 2, Shateara Anderson 2, Nicole Fountain 2.
WEST
HILLS 62, CHRISTIAN 8 – Sophomore SHERIKA MILLER rolled a double-double
of 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead host West Hills to a Matador Classic victory
over visiting Christian on Monday (Dec. 3).
The Wolf Pack (3-0) moved out
to a 27-4 first-quarter lead and never looked back.
KIMBERLY CLARK, one
of six sophomores on the West Hills roster, added 11 points, while junior CONNIE
HINES corralled 14 rebounds.
Miller, Clark and SHELBY RUSSO each hit a pair
of 3-balls.
“We were able to get a lot of different looks tonight and
play a lot of combinations. We played against several zone packages,” said
West Hills coach RYAN KINSER.
West Hills scoring: Sherika Miller 22, Kimberly
Clark 11, Shelby Russo 8, Corryn Kivett 4 (6 reb., 2 blk.), Becca Jones 4, Amber
Darby 4 (7 reb.), Connie Hines 4, Marilyn Naderhoff 3 (5 stl., 3 ast.), Danielle
Hays 2 (3 reb., 3 ast).
Christian scoring: Monique Elliott 4, Carissa Johnson
2, Kelsey DePriest 2.
Dec.
1: El Capitan at Granite Hills (Slideshow by Leslie Autry)
Grossmont High coach
MARK DeFEDE, now in his first season as the Foothillers’ mentor, turned his
team loose on visiting San Marcos Saturday (Dec. 1) night and came away with a
53-25 on the final day of the Grossmont Thanksgiving Classic.
“I think
San Marcos was tired,” DeFede said. “We pressured them and they couldn’t
handle it. I think the girls are getting used to my system. Everybody on our team
scored. I was happy with that.”
Grossmont senior leader TINA RIOS buried
4 three-pointers on her way to a game-high 21 markers. Seven other Foothillers
contributed to the scoring.
“Rios is playing pretty well and the
team as a whole, defensively, is coming together. We are playing as a unit –
that’s what I’m happy to see. Our bench is real young, but every one
of our players scored tonight.”
Grossmont sprinted to a 17-5 first
quarter lead and continued to pull away to enjoy a 45-19 advantage at the close
of three periods.
“The hardest thing is keeping the second team involved,”
noted DeFede, a longtime associate of Foothillers boys coach and Grossmont athletic
director FRANK FOGGIANO. “These girls are excited about playing. Frank taught
me to always keep my second team involved. The second team is just as important
as the first team – they make the first team what they are.”
HELIX
68, VISTA 44 – After being virtually blown out of the gym by Eastlake
earlier in the week, the Highlanders regained their poise in Saturday’s (Dec.
1) Matador Classic contest against visiting Vista.
It was a career night
for BRITTANY WILLIAMS, who scored a personal best 45 points in helping the Highlanders
win for the first time in three starts.
Williams, a 5-foot-9 guard with
a scholarship to San Jose State in hand, hit 19 of 34 shots – 3 of them from
above the arc. She added 4 free throws to her record total while making 6 steals,
grabbing 4 rebounds and dishing 4 assists.
“I finally had my entire
team together tonight,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. “Brittany Williams
had another outstanding game. She really shot the ball well. We finally played
Helix basketball – it was nice to get a win under our belts.”
Williams
has scored 84 points for an average of 28 points per game so far this season.
The
Highlanders hammered their way to a 21-3 first quarter lead and were sitting on
a 44-21 cushion by halftime.
Helix scoring: Brittany Williams 45, Krista
Ronning 6, Kami Oliver 5 (8 reb., 3 blk., 2 ast., 2 stl.), Sam Vick 5 (3 stl.)
, Mariah Walker 3, Tatiana Jackson 2, Sinoi Leasau 2
EL CAPITAN 57, GRANITE
HILLS 32 – Both teams were missing key players from Saturday’s (Dec.
1) Matador Classic game at Granite Hills.
El Capitan ’s JAMIE FERGUSON
was taking the SAT test, as was Granite Hills’ AMY SYLVESTER.
El Capitan
’s ASHLEY DUFFY had a smooth game of 13 points, 8 assists and 8 steals.
CRISELA
BANKS continues to make major contributions with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.
Same is true of LIANA PITMAN, who matched Banks’ totals.
“Our
scoring was balanced (with five players scoring 7 or more points),” said
El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES. “Defensively we played pretty good, even
being tired. We got to see a couple of our young girls, MARISSA PITMAN and AMANDA
REL-SOLIA, go in the game. I think we had a successful first week.”
Five
wins in five starts, you better believe it.
“Overall we played with
a fatigue factor – playing five games in six days does that,” said Quinones.
“I’m glad we have Sunday off and so are the girls. We start another
week of five games on Monday (Dec. 3) and three of them are against Top 10 teams.”
The
Vaqueros’ march through Murderers’ Row begins Monday (Dec. 3) at Escondido,
Tuesday (Dec. 4) the Vaqueros travel to No. 5 Poway, and as if that’s not
enough they’ll visit No. 3 Cathedral Catholic on Thursday (Dec. 6).
“We
are looking forward to the challenge,” Quinones said.
Granite Hills
coach JERRY PARKER could not be reached for comment.
MOUNT
MIGUEL 39, PATRICK HENRY 22 – Coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL could hardly find
the word to describe Saturday’s (Dec. 1) Matador Classic outing against visiting
Patrick Henry.
“We played awful,” Sandoval said. “This is
probably one of the worst offensive game I can remember in all my (8) years as
coach here.”
Patrick Henry led 10-5 with four minutes left in the first
half, which caused Sandoval to burn timeouts like the were going out of style.
“I
don’t know what it is, but our girls always seem to get into foul trouble
and are unable to get into any kind of flow,” Sandoval commented. “This
shouldn’t have been a close game, but we made it that way.”
Sophomore
guard DANESIA WILLIAMSON was the light at the end of the tunnel for the Matadors
on this night, scoring a game-high 21 points while recording 6 steals.
CINDY
EKWEOZOR failed to make a basket, but the 6-foot-3 Mount Miguel senior came away
with 15 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
Freshman DANIELLE MILLER had a quiet
but successful outing with 6 steals, 5 points and 5 rebounds.
