© East County Sports.com
PITTSBURG (1-1-09) — When RYAN KINSER scheduled his West Hills Wolf Pack in the 144-team West Coast Jamboree, he was looking for some different competition.

It proved to be a sound move. Not only did the Wolf Pack (12-2) face opponents that it had never seen in its school history, West Hills captured the 16-team Sapphire Division championship.

The Wolf Pack completed a 4-game sweep by knocking off Bear River of Grass Valley 54-40 in Wednesday’s (Dec. 31) title game.

It was the 5th straight win for West Hills, which has won 7 of its last 8.

Junior guard MARIAH BENNETT was named the Sapphire Division MVP.

KIMMIE CLARK and MARILYN NADERHOFF were selected to the Sapphire Division all-tournament team.

The Wolf Pack stormed to a 15-6 first-quarter lead only to see the Bruins shave the deficit to 4 points by halftime. West Hills picked up steam in the 2nd half, outscoring the Bruins (9-5) in each of the final two quarters.

One thing about this West Hills team is no single player carries the scoring load. If ever there was an example of balance, this would be it.

In the tourney title game Clark led the Pack with 12 points – half of them coming on 3-pointers. Naderhoff added 10 points, while Bennett pitched in with 7 points and 5 steals.

SHERIKA MILLER, who is coming off an injury, scored 9 points and SHELBY RUSSO pitched in 7.

“Sherika played real well,” said Kinser. “She’s finally getting her game legs under her.”

“We got off to another good start – both on offense and defense,” the coach added. “We were able to pull away in the 4th quarter. We got it done on both ends of the floor. I feel we frustrated them with our defense.”

West Hills scoring: Kimmie Clark 12, Marilyn Naderhoff 10 (2 ast), Sherika Miller 9 (3 reb), Shelby Russo 7 (2 reb), Mariah Bennett 7 (2 reb, 5 stl), Corryn Kivett 4, Danielle Hays 3, Amber Darby 2 (5 reb), Connie Hines (4 reb).

MONTE VISTA 49, FRANCIS PARKER 31 – Life is a lot more pleasing for the Monte Vista Monarchs this season. One of the sweetest wins for the Monarchs so far was knocking off the Lancers in the first game of a double-header in Wednesday’s (Dec. 31) 2nd Annual Lady Monarchs Classic contest in Spring Valley .

Talk about a turnaround… Monte Vista avenged a 2-point loss to Francis Parker in Monday’s tournament play.

DEANNA BEMBRY led the way for Monte Vista in the rematch with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists.

Monte Vista broke a 14-14 halftime deadlock with a 14-2 third-quarter scoring run.

“We had a big enough lead in the 2nd half that we were able to rest our starters and give other players significant playing time,” said Monte Vista coach MICHAEL SKIBBE.

Monte Vista scoring: Deanna Bembry 13 (8 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Alexandria Conwright 9, Kayla Pusey 2 (7 reb), LiAiesha Brandon 6 (6 reb), Alexandra Ross 5 (2 ast), Dionna Mercer 3, Opal Ross 2, Nichelle Smith 2, Jessica Garcia 2, Christina Kooyman 2, Randi Houser 1 (2 stl), Stefanie Banks (3 reb).

HORIZON 65, MONTE VISTA 34 – In Wednesday’s (Dec. 31) last game of the

2nd Annual Lady Monarchs Classic the 3rd quarter was again pivotal, only this time visiting Horizon pounded the Monarchs 19-4 for a 45-26 lead.

It didn’t get any better in the 4th quarter either, as Horizon (11-2) claimed a 20-8 scoring advantage.

ALEXANDRIA CONWRIGHT scored a career-high 15 points for the Monarchs (6-6).

DEANNA BEMBRY added 8 reounds, 7 assists and 3 steals.

“Playing two games in one day again finally got to us,” said Monte Vista coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “They got out and ran on us all game. We had all kinds of trouble with their press.”

Monte Vista scoring: Alexandria Conwright 15, Deanna Bembry 4 (8 reb, 7 ast, 3 stl), Stefanie Banks 4 (4 reb), Kayla Pusey 4 (5 reb), Alexandra Ross 3, LiAiesha Brandon 2, Opal Ross 1, Nichelle Smith 1.

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (12-31-08) — When the topic is about teams to beat in East County, Steele Canyon has not registered many votes.

But now – after coach PENNY SMITH’s Cougars have rolled up nine wins in as many starts including a 54-50 win over Grossmont in the NAIA Division championship of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic on Tuesday (Dec. 30) – they might want to take a second look.

The Cougars’ victory over the Foothillers did not come easily. With 48 seconds remaining, a field goal inside the paint by Grossmont’s HEATHER SPRINGE tied the score at 50-all.

With 10 seconds left Grossmont inbounded the ball and Steele Canyon ’s JULIANNE KOLEGRAFF stole it and passed it to CHRISTINA WILLIAMS, who hoisted up a jump shot to give the Cougars the lead.

But Williams wasn’t through. She added 2 more free throws in the waning seconds to secure the victory for Steele Canyon.

“It’s great – I loved it!” said Williams, who was named the MVP in the NAIA Division. “ Steele Canyon is the underdog in our division. We weren’t supposed to win in this division, but we came out with the victory and proved them wrong. We are trying to make a statement out here.”

Steele Canyon ’s JV BARBARIN was a force inside, finishing with a game-high 24 points and 16 rebounds.

“I thought it was a great game – the crowd got their money’s worth,” said Smith. “I’m happy with our bench performance tonight. The girls played real well. We are trying to finish every play of every game by playing hard, just like we do in practice.”

Springe rolled a double-double for Grossmont with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Grossmont’s shooting as a team, however, was off the mark as the Hillers made only 17 of 66 attempts. The high point was CHANEL PUTRAS, who landed 3 buckets from above the arc to finish with 9 points.

“We came out slow, they played us real well,” said Hillers coach MEGAN LONG. “Their post play was exceptional – they hurt us down low. We didn’t shoot well. I think we are a little tired today.”

Steele Canyon scoring: JV Barbarin 24 (16 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Christina Williams 8 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Gabrielle Beasley 5, Samantha Vernon 4 (8 reb), Jazmin Daigle 4 (2 reb, 1 blk), G’kia Myles 2 (4 reb, 3 blk), Mace Alameri 2 (2 stl), Julianne Kolegraff 5 (2 reb, 2 stl).

Grossmont scoring: Heather Springe 17 (10 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Chanel Putras 9 (3 stl), Terra Musgrove 8 (9 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Frankie Treadwell 8 (3 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Danielle Balderas 4 (2 reb), Jessie Edgil 4 (2 reb), Carly Applegate (2 reb).