Mount Miguel
scoring: Danesia Williamson 21, Autumn Spikes 7 (3 reb.), Danielle Miller 5, Nicole
Fountain 4 (3 reb., 2 ast.), Cindy Ekweozor 2.
SD SOUTHWEST 45, CHRISTIAN
32 – In their second contest on Saturday (Dec. 1), this one in the Matador
Classic at San Diego Southwest, the Patriots enjoyed their best offensive outing
of the season.
KELSEY DePRIEST was the first Patriot to reach double scoring
digits in seven games, dropping in a dozen markers.
“We’re looking
a little better,” said Christian coach SKIP GERLEK.
VALLEY CENTER 52, CHRISTIAN 11 – To the eye, Saturday’s
(Dec. 1) Coronado Thanksgiving Classic tussle with Valley Center looked like another
blowout loss for the Patriots.
Upon closer inspection the Patriots did get
more balanced scoring than they have in most of their games, as four players contributed
to the paltry total.
Christian scoring: Jenny Harrison 5, Monique Elliott
2, Kelsey DePriest 2, Ricki Gentry 2.
The Foothillers (2-1) outscored the Spartans
24-11 in the opening quarter and never looked back.
“We went at them
early and were able to take them out of the game,” said Grossmont coach MARK
DeFEDE. “We started out in a press and we called it off when we got into
foul trouble. We played them a strictly half-court game in the last three quarters.
I thought we rebounded well. I feel we played a very good all-around game.”
Grossmont,
which received a team-best 19 points from 5-10 junior center TERRA MUSGROVE and
18 points – including 4 treys – by senior guard TINA RIOS, will host
San Marcos for the tournament championship Saturday (Dec. 1) at 5:30.
EL CAPITAN 69, MISSION HILLS 48 – Junior ASHLEY DUFFY reeled
off a triple-double of 19 points, 12 assists and 12 steals to help spark El Capitan
to its fourth straight win in Friday’s (Nov. 30) Bronco Invitational at Rancho
Bernardo.
“Duffy is our master and commander,” said Vaqueros coach
FRANK QUINONES. “She finds the open person – 12 assists is pretty awesome
for a single game.”
Senior BRITNEY LORING put together one of the best
games of her career with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. LIANA PITMAN added
11 points, 6 assists and 3 steals.
Although not the prototype inside-the-paint
player, 5-foot-9 senior JAMIE FERGUSON continues to rebound with East County ’s
best. She corralled 14 caroms in the win over Mission Hills.
Quinones has
El Capitan on some kind of basic training course, which he believes – and
it’s probably true – will make the Vaqueros a tireless bunch in crucial
games later on.
“This was the fourth game in five days for us, and
fatigue is starting to set in,” said Quinones. “We didn’t play
as crisp as we have been. This was a good test for us.”
The Vaqueros
are opening the season with 10 games in 12 days and that stretch will continue
on Saturday (Dec. 1) when El Capitan will visit Granite Hills in a Matadors Classic
contest at 11:30 a.m.
El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 19, Britney Loring
14, Liana Pitman 11, Ashley Bunce 9, Samantha Spring 6, Jamie Ferguson 4, Taylor
Autrey 4, Crisela Banks 2.
SANTANA 65, VISTA 45 – Senior NICOLE
BRZECZEK, who has had her name misspelled more times than anyone in East County
history, will make the historians take note. The 5-foot-7 guard scored a career-high
26 points, connecting on 9 of her 18 shots from the floor and 7 of 11 free throws
as Santana vanquished visiting Vista in Friday’s (Nov. 30) Matador Classic
contest.
Brzeczek scored all but four of her points in the second half.
Her 22 markers actually were two more than Vista ’s team produced in the
final two quarters.
Junior JAMIE ELIAS generated a double-double of 19 points
and 10 rebounds. The 5-foot-11 guard netted 7 of 12 shots from the field, including
a trio of 3s.
KAILA SMITH, a 5-10 junior, made half of her 10 shots en route
to 12 points and also pulled down 8 rebounds.
Despite 14 turnovers, the
Sultans won for the second time in three starts.
“We defended better
in the second half,” said Santana coach JIM MOTTERSHAW.
Santana was
down 25-24 at the half and outscored Vista 41-20 in the second half.
“We
rebounded well in the second half, got the ball out and ran the floor well,”
said Mottershaw. “We simply wore them down in that period. We appear to be
in better shape than they are.”
Santana scoring: Nicole Brzeczek 26,
Jamie Elias 19, Kaila Smith 12, Alyssa Padberg 5, Kim Gross 2, Lauren Mueller
1.
EL CAJON VALLEY 59, OLYMPIAN 28 – Some kind of credit has
to go to El Cajon Valley ’s veteran basketball coach RANDY ROBINSON. A year
ago, when Robinson and veteran associate RICK WILKERSON inherited the Lady Braves’
reins, they realized what the phrase ‘starting from scratch’ really
meant.
Not that Robinson wants to toot his own horn, but he had to be pleased
with Friday (Nov. 30) night’s non-league opening victory.
“It
was nice for the girls to get their first win,” said Robinson. “Fifty-nine
points is more than we have scored in the last three seasons combined.”
Returning
senior SHERAINA MOON turned in a complete game for the Braves with a game-high
15 points, 7 steals, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
HAZEL DOE added 10 points
and 6 assists for the Braves, who led 15 to 8 after one quarter and 29-11 at halftime.
El
Cajon Valley scoring: Sheraina Moon 15, Hazel Doe 10, Kaylani Faten 8, Shelana
Moon 5, Kelly Wimberly 5, Tericka Williams 4 (3 ast., 5 stl.), Samantha Julien
4, Jeena Norwarekar 2, Stephanie Jacobs 2, Stephanie Smith 2 (3 ast.), Aundria
Myles 2.
Maybe it wasn’t a miracle, but
the Vaqueros (3-0) came from way back to pull out a 66-65 Matador Classic overtime
victory over Montgomery on Thursday (Nov. 29).
El Capitan was down 8
points with 45 seconds left in the regulation. That’s when the Vaqueros’
aggressive defense came into play.
“We got 4 quick steals – ASHLEY
DUFFY got 2 and CRISELA BANKS got 2 – we executed well and got to the basket,”
said El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES. Banks had an uncontested layup to tie it
58-58 at the end of regulation.
Banks had 2 baskets and 2 free throws in
overtime. The team was 4 for 6 on free throws in overtime.