EL CAPITAN 55, GRANITE HILLS 50 – No team in East County has more wins than the El Capitan Vaqueros, who ran their record to 13-1 in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) win over Grossmont Conference rival Granite Hills to claim the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division 2 championship in Lakeside.

“They really frustrated me in the 1st half,” admitted Duffy. “But in the 2nd half I really calmed down and worked hard to take control of the game.”

Nevertheless, Granite Hills (8-4) rallied from a 9-point third-quarter deficit to put the pressure on.

JESSICA HARRIS hit a 3-point shot for the Eagles, cutting El Capitan’s lead to 47-46 with 4:14 remaining.

Duffy countered with a basket for the Vaqueros.

HAILEY GARNER brought the Eagles back to within 1-point with a layup.

As both teams scrambled from end to end, sophomore AMBER REL-SOLIA scored a putback for El Capitan to make it 51-48 with 2:52 remaining. Duffy followed with a bucket, giving the Vaqueros a 5-point cushion.

Despite blowing two back-to-back layups, Granite Hills kept its hopes alive when Garner scored on a drive to the bucket.

Duffy hit both ends of a one-and-one bonus free throw opportunity to seal the victory for El Capitan.

Rel-Solia’s contributions were hardly major in measure as she totaled 6 points and 5 rebounds. As El Capitan held off Granite Hills’ final quarter surge, Rel-Solia came up with a key defensive play when she applied smothering defense to an Eagles player that resulted in a 5-second violation with the Vaqueros clinging to a 3-point lead.

“I’m excited about winning the tournament,” Rel-Solia said. “I was pleased that I got a key basket and then getting that 5-second violation was really special. I tried to intimidate her and I guess it worked out.”

Duffy also had 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals. During her 4-year career she has won a fistful of awards but she never gets tired of accepting the honors.

“It’s nice to be appreciated and recognized for what you do,” she said.

MARISSA PITMAN scored 14 points in the 1st half, helping the Vaqueros take a 31-24 halftime lead. The majority of her points came on 3-pointers as she hit 4.

El Capitan’s TAYLOR AUTRY pitched in with 9 points and was named to the all-tournament team.

SABRINA JIMENEZ paced Granite Hills with 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

LAUREN BENDER added 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks for the Eagles, while Garner finished with 10 points.

LAUREN KOBLISCHKE represented Granite Hills on the all-tournament team.

“We gave up way too many offensive rebounds down the stretch,” said Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER. “And that killed us. Every time you give them an extra possession like that the odds are that they’re going to take advantage and it’s going to cost you.”

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 20 (7 reb, 8 ast, 4 stl), Marissa Pitman 14 (3 reb), Taylor Autry 9 (3 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Emily Sutton 6 (2 reb, 2 ast), Amber Rel-Solia 6 (5 reb, 1 blk, 2 ast), Megan Drennen (3 reb, 2 ast).

Granite Hills scoring: Sabrina Jimenez 17 (8 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Lauren Bender 13 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Hailey Garner 10, Lauren Koblischke 4 (3 reb), Jessica Harris 3 (2 reb, 2 stl), Maddy Sheeran 3, Keji Kubari (4 reb).

EL CAJON VALLEY 41, SHERMAN OAKS-BUCKLEY 33 – Not only did El Cajon Valley capture the championship of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, Prep Division on Tuesday (Dec. 30), the Braves posted their 9th win in 13 decisions.

The nine wins are truly significant considering El Cajon Valley finished 8-20 a year ago.

“We had a great series,” said El Cajon Valley coach RANDY ROBINSON of the Braves’ 4-0 finish in the tournament. “I want to coach a team where everybody contributes, where everybody plays a role on the team. We did that tonight. HAZEL DOE was playing her role very, very well.”

Doe’s performance did not go unnoticed as she was named the MVP of the tournament’s Prep Division.

For Doe, it wasn’t all about scoring as she totaled only 3 points in the championship contest. On the upswing she led the team with 8 assists and 7 steals. KAYLANI FATEN was the Braves’ offensive leader with 15 points and 6 rebounds.

“Kaylani was 7-for-10 from the floor – it was her best shooting night this season,” Robinson said. “She’s starting to understand what we need from her.”

The Braves put the game away with an 11-6 run in the 4th quarter.

“I think this was my best game so far this season,” Faten said. “Coach told me I need to play with swagger – to be confident when I play and play hard on defense. He wants me to want the ball. I think that we pushed it up the court and everybody had good looks, especially Hazel.

“Our defense was good – Hazel, ERIN ROBINSON and TERICKA WILLIAMS denied their man. We all just wanted it really bad – it’s our time. I’m so happy, it feels so good. I’m hoping we can continue.”

SAMANTHAN JULIEN added 8 points and 6 rebounds for the Braves.

“Samantha made two very clutch baskets for us in the 3rd quarter,” the coach said.

JEENA ESHO scored 11 points for El Cajon Valley and made 3 steals.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Kaylani Faten 15 (6 reb), Jeena Esho 11 (3 stl), Samantha Julien 8 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Hazel Doe 3 (3 reb, 8 ast, 7 stl), Erin Robinson 2 (7 reb, 4 ast, 5 stl), Tericka Williams 2.

WEST HILLS 44, FAIR OAKS-BELLA VISTA 40 – At West Hills the game is not about offense. Coach RYAN KINSER’s Wolf Pack focuses on defense, which has worked out rather well, considering the West Santee team is 12-2.

You won’t find a bunch of scoring leaders in the statistical column on this team. It’s about balance and multiple player contributions.

West Hills, which will play the Bear River Bruins of Grass Valley for the Sapphire Division championship of the West Coast Jamboree at Pittsburg High on Wednesday (Dec. 31) at 1:30, will ride a 4-game winning streak into the title game.

Once again, the Pack’s success will depend on its defensive might.

In Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) semifinals, victory over Bella Vista of Fair Oaks – 30 miles east of Sacramento – only KIMMIE CLARK with 10 points reached double scoring digits.

But the key shot of the game belonged to SHERIKA MILLER, who erased a 34-33 deficit by hitting a 3-pointer (her only points of the game) midway through the final period.

“This was only Sherika’s third game (coming off an injury),” Kinser said. “She played the whole 2nd half, which is the most minutes she’s played since her return. I know her statistics don’t show it but she’s playing a big role for us.”