El Capitan outscored
the Aztecs 26-18 over the final 12 minutes.
“I preached to the girls
both at halftime and before we started overtime, it’s going to come down
to heart,” said El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES. “It’s our house,
our fans and our court.”
Duffy turned in a double-double of 18 points
and 11 rebounds. She also had 5 steals and 3 assists.
It was a career night
for Banks, who knocked down 17 points while gathering 7 rebounds.
El Capitan
converted 20 of 30 free throw attempts.
“We caused Montgomery to be
in foul trouble most of the night,” said Quinones. “They didn’t
handle the pressure after halftime. We’ve been running and practicing our
free throws.”
JAMIE FERGUSON, a 5-foot-9 senior forward, snagged 16
rebounds and scored 8 points inside the paint. She also came away with 3 steals
and handed out 2 assists.
“Ferguson played very well,” said Quinones.
“It was another game of team effort. These girls are playing the game of
basketball the way it’s supposed to be played.”
“Duffy is
a great player – she makes the rest of our team better, and the rest of the
girls make her better as well.”
Montgomery hit 7 threes. “They
live and die by the three,” commented Quinones.
Sheila Thomas, Montgomery
’s 6-5 post player scored 22 points, “but they weren’t freebies,”
said Quinones. “She had to work for all 22 points.”
WEST HILLS 53, SAN MARCOS 50 – For the second game
in a row, sophomore guard KIMBERLY CLARK was the fuel that drove the Wolf Pack
in Thursday’s (Nov. 29) Matador Classic in San Marcos.
Clark landed
a pair of 3-pointers and was 6 for 6 from the free throw stripe on her way to
a team-best 16 points.
Not to be overlooked in West Hills’ latest effort
was the work of junior center CORRYN KIVETT, who corralled 12 caroms and dropped
in 8 points for the Wolf Pack (2-0).
Steady sophomore guard MARILYN NADERHOFF
pitched in 6 points, 7 assists, 8 rebounds and 4 assists for the Pack.
After
trailing by 2 at the close of the first quarter, West Hills muscled in front 31-29
by intermission. The Pack led by 3 at the end of the third quarter and began to
pull away in the final period.
“It was a tight game the whole way,”
said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “It started out well for both teams although
we really didn’t shoot well in the first half. I thought we played excellent
defense in the second half. We were up 8 points in the middle of the fourth quarter
then made a couple of mistakes.”
“ San Marcos made a 3 and a 2
and all of a sudden it was a 3-point game. We made our free throws down the stretch
to stay ahead and win the game. It was a good win for a young team – we start
four sophomores.”
Six-foot Diana Espinoza scored 20 points to lead
San Marcos.
West Hills scoring: Kimberly Clark 16 (3 reb., 2 stl), Amber
Darby 9 (3 reb.), Corryn Kivett 8, Sherika Miller 6 (3 stl), Marilyn Naderhoff
6, Shelby Russo 5 (3 ast., 3 stl.), Mariah Bennett 3.
MOUNT MIGUEL 53,
CANYON CREST 33 – AUTUMN SPIKES was the driving force with 18 points,
17 rebounds and 3 blocked shots as No. 1 ranked Mount Miguel breezed to its second
win in as many outings in Thursday’s (Nov. 29) Matador Classic game.
Guard
DANESIA WILLIAMSON led the Matadors supporting cast with 16 points, 5 assists
and 5 steals.
Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL has come to expect that
kind of play from the aforementioned duo. What caught his work was the quality
work of freshman DANIELLE MILLER, who contributed 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.
“One
of the kids who played really well was freshman Danielle Miller,” Sandoval
said. “She was a bright spot tonight – her energy and defensive play.
She is one of our better defenders and getting better every day.”
The
Matadors outscored the visiting Ravens in all four quarters.
“We’re
still growing as a team,” Sandoval said. “They played us tough –
and we’re not as tough as we need to be.”
Mount Miguel scoring:
Autumn Spikes 18, Danesia Williamson 16, Danielle Miller 8, Cindy Ekweozor 6,
Trina Clark 5.
EASTLAKE 82, HELIX 30 – It’s quite some
time since the Helix Highlanders have been treated as rudely as the host Eastlake
battered the La Mesa squad in Thursday’s (Nov. 29) Matador Classic contest.
“It
wasn’t pretty,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. “Eastlake is a great
team with excellent speed and court leadership. They hit the boards real hard.”
The
Titans’ defense wasn’t too bad either. They held Helix ace BRITTANY
WILLIAMS to 5 points. KAMI OLIVER and BECKY ALMERAZ led the Highlanders with 9
and 8 points, respectively.
“We knew that Eastlake was going to press
us,” said Hansen, “and we tried to slow the game down. But we couldn’t
handle the pressure and that allowed them to take us out of our game.”
Cheyenne
Curley-Payne rolled off a nifty triple-double to pace the No. 7-ranked Aztecs,
finishing with 31 points, 10 assists and 10 steals.
Helix scoring: Kami
Oliver 9, Becky Almarez 8, Brittany Williams 5, Natalia Cano 4, Mariah Walker
3, Krista Ronning 1.
CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 64, SANTANA 42 – If
the visiting Sultans played the whole game like they did the second quarter when
they claimed a 17-7 scoring edge over host Cathedral Catholic, the outcome of
Thursday’s (Nov. 29) Matador Classic game might have been different.
Third-ranked
Cathedral Catholic overpowered Santana 33-10 in the second half to open the season
with a major victory.
It was a somewhat unusual game in that Santana was
able to hold Cathedral’s Victoria Lippert to six points. But the Sultans
were unable to handle MacKenzie Mathias, who drilled in a game-high 20 points.
More than half of Mathias’ scoring count came on four 3-pointers.
JAMIE
ELIAS led Santana (1-1) with 15 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. NICOLE
BRZECZEK added 11 points with one trey and 4-for-4 free throw shooting.
No
other statistics were reported for Santana.
Meanwhile for the Dons, it was
a successful return to the East County by head coach WILL CUNNINGHAM, the former
head coach for San Diego Christian College women's basketballteam and an NCCAA
All-America selection for the Hawks men in 1990.
Santana scoring: Jamie
Elias 15, Nicole Brzeczek 11, Kaila Smith 9, Samantha White 4, Kim Gross 2, Lauren
Mueller 1.
LA COSTA CANYON 78, CHRISTIAN 6 – The Patriots fell
to 0-5 in Thursday’s (Nov. 29) Matador Classic game. LCC led 21-0 after one
quarter and 41-4 by intermission.
That might seem strange since the majority of
the Matadors were involved in club basketball throughout the off-season. But this
is a new season – the more publicized high school season.
After a sluggish
start Mount Miguel finally found its stride and blew past visiting Our Lady of
Peace, 61-30.
“The first half was typical of the beginning of the season,”
said Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL, who’s Matadors owned a slim 21-19
advantage by intermission. “It seemed like everybody (his starters) was in
foul trouble. It was like there were too many ticky-tack calls – you couldn’t
touch anybody. But I have to say the refs are like the players, this is their
first game too.”
The second half was a completely different story.
The Matadors buzzed the Pilots 20-5 in the third quarter to take command. It was
more of the same in the final period (20-6) as the game became the predicted blowout.
DANIESIA
WILLIAMSON led the Matadors’ assault with 24 points, including a pair of
3’s. The speedy junior point guard also handed out 7 assists and made 4 steals.
AUTUMN
SPIKES, a 6-foot-1 senior wing who will play at San Jose State next season, was
strapped with foul problems almost from the outset. Nonetheless, Spikes managed
18 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
“Honestly,
Autumn played a total of about 12 minutes,” said Sandoval.
CINDY EKWEOZOR,
a 6-3 center who will play for the University of San Francisco next winter, contributed
11 points, 7 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.
Sophomore NICOLE FOUNTAIN added
7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists for Mount Miguel.
Due to its recent history
for success, Mount Miguel has attracted rankings on several fronts. The Matadors
are ranked No. 47 in the nation, No. 11 on the West Coast and No. 7 in the state
by CalHiSports.com.
“It’s a different team from those
we have had in the past,” added Sandoval. “We still have a lot of learning
to do. I think the rankings have led people to expect a lot from us.”
Mount
Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 24, Autumn Spikes 18, Cindy Ekweozor 11, Nicole
Fountain 7, Daneille Miller 1.
SAN DIEGO 55, GRANITE HILLS 49 –
With upset in their eyes, the Granite Hills Eagles challenged No. 10 ranked
San Diego in Wednesday’s (Nov. 28) Matador Classic contest in the Caver’s
gym.
The visiting Eagles (1-1) managed a 25-22 halftime lead, but faltered
in the second half when one of their top inside players was ejected for receiving
two technical fouls.
“That’s what really swung the game in their
favor,” said Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER. “We were really battling
them inside until they disqualified one of our top rebounders. I thought it was
a ticky-tack call, but it didn’t matter (to the refs) and it really hurt
our momentum.”
Sophomore SABRINA JIMENEZ scored 17 of her 20 points
in the second half to allow the Eagles to remain in contention. Nine of those
points came from 3-point distance. The hustling 5-foot-8 Jimenez also had 5 assists,
4 steals and 2 blocks.
Six-foot junior LAUREN BENDER canned 14 points, grabbed
a team-high 6 rebounds and blocked 2 shots for Granite Hills.
Caver’s
senior guard Leticia Ridley knifed the Eagles for 19 points.
Sending
a team with only one senior on its roster to the floor for the season opener,
Kinser’s Wolf Pack mugged an Escondido squad that arrived with a lofty No.
8 ranking bestowed upon them by a major metropolitan newspaper.
Credit West
Hills for the early knockout.
Sophomore KIMBERLY CLARK scored a team-high
20 points – more than half coming on a quartet of 3-pointers – as West
Hills pummeled the Cougars of Escondido 62-43.
“I thought we played
excellent defense tonight,” Kinser said. “The girls dug down deep and
were very aggressive. We rebounded well and had only 10 turnovers.”
West
Hills grabbed a 30-21 halftime lead and gradually pulled away in the second half.
Sophomore
MARILYN NADERHOFF pitched in 14 points and 8 steals for the Wolf Pack. She was
deadly from the free throw, sinking 8 of 11 chances. SHERIKA MILLER, a sophomore,
added 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals.
“It’s taken the players
some time to get used to my system,” said Kinser, who spent seven seasons
coaching girls basketball in Northern California before migrating south. “They
really are adjusting well. I’m the third coach they have had (this year)
and it’s taken me some time to get used to them as well.”
West
Hills scoring: Kimberly Clark 20, Marilyn Naderhoff 14, Sherika Miller 11, Mariah
Bennett 6, Corryn Kivett 4, Amber Darby 3, Shelby Russo 3, Connie Hines 1.
EL
CAPITAN 70, RAMONA 59 (OT) – For a while it appeared El Capitan was going
to roll Ramona in a rout in Tuesday’s (Nov. 27) opening round of the Bronco
Invitational at Poway.
The Vaqueros (2-0) enjoyed a 12-point lead in the
first half, but slowly watched that advantage disintegrate, forcing overtime.
That’s when junior guard ASHLEY DUFFY took the game by the horns, scoring
6 of her game-high 31 points during the four-minute extra stanza as El Cap snapped
a 56-56 tie.
El Capitan was 10-for-12 from the charity stripe, outscoring
the Bulldogs (4-1) by a 14-3 count in the overtime.
“We took total
control of the game in the first half,” El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES said.
“We didn’t fare so well in the second half, Ramona out-rebounded us.”
TAYLOR
AUTRY added 14 points and 6 rebounds. Duffy also had 6 rebounds and 9 steals.
The
Vaqueros looked as if they would escape with a 2-point win with 11 seconds left
in regulation but could not hang on.
“The best thing we did was run
the entire night,” Quinones said. “That’s going to be our style
this season.”
As a team, El Capitan was 26 of 34 from the free throw
line.
El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 31, Taylor Autry 14, Liana Pitman
8, Ashley Bunce 3, Crisela Banks 7, Samantha Spring 3, Jamie Ferguson 2, Britney
Loring 2.
GRANITE HILLS 62, CANYON CREST 60 – Granite Hills
jumped out to a 13-0 lead but then had to scramble to capture Tuesday’s (Nov.
27) Matador Classic opener.
The bottom fell out after that as the Ravens
eventually clawed their way to a 10-point lead after three quarters.
Granite
Hills came back to a 4-point lead in the final minute. Canyon Crest hit a 2-point
basket at the buzzer.