West Hills scoring: Kimmie Clark 10 (4 reb, 2 stl), Amber Darby 8 (6 reb), Mariah Bennett 7 (7 reb), Marilyn Naderhoff 6 (2 reb, 2 ast), Connie Hines 6 (2 reb), Shelby Russo 4, Sherika Miller 3 (3 reb), Corryn Kivett (2 reb).

VALHALLA 50, MADISON 18 – In recent years a halftime score of 30-2 has been all too familiar to the Valhalla Norsemen.

But the latest score of that kind actually was pleasing to the Norsemen, who blanked Madison 13-0 in the 2nd quarter to take a 30-2 halftime bulge in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) third place game of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, Prep Division contest at El Cajon Valley.

Actually the Norsemen (5-8) outscored the Warhawks (1-5) in all four quarters as they posted their third straight win.

MacKENZIE CARTMILL paced the Norsemen with 18 points, 4 assists and 5 steals. Her sister KELSEY CARTMILL picked off 12 rebounds, while TORREY ROOK hit 6 of 8 shots from the field for 12 points.

Rook also contributed 6 rebounds and TENISHA LEE added 14 to Valhalla ’s school record 60 caroms.

EMILY ROBERTS gobbled up 20 of those rebounds and also found time to make 4 steals and dish 3 assists.

“We’ve turned the corner around by playing good team basketball,” said Roberts. “I feel we have good momentum going into the New Year. The team has really begun to play well together and we are reacting better to each other. As a senior, I’m happy to be the leader on the floor.”

Valhalla scoring: MacKenzie Cartmill 18 (4 ast, 5 stl), Torrey Rook 12 (6 reb), Kelsey Cartmill 5 (12 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Emily Roberts 3 (20 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Tenisha Lee 5 (14 reb, 4 stl), Chelsea Hale 3, Danielle Wilson 2 (5 reb, 5 stl), Karissa Ferrell 2 (2 reb).

SANTANA 54, SAN PASQUAL 49 – After being blanked the day before, senior KAILA SMITH rebounded with 18 points and 9 caroms to direct host Santana to a come-from-behind victory in the third place game of Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division 3 action.

JAMIE ELIAS added 14 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists for the Sultans (10-3).

While coach JIM MOTTERSHAW was pleased with the finish, he was somewhat caught off guard by the beginning of the game, as San Pasqual (9-5) stormed to a 32-23 lead.

“We got off to a rugged start,” Mottershaw said. “I had to call the hotel and ask them to send over the real Santana players with their uniforms.”

That was a short distance call with long distance value.

“We out-worked San Pasqual in the 2nd half,” the coach said. “Our defense was great. We need to be more consistent with our efforts. Tonight our mindset changed in the 2nd half.”

Santana scoring: Kaila Smith 18 (9 reb), Jamie Elias 14 (9 reb, 8 ast), Kim Gross 8, Marjie Panknin 7 (6 reb, 3 ast), Amanda Grable 3, Alyssa Padberg 2, Lauren Mueller 1, Samantha White 1.

HELIX 52, PATRICK HENRY 39 – The Highlanders (7-7) took a 45-24 lead after three quarters of Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division 3 action and then breezed to the finish line.

It was a balanced front presented by the Highlanders, who were led by SINOI LEASAU’s 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

KIM SCOTT added 14 points and 3 steals, while MARIAH WALKER pitched in 9 points, 10 rebounds and 6 steals. JACQUELINE SMITH also had 10 rebounds for Helix.

“We knew who to stop (Henry’s Emily Osga) and what we had to do to stop her,” noted Highlanders coach TRINA HANSEN. “Our press created a lot of turnovers. We have played better lately and are finally turning things around.”

Helix scoring: Sinoi Leasau 16 (7 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Kim Scott 14 (2 ast, 3 stl), Mariah Walker 9 (10 reb, 3 ast, 6 stl), Lexi Audley 8 (2 ast, 3 stl), Jacqueline Smith 3 (10 reb, 2 stl), Cierra Coleman 2.

CANYON SPRINGS 74, MOUNT MIGUEL 60 – For only the second time in two years the Matadors suffered back-to-back defeats as they succumbed to Moreno Valley’s Canyon Springs in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) final round of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, WNBA Division.

After getting smacked around by the state’s No. 1 team, Santa Ana-Mater Dei, 24 hours earlier, the Matadors were flat when they faced the perennial state power Cougars (7-6).

“We had no emotion, no fire and no intensity,” said Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL.

DANESIA WILLIAMSON (19 points), SHAY YOUNG (18 points, 5 rebounds) and DANIELLE MILLER (10 points) did their best to keep the Matadors (11-2) in the game. But Canyon Springs outscored Mount Miguel in each of the first three quarters and was never seriously threatened in the 2nd half.

The Matadors committed 26 turnovers.

Mount Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 19 (3 ast), Shay Young 18 (5 reb), Danielle Miller 10 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Nicole Fountain 5 (8 reb), Myishia Watkins 4 (3 ast), Shataera Anderson 2 (3 reb, 2 ast), Dechae Evans 2 (2 reb).

State’s best mauls Matadors © East County Sports.com LAKESIDE (12-30-08) — Mount Miguel High coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL would like to see his Matadors have another shot against Mater Dei of Santa Ana in the Southern California CIF Regional playoffs. Since both teams vie in Division II, such a rematch could become a reality. As for the first meeting in Monday’s (Dec. 29) semifinals of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic at El Capitan, it was no contest. The Monarchs from Orange County’s Mater Dei mauled the Matadors 71-47 to qualify for Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) WNBA Division championship game against The Bishop’s School (11-0), the San Diego CIF kingpin. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. in the El Capitan gym. Mater Dei, the No. 1 rated team in the state, proved its depth and versatility in handing Mount Miguel (11-1) its first loss of the season. The Monarchs nailed seven 3-pointers – five in the first half – as they took a 37-28 lead. Different strategy was effective in the second half as the taller more physical Monarchs (12-0) pounded the ball inside with more success than they’d had from the perimeter. The Monarchs have six players that are 6-foot or taller, and none of their 16 players is shorter than 5-7. Mount Miguel has only three player at 5-foot-8 or taller. Starters DECHAE EVANS and SHAY YOUNG are the Matadors’ “bigs.” “I think that because we are so undersized we have to do certain things against a bigger team like Mater Dei,” Sandoval said. “Sometimes things just don’t fall our way. “But our effort was there and I am pleased about that.” Mater Dei put together several pivotal scoring runs to overcome the Matadors. “We had too many lapses,” added Sandoval, referring to Mater Dei’s second half scoring binges of 14-2 and 16-4. “Stuff like that just kills you.” Guard DANESIA WILLIAMSON, Mount Miguel’s lone senior, led the Matadors with 26 points, hitting 6 of 15 shots (two 3-pointers) from the field and 12 of 15 free throws. One glaring statistic that haunted the Matadors was a void of assists – a mere 4. Only sophomore MYISHIA WATKINS posted more than one scoring pass and she had 2. Watkins also had 8 points. None of the other Matadors tallied more than 4 markers. “I think we gave up too easily,” Williamson said. “Once they got those runs in the third quarter, we just kinda folded. Our shots weren’t falling and nobody was going to the basket. I don’t know... just youth I guess.” Mount Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 26 (3 reb, 3 stl), Myishia Watkins 8 (4 reb, 3 stl, 2 ast), Nicole Fountain 4 (4 reb), Danielle Miller 4, Dechae Evans 3 (8 reb), Shay Young 2 (4 reb).