MOLLY HILLENBRAND carved out a nifty double-double
of 23 points and 13 rebounds, while AMY SYLVESTER rolled off 18 points and 10
rebounds for the Eagles.
“Hillenbrand has come out strong scoring-wise,”
said Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER. “She was really aggressive tonight.
She was definitely our leader. As a senior, the team really looks up to her. It
was nice to get the season going with a win. Canyon Crest really played us tough.”
SANTANA 56, MIRA MESA 43 –
Many of the so-called experts figured Santana was not going to run among the elite
this season because the Sultans were running short of blue-chip talent.
That
opinion has yet to be determined.
Fact is the Sultans of coach JIM MOTTERSHAW
apparently don’t believe what they’ve heard.
Santana rallied from
a 24-23 halftime deficit with a 20-11 third period scoring splurge to send the
visiting Marauders packing in Tuesday’s (Nov. 27) Matador Classic.
Santana
was by one point at halftime, then came out and hit the first five shots in the
3rd quarter. Of those, JAMIE ELIAS had two 2’s and two 3’s. Santana
outscored Mira Mesa 33-19 in the 2nd half.
“Our defensive effort in
the 2nd half was exceptional,” Mottershaw said. “Offensively we played
well in the 1st and 3rd quarters. In the 4th quarter we had the game pretty much
under control.”
JAMIE ELIAS and ALYSSA PADBERG led a balanced attack
with 14 points apiece. Elias led the Sultans with 8 rebounds, while Padberg grabbed
6 boards and handed out 4 assists.
NICOLE BRECZEK added 13 points, 7 assists,
5 rebounds and 3 steals. KAILA SMITH contributed 11 points, which included 7-for-8
free throw shooting.
“I have three freshmen in my top seven players.
It’s going to take them awhile to get used to playing for and against players
that are 2-3 years older than they are,” said Mottershaw. “I think we
had first game jitters tonight.”
Santana scoring: Jamie Elias 14, Alyssa
Padberg 14, Nicole Breczek 13, Kaila Smith 11, Kim Gross 2, Samantha White 2.
El Capitan opponents
should not plan on focusing all their attention on stopping super junior ASHLEY
DUFFY. While Duffy will once again play a major role in the Vaqueros' success
this season, she won't go about it alone.
That was evident in Monday's
(Nov. 26) season opener when host El Capitan riddled San Pasqual, 67-38, in the
first round of the Matador Classic.
Senior LIANA PITMAN buried four 3-pointers
on her way to a team-high 19 points. She also swished 3 of 4 free throws. ASHLEY
BUNCE contributed 11 points as did Duffy, who also made 5 steals and handed out
3 assists.
El Capitan started slowly, taking a 14-7 lead after one quarter
and extending that margin to 31-22 by intermission.
"We made some
adjustments and just dominated the second half," said Quinones. "In
the second half San Pasqual couldn't keep up with us. They just ran out of gas
and we kept on going."
"Liana Pitman had a very good offensive
game tonight, and defensively JAMIE FERGUSON had a good game. It was a good team
effort."
Ferguson pounded the boards for 11 rebounds and was a hawk
on defense with 8 steals.
"Overall the girls are playing as one unit,
one team -- we are not a team of individual players," Quinones said. "It's
a good feeling to have these girls come out and be pumped up. We play 10 games
in 12 days."
El Capitan scoring: Liana Pitman 19, Ashley Duffy 11,
Ashley Bunce 11, Samantha Spring 7, Jamie Ferguson 6, Britney Loring 5, Taylor
Autry 3, Crisela Banks 3, Chouteau Banegas 2.
SERRA 56, HELIX 52 --
Senior guard BRITTANY WILLIAMS, who has accepted a scholarship to San Jose State,
came out of the blocks firing for the Highlanders in Monday's (Nov. 26) season
opener of the Matador Classic at Helix.
Williams connected on 15 of 32
shots from the floor -- one of them a 3-ball -- and put through 3 of 5 free throws
for a game-high 34 points. The 5-foot-9 Williams also captured 5 rebounds, notched
4 steals and dished 2 assists.
"We have a very young team this year
compared to last year," said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. "Brittany played
well tonight. Everybody knows she's our best player."
What Helix
must do in the preseason is develop depth.
"Serra put a lot of pressure
on us and we did not react well to it at all," Hansen said. "We committed
too many turnovers and shot poorly."
Not counting Williams, the
Highlanders shot 33 percent (8 for 24) from the floor and 2 for 7 from the foul
line.
Six-foot senior KAMI OLIVER added 8 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks
for the Highlanders, who also got a team-best 10 rebounds from 5-11 senior center
TATIANA JACKSON.
Ashley McWhorter tallied 23 points to lead Serra.
Helix scoring: Brittany Williams 34, Kami Oliver 8, Sam Vick 4 (5 rebs, 3
assists), Tatiana Jackson 4, Mariah Walker 2.
“We only have one returning starter
(TINA RIOS),” said Grossmont coach MARK DeFEDE. “Some of the girls are
not yet used to playing with their backs to the basket, and because of that we
didn’t shoot very well in the first half at all.”
Grossmont scoring:
Heather Springe 13, Tina Rios 9, Terra Musgrove 8, Tiffany Toason 6, Allison Baxter
3, Carley Applegate 2.
Other Games --Coronado Classic:
Ramona 70, Christian 19; Oceanside 69, Christian 13.
SAN DIEGUITO
ACADEMY 61, CHRISTIAN 17 -- The short-handed Patriots fell behind 29-7 by
halftime of Friday's (Nov. 23) round of the Coronado Thanksgiving Classsic on
the Peninsula and never recovered.
"We were fatigued. We are not
in good shape yet and it showed,"said acting coach CORI ESPELET. "It's
tough playing two games in one day with just five players."
OUR LADY OF PEACE 72, CHRISTIAN 12 -- Once again the Patriots were
lacking offensive firepower.
"We played with five players, none with
varsity experience,"said acting coach CORI ESPELET. "OLP put continuous
pressure on us and we could not handle it."
The only
East County team participating is the Santana girls basketball team, a CIF Division
III semifinalist last season.The Sultans will meet Division I quarterfinalist
Poway at 7:20 p.m.