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (12-30-08) — East County’s El Capitan (12-1), Granite Hills (8-3), Steele Canyon (8-0), Grossmont (10-2) and El Cajon Valley (8-4) are among those teams vying for division championships in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) final day of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic (see schedule).

Meanwhile, West Hills (10-2) takes on Bella Vista in Tuesday’s semifinals of the West Coast Jamboree at Pittsburg High in Northern California. If successful, the Wolf Pack will spend New Year’s Eve shooting for the tournament championship.

EL CAPITAN 52, PARKLAND (TX) 39 – For one of the few times this season someone other than ASHLEY DUFFY led the Vaqueros in scoring Monday (Dec. 29) as El Capitan punched out Parkland (Texas) in the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic NCAA Division 2 semifinals.

TAYLOR AUTRY, one of two seniors on the El Capitan roster, scored a career-high 19 points. The 5-foot-9 Autry drilled in a pair of 3-balls and swished 5 of 7 free throws. She said her scoring outburst was aided greatly by the passing of Duffy, who totaled 8 assists.

Nonetheless, Autry was not pleased by a slow start.

“I started out by missing two free throws,” Autry admitted. “Then I missed a couple twos, so I was getting pretty upset. I knew all I needed was to focus.”

It was all gravy for Autry after that.

“Before this year I thought to myself about what I needed to do to improve my game,” said Autry, who is considering Cal Lutheran and Chapman University for her future. “I hope this game is the turning point.”

An 18-4 scoring spread in the 3rd quarter vaulted the Vaqueros into a 45-25 bulge.

Duffy finished with 18 points and 13 steals. Autry added 6 rebounds, three less than AMBER REL-SOLIA.

El Capitan scoring: Taylor Autry 19 (6 reb), Ashley Duffy 18 (6 reb, 8 ast, 1 blk, 13 stl), Marissa Pitman 8 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Amber Rel-Solia 3 (9 reb, 4 stl), Megan Drennen 2 (3 reb, 1 blk), Emily Sutton 2 (2 reb).

HELIX 57, WEST COVINA 47 – A shift in positions involving scoring leaders SINOI LEASAU and KIM SCOTT in Monday’s (Dec. 29) Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic NCAA Division 3 contest paid dividends for the Highlanders (6-7).

And in these days, as we all know, dividends are scarce.

“We moved Sinoi to the point and Kim to a wing,” said Helix assistant coach WILLY HATHAWAY. “We had not been shooting well, so we needed to try something different.”

Mission accomplished.

Leasau scored a game-high 28 points, including 14-for-18 free throw shooting. The 5-foot-5 senior also nailed a pair of 3-pointers for the Highlanders, who overcame an early 12-3 deficit.

Scott rang up 21 points at her new position, hitting 8 of 14 shots, including one 3-ball, from the floor and 4 of 5 free throws.

“We liked what we saw from the change,” Hathaway admitted. “But we know Kim is our point guard of the future. So there will probably be some mix and match going on the rest of this season.”

Helix senior MARIAH WALKER crashed the boards for a game-best 15 rebounds. Leasau grabbed 10 caroms, made 4 steals and dished a pair of assists.

The Highlanders put this one away via a 25-16 scoring edge over the final eight minutes.

Helix scoring: Sinoi Leasau 28 (10 reb, 2 ast, stl), Kim Scott 21 (3 stl, 2 ast) Mariah Walker 7 (15 reb), Cierra Coleman 1 (3 reb), Jacqueline Smith (5 reb, 3 stl),

GRANITE HILLS 56, SAN DIMAS 55 (OT) – Freshman JESSICA HARRIS’ free throw with one second left in overtime Monday (Dec. 29) gave the host Eagles (8-3) their fourth straight win and a berth in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic NCAA Division 2 finals at El Capitan.

It was a bit of a tightrope walk for Harris, who missed her first free throw to leave the game on the brink of a second overtime. But the 5-foot-6 guard was dead-on in her second charity shot.

SABRINA JIMENEZ scored six of her game-best 23 points during the four-minute overtime, while Harris netted three. LAUREN KOBLISCHKE accounted for the other point.

Jimenez did most of her damage from the free throw line where she put through a dozen of 20 charity shots.

Prior to nailing down the victory, Granite Hills blew a pair of 10-point leads.

“San Dimas was dictating the tempo and they got us to play way too fast,” Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER said. “But we got 40 free throw shots (making 23) and that pulled us through.”

Granite Hills scoring: Sabrina Jimenez 23, Jessica Harris 8, Maddy Sheeran 6, Hailey Garner 5, Lauren Koblischke 5, Lauren Bender 4, Alyssa Canoff 3, Cora Leonard 1, Keji Kubari 1.

GROSSMONT 68, LAKEWOOD-ST. JOSEPH’S 53 – When HEATHER SPRINGE has the hot hand, the Grossmont Foothillers are tough to beat as they proved in Monday’s (Dec. 29) Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic NAIA Division semifinal.

Springe, a 5-foot-8 senior, clicked on 10 of 17 shots from the field. More impressively, she missed only one of 7 shots from above the arc.

Overall, its was a banner long distance shooting day for Grossmont, which netted 12 of 25 attempts from 3-point range.

“We shot better this game than we have recently,” Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG said. “We did the small things right. We cleaned up the boards really well. They attempted to pressure us defensively – both full-court and half-court. We passed the ball well and were able to get good, open looks and good shots.”

Grossmont scoring: Heather Springe 28 (12 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Chanel Putras 14 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Terra Musgrove 9 (9 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Danielle Balderas 9 (11 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl), Frankie Treadwell 6 (4 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Carly Applegate 2 (2 reb), Jessie Edgil (2 blk).

No matter, though. The Pack has posted back-to-back wins and now finds itself a co-star in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) tournament semifinals.

In Monday’s second round, West Hills’ defense turned in smothering effort, holding Sanger to 8 points in the first half and 6 in the final period.

“In the 1st half we did a really good job defensively – we just really shut them down. Defense won the game for us. We had a game plan and we executed it well,” West Hills coach RYAN KINSER said. “Offensively we did enough to win, but we had a lot of turnovers.”

West Hills scoring: Mariah Bennett 14, Kimmie Clark 11 (2 reb), Marilyn Naderhoff 10 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Connie Hines 5 (5 reb, 2 stl), Corryn Kivett 4 (4 reb), Brooke Spradlin 2, Amber Darby 2 (6 reb), Sherika Miller 2, Shelby Russo (2 ast).

STEELE CANYON 50, RANCHO BUENA VISTA 32 – JV BARBARIN and G’KIA MYLES delivered double-doubles in Monday’s (Dec. 29) semifinals of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic NAIA Division.

A 5-foot-8 junior, Barbarin cashed in 13 points and hauled down 13 rebounds, blocked 3 shots and dished 2 assists. Myles chipped in 10 points and corralled 13 rebounds.

“All the hard work we’ve put in at practice is really starting to pay off,” said Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH. “I like the way we have been rebounding. Our defense tonight did a good job of setting us up on offense all night.”

Steele Canyon scoring: JV Barbarin 13 (13 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk), Christina Williams 11 (7 ast, 5 stl), G’kia Myles 10 (13 reb, 2 blk), Gabrielle Beasley 4 (2 stl), Jazmin Daigle 4 (2 stl), Janique Cofield 4, Samantha Vernon 2 (10 reb), Julianne Kolegraff 2, Mace Alameri (3 stl).

SANTANA 47, MAPLE RIDGE (Canada) 40 – JAMIE ELIAS pounded in 21 points and KAILA SMITH contributed 11 points and seven rebounds as Santana (9-3) whipped Canada ’s Maple Ridge in Monday’s (Dec. 29) Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division 3 action.

“We came out very sharp offensively,” said Santana coach JIM MOTTERSHAW. “Elias scored 13 of her 21 points in the 1st quarter. It was a slugfest from that point on. We played very good defensively.”

“Maple Ridge is the toughest Canadian team that Santana has ever played.”

Santana scoring: Jamie Elias 21 (4 reb, 2 ast), Kaila Smith 11 (7 reb), Alyssa Padberg 7 (5 reb, 7 ast), Kim Gross 6 (11 reb), Lauren Mueller 2 (3 ast).

EL CAJON VALLEY 65, MADISON 17 – Junior ERIN ROBINSON sank 11 of 15 shots from the field for 22 points in Monday’s (Dec. 29) semifinal of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic Prep Division. Half of Robinson’s points came in the 1st quarter.

“It has got to be a long, long time since an El Cajon team has been 8-4,” said Braves coach RANDY ROBINSON.

HAZEL DOE was all over the Warhawks, scoring 6 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, dishing 9 assists and making 7 steals.

“Hazel keys so much of what we’re doing, she has tremendous quickness,” said coach Robinson. “ Erin is my best scorer but Doe stirs the pot. Both of them are doing what we want them to do.”

El Cajon Valley scoring: Erin Robinson 22 (4 reb, 7 stl), Kaylani Faten 9 (4 reb), Samantha Julien 8 (3 reb, 4 stl), Jeena Esho 7 (5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Hazel Doe 6 (8 reb, 9 ast, 7 stl), Tericka Williams 5 (5 reb), Sophia Yeargain 4 (2 reb), Aundria Myles 4 (2 reb), Desiree Garcia (5 reb, 2 stl).

VALHALLA 41, SAMUEL ROBERTSON (Canada) 21 – The Norsemen used a 17-4 scoring run in the final quarter of Monday’s (Dec. 29) Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, Prep Division contest to post their 4th win in 12 starts.

For the second straight game MacKENZIE CARTMILL hit 7 of 16 shots, including one trey, to lead the Norsemen with 16 points.

It was a great day in the Cartmill household as KELSEY CARTMILL chipped in 10 points – the majority coming on a pair of 3-pointers.

TENISHA LEE and EMILY ROBERTS paced the Norsemen on the boards with 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively. Roberts also had 6 assists.

“This was a good win for us,” said Valhalla coach CARLOS MOSS. “We are getting better slowly. We are taking baby steps, finally learning how to be competitive and starting to learn how to win.”

Valhalla scoring: MacKenzie Cartmill 16 (4 stl), Kelsey Cartmill 10 (1 blk), Nichole Miller 6 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Emily Roberts 4 (10 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl), Tenisha Lee 2 (11 reb, 1 blk, 6 stl), Danielle Wilson 2 (5 reb, 1 blk, 3 stl), Karissa Ferrell 1 (2 reb), Torrey Rook (5 reb, 2 blk), Chelsea Hale (3 reb, 2 ast),

FRANCIS PARKER 45, MONTE VISTA 43 – The Monarchs narrowly missed pulling off an upset in the first game of a Monday (Dec. 29) double-header of the 2nd Annual Lady Monarch Classic.

With 8 seconds remaining DEANNA BEMBRY hit a field goal to bring the Monarchs to within 2 points of forcing overtime, but they were unable to get the ball back.

It shouldn’t have come down to that one shot, as Monte Vista made only 8 of 26 free throws.

Bembry turned in a powerful performance in defeat, with 13 points, a dozen rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.

LiAIESHA BRANDON chipped in 13 points and 9 rebounds.

“If we’d only made a few more free throws we would have won this game,” lamented Monarchs coach MICHAEL SKIBBE.

Monte Vista scoring: Deanna Bembry 13 (12 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), LiAiesha Brandon 13 (9 reb), Alexandria Conwright 7 (2 stl), Kayla Pusey 3 (4 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Alexandra Ross 3 (3 reb), Dionna Mercer 2, Opal Ross 2.

HORIZON 55, MONTE VISTA 31 – There’s something to be said about balanced scoring. Monte Vista had 10 players contribute to the Monarchs’ scoring total in Monday’s (Dec. 29) second game of the 2nd Annual Lady Monarch Classic at Horizon.

The problem was only one player had more than 5 points, and that was ALEXANDRIA CONWRIGHT, who finished with 6.

Trailing by only one point at halftime the Monarchs (5-5) were blown out when the Panthers claimed a 25-3 third-quarter scoring advantage.

“I think we played over our heads tonight,” said Monarchs coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “We’re very young but I think we are getting better. We are making great strides and I’m very happy with where we are right now. These players really care.”