The classic begins at 4 p.m. with girls Division III
finalist Cathedral Catholic battling Palo Verde Valley. At 5:40 p.m. is a boys
contest between Rancho Bernardo and Otay Ranch. In the final game, Division I
boys semifinalists Torrey Pines goes against the host Conquistadors, last year's
Division II finalist, at 9 p.m. All contests are exhibitions and do not count
toward team records.
Tickets are $6. For more information on the Tip-Off
Classic, visit the San Diego Section website, at: www.cifsds.org.
Never mind the high school
championships and impressive won-lost record. At the moment Sandoval's pride is
centered on the number of scholarships that he and San Diego High's Marlon Wells,
through their club team Elite Basketball Organization (EBO), have landed.
Among
the blue chippers is Mount Miguel 6-foot-1 senior AUTUMN SPIKES, who has accepted
a scholarship to San Jose State. Despite not compiling eye-catching statistics
(8.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg and 40 blocks), Spikes has been a steadying influence underneath
the basket for the Matadors.
"One of the things that made me feel good
about it was they offered my major," said Spikes, who plans to focus on graphic
design. "I'm really into photography, and photo-journalism."
That's
probably hereditary.
"When you grow up watching TLC, Home Makeover,
Our House and anything involving interior design, it probably shapes your life,"
said Spikes. "My mom is an architect and an interior designer for Pacific
Country Homes in Riverside. And my dad is really geeky with computers."
So
what does that mean?
"Our house is the bomb," said Spikes. "My
mom has done such a great job of making it look so great."
Spikes hopes
to follow her lead.
"The big thing is I'm interested in things outside
of basketball," she said. "And right now that means photography and
interior design."
Outside of her immediate focus -- which is helping
the Matadors enjoy another successful season this winter -- Spikes keeps an eye
on the happenings at San Jose State , which finished 5-27 a year ago.
"We
have a new coach and there is new excitement," said Spikes of the Spartans.
"One of the things I like is I will have a good chance to play right away."
Spikes
is the 5th local commitment for Sandoval's Elite Basketball Organization club
team.
Among the other EBO locals to accept a scholarship is Helix senior
point guard BRITTANY WILLIAMS -- a San Jose State-bound standout -- who averaged
20.9 ppg, 7 rebounds, 6.6 steals and 5.5 assists per game as a junior.
Another
local standout to benefit from her participation with EBO is Mount Miguel senior
CINDY EKWEOZOR, 6-foot-3 senior who has accepted a scholarship to the University
of San Francisco. A part-time player a year ago, Ekweozor figures to be a major
contributor to the Matadors' success this season.
The 6-foot-1 senior led the Cougars to a 16-13 record this past
season, leading all East County players with a.540 shooting percentage while ranking
second in rebounds as 12.3 per contest. Merlino also paced Steele Canyon in scoring,
ranking 10th in the region at 13.4 points per outing.
Coaches placed Merlino
on the All-Grossmont South League second team.
Whittier's Poets went 12-13
last season, finishing 5-9 in the SCIAC. Merlino should move into the line-up
quickly, as the team graduates five seniors from a roster which also included
seven freshmen.
CIF
PLAYOFFS First Round Wed., Feb. 20 Division I Granite Hills 56,
Hilltop 33 Eastlake 75, Helix 35 Division II Orange Glen 56,
Grossmont 48 Serra 51, Steele Canyon 41 West Hills 49, Scripps Ranch 36 Mt.
Carmel 77, El Cajon Valley 28 Division III Mount Miguel 87, Castle
Park19 Santana 75, San Dieguito 50 El Capitan 57, La Jolla 42 Division
V San Pasqual Academy 53, Foothills Christian 22
Quarterfinals
Sat., Feb. 23
Division I
Escondido 78, Granite Hills 45 Division II
Serra 47, West Hills 44 Division III
Mount Miguel 71, Brawley 29
El Capitan 50, Santana 31
Championships
Fri., Feb 29
Division III
(2) Cathedral Catholic (26-3) 56,
(1) Mount Miguel (20-5) 50 Division I
(1) Poway (27-3) 50,
(2) Bonita Vista (22-7) 46 Division V
(2) Calvin Christian (19-8) 41,
(1) Escondido Adventist (23-4) 28 Sat., Mar. 1
Division II
(3) Mt. Carmel (20-11) 50,
(1) Westview (25-6) 44 Division IV
(1) La Jolla Country Day (23-5) 56,
The Bishop's (21-9) 38
Mon., Nov. 26 Matador Classic El
Capitan 67, San Pasqual 38 Serra 56, Helix 52
Tue., Nov. 27 Matador
Classic Santana 56, Mira Mesa 43 Granite Hills 62, Canyon Crest 60 West
Hills 62, Escondido 43 Bronco Invitational El Capitan 70, Ramona
59 (OT)
Wed., Nov. 28 Matador Classic San Diego 55, Granite
Hills 49 Mount Miguel 61, Our Lady of Peace 30
Thur., Nov. 29 Matador
Classic El Capitan 66, Montgomery 65 (OT) Eastlake 82, Helix 30 Cathedral
Catholic 64, Santana 42 West Hills 53, San Marcos 50 La Costa Canyon 78,
Christian 6 Mount Miguel 53, Canyon Crest 33
Fri., Nov. 30 Bronco
Invitational El Capitan 69, Mission Hills 48 Grossmont Thanksgiving
Classic Grossmont 67, El Centro-Central 27 Matador Classic Santana
65, Vista 45 Non-League El Cajon Valley 59, Olympian 28
Sat.,
Dec. 1 Matador Classic El Capitan 57, Granite Hills 32 Helix 68,
Vista 44 SD Southwest 45, Christian 32 Mount Miguel 39, Patrick Henry 22 Grossmont
Thanksgiving Classic Grossmont 53, San Marcos 25 Coronado Thanksgiving
Classic Valley Center 52, Christian 11