Monte Vista scoring: Alexandria Conwright 6 (2 stl), Deanna Bembry 4 (7 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Nichelle Smith 3, Dionna Mercer 3, LiAiesha Brandon 4 (9 reb), Alexandra Ross 3 (4 reb), Shantee Woods 2, Kayla Pusey 2, Christine Kooyman 2, Jessica Garcia 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-28-08) — Perhaps the Mount Miguel Matadors were peeking ahead to Monday’s (Dec. 29) showdown with the state’s top-ranked team – Santa Ana Mater Dei – in the semifinals of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic’s WNBA Division.

“We never look past Eastlake because we consider them a rival,” said Matadors senior guard DANESIA WILLIAMSON. “But sure, we’re looking forward to playing that Orange County team.”

Williamson wasn’t just talking, as she delivered the game-winning layup with 5 seconds remaining to give the No. 3-ranked Matadors a 57-56 victory over Eastlake.

“It was a set play that coach designed to go to me,” said Williamson, who led the Matador with 17 points. “I brought the ball up full-court and then dribbled around the top of the key with 15 seconds to go. When I saw there were only 10 seconds left I broke for the basket. I came from behind a screen from one of our bigs (DECHAE EVANS) and then went to the basket.”

Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL was surprised that the game came down to the last shot.

“We squeaked it out,” said Sandoval, whose team improved to 11-0.

MIYISHIA WATKINS added 14 points, including a pair of treys and 4-for-4 shooting for the Matadors. NICOLE FOUNTAIN led Mount Miguel ’s board brigade with 11 rebounds.

“Fountain did a good job on the glass and Watkins had some big shots early in the game,” said Sandoval.

Mount Miguel’s defense put the clamps on Eastlake’s scoring leader, Cheyenne Curley-Payne, holding her to 9 points.

“DANIELLE MILLER and SHATAERA ANDERSON did a good job of holding Cheyenne down,” said Williamson.

Mount Miguel next meets Mater Dei of Orange County, the No. 1 team in the state, on Monday (Dec. 29) at El Capitan at 8 p.m.

Mount Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 17 (5 reb, 6 ast), Myishia Watkins 14 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Nicole Fountain 7 (11 reb), Dechae Evans 6 (6 reb, 1 blk), Shataera Anderson 5 (6 reb), Shay Young 4 (5 reb), Danielle Miller 4 (2 reb).

The Pack took a 20-11 first-quarter lead and maintained that advantage throughout.

“We had a good start offensively and just kinda kept it going,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “Our defensive effort was good. We threw some different things at them in the 2nd half. We are trying out different rotations to see which ones are going to work for us.”

KIMMIE CLARK led the Wolf Pack by hitting a trio of 3-pointers for 12 points. MARIAH BENNETT added 11 points, including one trey.

What had to be the most exciting part of the game was the return of SHERIKA MILLER, a 5-foot-11 junior. This was Miller’s first game back from a broken hand. She played in both halves for limited minutes, not scoring but grabbing 3 rebounds and dishing an assist.

West Hills scoring: Kimmie Clark 12, Mariah Bennett 11 (4 reb), Connie Hines 8 (4 reb), Marilyn Naderhoff 7 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Corryn Kivett 4 (4 reb), Brooke Spradlin 2 (2 reb), Amber Darby 2 (2 reb), Shelby Russo 1 (2 reb, 3 stl), Sherika Miller (3 reb), Danielle Hays (3 reb).

El Capitan's Emily Sutton (left) with the drive against the Mennonite Eagles of British Columbia. (Photo by Leslie Autry) COMPLETE SLIDESHOW BELOW

got pix? Email your best photographs for the entire world to see right here on East County Sports.com Email us HERE

No question Duffy has seen better games, although she just missed compiling a quadruple-double with 24 points, 15 rebounds, 10 steals and 8 assists in Saturday’s (Dec. 29) victory over Jasper Place of Edmonton, Alberta, in the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic NCAA Division 2 contest.

“Everybody looks to me, and that’s OK,” Duffy said. “But what I want to do is to pass the ball back and have some of my younger teammates create their own scoring plays.”

Duffy said that El Capitan (11-1) played its best defensive game and crashed the board better than it has at any time this season against Jasper Place .

“We have some solid on-ball defenders,” she said. “We’re still learning our rotation but I think we’re getting there, and that was evident tonight.”

Seems nobody can stop Duffy, who rarely has anything less than a double-double.

“Yeah, I know, people try to focus on stopping me,” Duffy said. “But I want to tell them we’re not a one-man team.”

MARISSA PITMAN scored 10 points for El Capitan , including a pair of 3s, and TAYLOR AUTRY pulled down 10 rebounds.

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 24 (15 reb, 8 ast, 10 stl), Taylor Autry 8 (10 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Marissa Pitman 10 (2 ast, 2 blk), Amber Rel-Solia 8 (4 reb), Darian Borras 4, Megan Drennen 2 (9 reb, 3 stl), Chelsey Kyle 2 (2 reb, 2 ast), Emily Sutton 2 (6 reb), Lauryn Dominicak (3 reb, 1 blk),

EL CAPITAN 55, MEI (Canada) 34 – ASHLEY DUFFY scored 27 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, dished 7 assists and made 6 steals as the Vaqueros came from behind to beat Mennonite Educational Institute (MEI) of Abbotsford, British Columbia in the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic NCAA Division 2 contest on Saturday (Dec. 27).

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 27 (9 reb, 7 ast, 6 stl), Emily Sutton 8 (5 reb, 3 stl), Taylor Autry 7 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Marissa Pitman 5, Amber Rel-Solia 4, Megan Drennen 2 (5 reb, 2 ast), Lauryn Dominicak 2 (2 reb, 1 blk).

Yet the facts speak for themselves.

Steele Canyon (7-0) survived a sloppy 3rd quarter to remain unbeaten by dumping Santa Ana Calvary Chapel in Saturday’s (Dec. 27) Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic NAIA Division

JV BARBARIN, a 5-foot-8 junior, paved the way for the Cougars with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore SAMANTHA VERNON chipped in with 10 points and 9 rebounds, while senior G’KIA MYLES netted 4-of-6 free throws on her way to scoring 8 points. Myles also snagged 10 rebounds.

“We were just ready to play,” said SC coach PENNY SMITH. “We told the girls going into this tournament that it was for the seniors – we are just playing for the seniors and each other. It’s a lot of emotional, inside stuff where they really like each other – play for the ‘we’ and not for the ‘me.’ I’m loving it. As a coach you can’t complain. What makes me happy is I can rely on any of the girls to come off the bench and play.”