Mon., Dec. 3 Matador Classic El
Capitan 68, Escondido 58 West Hills 62, Christian 8 Mount Miguel 54, Horizon
17
Wed., Dec. 5 Matador
Classic Mount Miguel 68, Scripps Ranch 32 West Hills 50, Montgomery
36 Santana 51, San Marcos 21 San Pasqual 2, Christian 0 [forfeit]
Thur.,
Dec. 6 Matador Classic Cathedral 75, El Capitan 50 Patrick
Henry 56, Helix 55 Granite Hills 63, Mira Mesa 55 Point Loma 2, Christian
0 [forfeit] Brawley Tournament Palm Desert 41, El Cajon Valley 31 Palo
Verde Valley 42, El Cajon Valley 34
Fri., Dec. 7 Rancho Bernardo Invitational
Third: Francis Parker 57, El Capitan 38 Matador Classic West Hills
df. Lincoln, forfeit Brawley Tournament Desert Hot Springs 23, El
Cajon Valley 21 Brawley 55, El Cajon Valley 20 Non-League Calvin
Christian 36, Christian 16
Sat., Dec. 8 Brawley Tournament Valley
Center 41, El Cajon Valley 32 Matador Classic White Div. Final: Westview
62, West Hills 52
Tue., Dec. 11 Mount Miguel Invitational Westview
68, Helix 55 The Bishop’s 71, West Hills 60 Steele Canyon 60, SD-Southwest
29
Wed., Dec. 12 Mount Miguel Invitational Bonita Vista 68, Steele
Canyon 45 Helix 66, Point Loma 42 West Hills 64, Chula Vista 43
Thurs.,
Dec. 13 San Dieguito Tournament El Cajon Valley 60, Tri-City Christian
32 Non-League Santana 72, Hilltop 45 Mount Miguel at Lincoln,
rescheduled to Friday
Fri., Dec. 14 Mount Miguel Invitational Montgomery
48, Steele Canyon 27 West Hills 57, San Diego 24 Temecula-Chaparral 61,
Helix 36 San Dieguito Tournament Oceanside 58, El Cajon Valley 18 Non-League El
Capitan 49, Vista 45 Mount Miguel 69, Lincoln 19
Sat., Dec. 15 Mount
Miguel Invitational Helix 50, Bonita Vista 47 West Hills 67, Temecula-Chaparral
57 Chula Vista 50, Steele Canyon 41 San Dieguito Tournament San
Dieguito 48, El Cajon Valley 26 El Cajon Valley 46, Preuss 27
Mon., Dec.
17 Colts-Eagles Holiday Invitational El Cajon Valley 62, Mtn. Empire
26 Granite Hills 56, Mar Vista 12 Brawley 66, Valhalla 33
Tue., Dec.
18 Colts-Eagles Holiday Invitational Granite Hills 59, Kearny 21 Valhalla
vs. La Jolla at Crawford, moved to Wed.
Wed., Dec. 19 Kiwanis Tournament Mission
Hills 52, Grossmont 51 (OT) Poway 54, Monte Vista 5 Serra 67, Santana
27 Colts-Eagles Holiday Invitational Granite Hills 47, Orange Glen
33 El Cajon Valley 49, Madison 35 La Jolla 36, Valhalla 24
Thur, Dec.
20 Colts-Eagles Holiday Invitational Castle Park 59, Valhalla
52 Sweetwater 39, El Cajon Valley 26 Non-League El Capitan 66,
El Centro-Central 38 Redondo Union 57, Mount Miguel 43 Kiwanis Tournament Morse
39, Santana 31 La Costa Canyon 44, Grossmont 33 Rancho Bernardo 71, Monte
Vista 11
Fri., Dec. 21 Kiwanis Tournament Grossmont 52, Monte Vista
6 Santana 56, Rancho Buena Vista 32 Colts-Eagles Holiday Invitational University
City 53, El Cajon Valley 35 Granite Hills 58, Patrick Henry 19 Bonita Vista
51, Valhalla 29
Sat., Dec. 22 Kiwanis Tournament Rancho Buena Vista
70, Monte Vista 30 Santana 35, Grossmont 27 Colts-Eagles Holiday Invitational Championship:
Granite Hills 56, Sweetwater 52 (OT)
Wed., Dec. 26 El Capitan Holiday
Prep Classic Calexico 50, Christian 14 Valhalla 47, Valley Center 45 Steele
Canyon 46, Point Loma 39 OLP 57, Granite Hills 54 (OT) Patrick Henry 55,
Helix 50 El Capitan 72, Shafter 36 Villa Park 73, Grossmont 51 Santana
72, North Bakersfield 63 Brawley at El Capitan, moved to Thurs., noon Monte
Vista Winter Classic Oceanside 73, Monte Vista 31
Thur., Dec. 27 El
Capitan Holiday Prep Classic Castlemont 57, Grossmont 51 Poway 60, West
Hills 46 West Hills 56, Gardena 48 Helix 67, Hilltop 52 Santana 69,
Kearny 34 El Capitan 60, Brawley 17 Granite Hills 75, Reseda 41 Burroughs
45, Steele Canyon 36 St. Joseph’s 42, Christian 19 Castle Park 70,
Valhalla 66 (OT) Monte Vista Winter Classic San Pasqual 58, Monte
Vista 23
Fri., Dec. 28 El Capitan Holiday Prep Classic WNBA
Division Grossmont 52, Leuzinger 49 (OT) NCAA D1 Division Mission
Prep 61, West Hills 50 NCAA D2 Division Santana 54, El Centro-Central
40 Helix 47, San Dimas 33 NCAA D3 Division Granite Hills 61, Mission
Hills 42 El Capitan 69, Canyon Crest 61 NAIA Division Steele
Canyon 44, EC Southwest 30 Prep Division Mountain View (Wash.) 50,
Christian 6 Valhalla 42, Madison 22 Monte Vista Winter Classic Otay
Ranch 49, Monte Vista 37 Horizon 78, Monte Vista 21
Sat., Dec. 29 El
Capitan Holiday Prep Classic WNBA Division Escondido 62, Grossmont
35 NCAA D3 Division Championship: Our Lady of Peace 41, El Capitan
37 Third: Canyon Crest 79, Granite Hills 61 NCAA D2 Division Championship:
Santana 49, Patrick Henry 31 Third: Helix 86, North Bakersfield 69 NCAA
D1 Division Third: West Hills 47, La Costa Canyon 43 NAIA Division Third:
Sweetwater 49, Steele Canyon 29 Prep Division Castle Park 55, Christian
23 Championship: St. Joseph’s 45, Valhalla 25 Monte Vista Winter
Classic Imperial 47, Monte Vista 39
Fri., Jan. 4 Non-League El
Cajon Valley 27, San Ysidro 27
Sat., Jan. 5 Imperial Valley/San
Diego Challenge EC-Southwest 39, Monte Vista 37 EC-Central 57, Valhalla
42 Steele Canyon 41, Calexico 38 EC-Central 72, Monte Vista 43 EC-Southwest
43, Valhalla 31 Steele Canyon 43, Imperial 34 Non-League Santa
Margarita 59, Mount Miguel 32
Mon., Jan. 7 Grossmont Conference Granite
Hills 45, El Cajon Valley 25 Santana 60, Valhalla 25 El Capitan 64, Steele
Canyon 36 Mount Miguel at West Hills, ccd. Grossmont at Monte Vista, ccd. Non-League West