Steele Canyon scoring: JV Barbarin 14 (12 reb), Samantha Vernon 10 (9 reb), Christina Williams 9 (6 stl), G’kia Myles 8 (10 reb), Julianne Kolegraff 5, Jazmin Daigle 4, Mace Alameri 2, Gabrielle Beasley 1.

GRANITE HILLS 57, BRENTWOOD 34 – SABRINA JIMENEZ continued her torrid play with a triple-double of 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Eagles (7-3) battered Brentwood in Saturday’s (Dec. 29) Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic NCAA Division 2 contest.

Granite Hills motored to a 18-6 first-quarter lead then continued to outscore the Los Angeles visitors in the other three quarters.

A 5-foot-11 freshman, KEJI KUBARI led the Eagles with 14 rebounds and CORA LEONARD collected 8 boards, helping Granite Hills to secure 42 rebounds.

“This was one of our better rebounding games,” said Eagles coach JERRY PARKER. “Kubari is playing in (senior) LAUREN BENDER’s (sprained ankle) place. We will still get minutes from Kubari when Bender returns because she has some perimeter skills. She and Bender play pretty well together. Hopefully Bender will be ready for league.”

Granite Hills scoring: Sabrina Jimenez 18 (10 reb, 10 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Hailey Garner 10, Maddy Sheeran 9 (2 reb), Keji Kubari 6 (14 reb, 1 blk), Cora Leonard 5 (8 reb), Alyssa Canoff 5, Jessica Harris 4 (2 reb), Lauren Koblischke (3 reb, 2 ast), Monique Ybarra (2 reb).

GROSSMONT 47, BRAWLEY 38 – With their eyes focused on playing for the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic NAIA Division championship on Tuesday (Dec. 30), the Foothillers nearly fell on their collective faces in Saturday’s (Dec. 27) contest at Santana.

Brawley (4-6) took a 23-16 halftime lead over the Foothillers (9-2).

“We came out really, really flat,” said Grossmont assistant coach DEREK BROOKS. “We had to call two timeouts early. We weren’t running our offense at all – had no intensity in the 1st half. We gave them a fiery halftime speech and we started improving our intensity.”

Grossmont seemed to find its steed and edged in front of the upset-minded Wildcats 32-31 with 8 minutes to play.

“We were finally able to run our offense efficiently beginning in the middle of the 3rd quarter,” said Brooks.

HEATHER SPRINGE pointed the way to the victory lane for Grossmont with a game-high 17 points. She hit 3-of-7 shots from above the arc, dished 4 assists and made 4 steals.

Grossmont’s TERRA MUSGROVE converted half of her 10 shots plus two free throws for 12 points.

Grossmont meets St. Joseph ’s of Los Angeles , the defending NAIA champions, at 3:30 at El Cajon Valley on Monday (Dec. 29). The winner of that game will play for the tournament championship.

Grossmont scoring: Heather Springe 17 (4 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl), Terra Musgrove 12 (5 reb, 1 blk), Danielle Balderas 10 (2 reb, 1 bl, 4 stl), Frankie Treadwell 2 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Carly Applegate 2 (5 reb, 3 stl), Chanel Putras 2 (4 ast, 5 stl), Jessie Edgil 2 (3 reb).

VALHALLA 52, ME LAZERTE (Canada) 18 – The Norsemen put together one of their best quarters of the season as they sprinted out to a 25-4 first-quarter lead over the visiting Voyaguers from Edmonton, Alberta in the

Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic Prep Division at El Capitan on Saturday (Dec. 27).

MacKENZIE CARTMILL, a 5-foot-4 freshman, hit 5-of-12 shots from the floor, including four 3-poiners for a team-best 14 points to lead Valhalla (3-8).

Her senior sister KELSEY CARTMILL handed out a team-best 5 assists.

ASHLEE ALFONSO popped in a pair of treys on her way to a 10-point night.

“It was a good win,” said Valhalla assistant coach SIG CHABROWSKI. “We now have more wins than we had all last season. Except for shooting, we are showing steady improvement.”

Valhalla scoring: MacKenzie Cartmill 14, Ashlee Alfonso 10 (3 reb), Tenisha Lee 6 (9 reb, 6 stl), Emily Roberts 6 (4 ast, 2 stl), Danielle Wilson 6 (3 reb, 5 stl), Nichole Miller 4 (7 reb, 1 blk, 5 stl), Kelsey Cartmill 2 (5 ast, 3 stl), Chelsea Hale 2 (5 reb, 4 ast), Torrey Rook 2 (10 reb, 1 blk), Karissa Ferrell (2 reb, 3 stl).

EL CAJON VALLEY 48, EL CENTRO-SOUTHWEST 33 – It’s taken the El Cajon Valley Braves just 11 games to post 7 victories, including Saturday’s (Dec. 27) Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic Prep Division conquest of El Centro-Southwest.

Those are nice numbers. They’re even more impressive when you consider the Braves needed 28 games to post 8 victories last season.

El Cajon Valley had to come from behind to subdue the Imperial Valley team. The Braves outscored the Eagles 38-20 over the final three quarters.

“The girls never gave up,” said El Cajon Valley assistant coach JESSICA CABLE. “Before now when they got behind, they would have given up, but tonight they came back and played through it.”

ERIN ROBINSON led the Braves with 16 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists.

“Erin did well on defense,” Cable noted. “We put HAZEL DOE on their best player and best shooter. Hazel held her to 11 points.”

KAYLANI FATEN chipped in 14 points for the Braves.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Erin Robinson 16 (8 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Kaylani Faten 14 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Samantha Julien 6 (2 reb), Hazel Doe 5 (3 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Jeena Esho 3 (2 reb), Tericka Williams 3, Sophia Yeargain 1.

RED MOUNTAIN (Mesa, Ariz.) 55, SANTANA 45 – The Sultans, hosting a team with twice their enrollment in Saturday’s (Dec. 27) Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic NCAA Division 3 contest, held their own for three quarters.

It was the fast start by the Mountain Lions (7-5) from Mesa , Ariz. – they led 11-3 after one quarter – that Santana could not recover from. But it was more than the Mountain Lions’ talent advantage that cost the Sultans, who committed 35 turnovers.

“You can never fault our team for not getting an ‘A+’ in effort,” said Santana coach JIM MOTTERSHAW. “But when you continually give up the ball against a zone with no pressure, you can’t expect to win.”

ALYSSA PADBERG paced Santana (8-3) with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists.

“The Red Mountain team was very athletic and didn’t make a whole lot of mistakes,” Mottershaw noted.

According to The Arizona Republic, Red Mountain ranks No. 9 in the Division 5-A (large school) power ratings.