Hills 68, Madison 12
Wed., Jan. 9 Grossmont Conference Grossmont
57, Helix 54 El Cajon Valley 48, Monte Vista 28 Granite Hills 49, Santana
45 West Hills 66, Valhalla 17 El Capitan at Mount Miguel, ccd.
Fri.,
Jan. 11 Grossmont South League Mount Miguel 83, Valhalla 3 Granite
Hills 76, Monte Vista 22 Helix 43, Steele Canyon 37 Grossmont North League West
Hills 51, El Capitan 46 Grossmont 58, El Cajon Valley 32 Central League Hoover
27, Christian 13
Sat., Jan. 12 Imperial Valley/San Diego Challenge Calexico
61, Valhalla 58 Imperial 31, Monte Vista 17 Steele Canyon 35, EC Southwest
22 Imperial 54, Valhalla 16 Calexico 68, Monte Vista 60 EC-Central 64,
Steele Canyon 43 Non-League Ayala 66, Mount Miguel 42 Grossmont
49, Our Lady of Peace 39
Mon., Jan. 14 Grossmont Conference Grossmont
47, Steele Canyon 35 El Capitan 67, Valhalla 17 Santana 58, Monte Vista
24 West Hills 58, Granite Hills 45 Non-League El Cajon Valley
46, Christian 18
Tue., Jan 15 Grossmont South League Helix 75,
Monte Vista 33
Wed., Jan. 16 Grossmont South League Mount Miguel
60, Steele Canyon 19 Granite Hills 57, Valhalla 21 Monte Vista at Helix,
moved to Jan. 15 Grossmont North League Santana 61, El Cajon
Valley 28 West Hills 60, Grossmont 44 Non-League El Capitan 62,
Patrick Henry 47
Fri., Jan. 18 Grossmont South League Mount
Miguel 73, Helix 32 Monte Vista 53, Valhalla 39 Granite Hills 56, Steele
Canyon 43 Grossmont North League El Capitan 63, El Cajon Valley 22 Santana
48, Grossmont 37 Central League Clairemont 30, Christian 22
Sat.,
Jan. 19 Non-League Las Veagas-Bishop Gorman 47, Mount Miguel 39
Mon.,
Jan. 21 Non-League Mount Miguel 52, Elko (Nev.) 41 MLK Showcase
at Horizon Francis Parker 63, Granite Hills 53 West Hills 51, San Pasqual
42 Horizon Christian 53, Helix 49
Tue., Jan. 22 Grossmont South
League Mount Miguel 69, Granite Hills 39 Steele Canyon 55, Monte Vista
33 Helix 68, Valhalla 28 Grossmont North League Santana 41, West
Hills 37 El Capitan 57, Grossmont 42 Central League Madison 48,
Christian 24 Coronado 50, Hoover 24 Crawford 64, Clairemont 24
Thurs.,
Jan. 24 Central League Crawford 55, Hoover 34
Fri., Jan. 25 Grossmont
South League Granite Hills 61, Helix 47 Steele Canyon 32, Valhalla 18
Mount Miguel 90, Monte Vista 22 Grossmont North League West Hills
39, El Cajon Valley 21 Santana 56, El Capitan 39 Central League Coronado
60, Christian 11 Clairemont 50, Madison 28
Mon., Jan. 28 Grossmont
Conference Steele Canyon 52, El Cajon Valley 35 Helix 71, Santana 40 West
Hills 62, Monte Vista 17 Central League Crawford 52, Christian 5 Hoover
42, Clairemont 33 Coroando 60, Madison 14
Wed., Jan. 30 Grossmont Conference Grossmont
46, Valhalla 12 Santana 50, Steele Canyon 33 West Hills 63, Helix 49 El
Capitan 65, Monte Vista 18
Fri., Feb. 1 Grossmont South League Steele
Canyon 49, Helix 40 Granite Hills 82, Monte Vista 21 Mount Miguel 73, Valhalla
19 Grossmont North League El Capitan 61, West Hills 60 Grossmont
45, El Cajon Valley 22 Central League Hoover 48, Christian
28 Coronado 57, Clairemont 11 Crawford 66, Madison 36
Tue., Feb. 5 Grossmont
South League Mount Miguel 62, Steele Canyon 18 Helix 73, Monte Vista
28 Granite Hills 62, Valhalla 18 Grossmont North League Santana
52, El Cajon Valley 16 West Hills 52, Grossmont 27 Central League Christian
49, Madison 40 Crawford 64, Clairemont 38 Coronado 40, Hoover 22
Fri.,
Feb. 8 Grossmont South League Mount Miguel 53, Helix 39 Granite Hills
61, Steele Canyon 42 Monte Vista 47, Valhalla 40 Grossmont North
League Grossmont 43, Santana 42 (2 OT) El Capitan 52, El Cajon
Valley 10 Central League Clairemont 41, Christian 22 Coronado
35, Crawford 34 Hoover 48, Madison 42
Tue., Feb. 12 Grossmont
South League Mount Miguel 52, Granite Hills 35 Helix 70, Valhalla 37 Steele
Canyon 44, Monte Vista 34 Grossmont North League West Hills 40, Santana
35 Grossmont 62, El Capitan 57 Central League Crawford 68, Christian
28 Clairemont 32, Hoover 19 Coronado 59, Madison 10
Thur., Feb. 14 Grossmont
South League Granite Hills 63, Helix 61 Steele Canyon 49, Valhalla 27 Mount
Miguel 77, Monte Vista 15 Grossmont North League El Capitan 52, Santana
42 West Hills 53, El Cajon Valley 10 Central League Coronado 53,
Christian 12 Crawford 56, Hoover 8 Clairemont at Madison, no report END