Santana scoring: Alyssa Padberg 10 (8 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), Amanda Grable 7, Jamie Elias 6, Samantha White 6, Lauren Mueller 5, Kim Gross 5 (5 reb), Chelsea Eason 2 (3 ast), Delia Files 2, Marjie Panknin 2 (4 stl).

MONTE VISTA 43, CALEXICO 38 – The Monarchs used a 21-11 fourth-quarter burst to clip Calexico in Saturday’s (Dec. 27) 2nd Annual Lady Monarch Classic.

“In the 4th quarter the tempo of the game wore them down,” said Monte Vista coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “The girls really battled and handled adversity well.”

ALEXANDRIA CONWRIGHT poured in 15 points for a career-best effort for the Monarchs.

Monte Vista scoring: Alexandria Conwright 15 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Deanna Bembry 9 (8 reb, 3 ast, 8 stl), LiAiesha Brandon 6 (8 reb), Dionna Mercer 5, Alex Ross 5, Kayla Pusey 3 (3 reb).

MONTE VISTA 39, SD-SOUTHWEST 33 – The Monarchs (5-3) made it a clean sweep of Saturday’s (Dec. 27) 2nd Annual Lady Monarch Classic double-header as they once again turned in a strong 4th quarter.

Monte Vista (5-3) used a 15-12 spread over the final 8 minutes to deny San Diego Southwest’s upset bid.

“It was tough coming back in a short time,” said Monarchs coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “We knew what Southwest wanted to do because we had scrimmaged them in the pre-season.”

DEANNA BEMBRY rolled her 4th double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with 4 assists and 2 steals.

“We’re not getting anything cheap,” Skibbe noted. “The players have earned everything they’ve gotten. We have been very blessed lately. I’m very excited about the future of Monte Vista basketball.”

Monte Vista scoring: Deanna Bembry 10 (10 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Alexandra Ross 8 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), LiAiesha Brandon 7 (5 reb, 2 blk, 3 stl), Alexandria Conwright 6, Nichelle Smith 4 (4 reb), Kayla Pusey 4 (7 reb).

OUR LADY OF PEACE 43, HELIX 25 – Putting the ball in the basket has been difficult to say the least for the Helix Highlanders of late.

They connected less than 21 percent of the time (10 of 48) in Saturday’s (Dec. 27) Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic NCAA Division 3 game against underrated Our Lady of Peace.

The Pilots (11-2) are no offensive power themselves, but they do play defense and control the ball. OLP led 34-15 after three periods.

“In this game we played hard but were struggling on offense,” said Helix assistant coach WILLY HATHAWAY. “SINOI LEASAU is really suffering. She has a lot of pressure on her and is trying to do too much. We didn’t shoot very well the past two nights.”

Nonetheless, Leasau led the Highlanders with 16 points. JACQUELINE SMITH contributed 10 rebounds to the Highlanders cause.

Helix scoring: Sinoi Leasau 16 (4 reb, 3 stl), Kim Scott 7 (4 reb, 2 ast), Jacqueline Smith 2 (10 reb), Mariah Walker (2 reb, 2 ast), Cierra Coleman (3 reb).

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (12-27-08) — Only a week ago, Santana High lost to Patrick Henry by 21 points. It was a another story in Friday’s (Dec. 26) NCAA Division 3 game of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic as the Sultans claimed a 53-44 victory.

“In that first game against Henry, I put a lot of our starters on the bench,” said Santana coach JIM MOTTERSHAW.

So why did he do that?

“I just didn’t like what we were doing on the floor,” he replied. “So I put three of our starters on the bench. Sometimes it’s not about winning and losing, it’s about teaching lessons. And when you do that sacrifices have to be made.”

It was a completely different game in the rematch. The Sultans (8-2) surrendered 30 points to Patrick Henry’s Emily Osga – who hit 12-of-26 shots from the field, including 3-of-8 from above the arc.

“We couldn’t stop that kid, she’s a very good player – the best we’ve seen so far this season,” Mottershaw said.

The Santana coach, who has lived by the man-to-man defense during his 41-year career, admitted that no matter what the Sultans threw at Osga, it failed to shut her down.

“I put three different kids to try to guard her but nothing mattered,” Mottershaw said.

But there was plenty of upside for Santana. Most glaring was Patrick Henry did not attempt a single free throw. Santana was charged with only five fouls in the game.

“How many times are you going to see that – when a team plays 32 minutes of man-to-man defense and rarely gets called for fouls?” said Mottershaw.

JAMIE ELIAS (18 points), KAILA SMITH (17 points) and ALYSSA PADBERG (10 points) steered a balanced offense for Santana.

“I give my kids an ‘A’ for effort,” Mottershaw said. “We had 15 assists and only 10 turnovers and that usually adds up to a winning combination.”

Smith grabbed a team-best 10 boards and Padberg handed out 7 assists, while Elias and LAUREN MUELLER made 3 steals apiece for the Sultans.

Santana scoring: Jamie Elias 18 (4 ast, 3 stl), Kaila Smith 17 (10 reb), Alyssa Padberg 10 (7 ast), Kim Gross 6 (5 reb), Lauren Mueller 2 (3 stl).

MOUNT MIGUEL 75, L.A.-VIEW PARK 62 – The plot will thicken for the Matadors in their next two games, beginning with Saturday’s (Dec. 27) home game against Eastlake in the WNBA Division of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic at 8 p.m.

The Matadors (10-0) need a win here to get a shot at the state’s top-ranked outfit, Santa Ana-Mater Dei in Monday’s (Dec. 29) third round of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic at 8 p.m. at El Capitan.

One thing about basketball is everybody has a set of rankings. Most of them are a joke. Case in point is Eastlake (6-2), which is rated No. 7 on the West Coast by USA Today. Just where the Matadors rate will surely surface within the next two games.

Sophomore DANIELLE MILLER scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Matadors to their latest victory over Los Angeles View Park . She also had 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

DANESIA WILLIAMSON added 18 points.

“Each of them could probably have scored 30 points apiece if they could have made a layup,” said Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL.

One of the reasons the Matadors marksmen were off the mark was due to View Park ’s having a 6-foot-3 girl who blocked a dozen shots.

“She was just standing in the lane waiting for our girls to shoot, and swatted them away,” Sandoval said.

It didn’t matter though, as Mount Miguel scored more than 20 points in three of the four quarters.

Mount Miguel scoring: Danielle Miller 22 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Danesia Williamson 18 (4 reb, 5 ast, 5 stl), Myishia Watkins 15 (5 reb, 2 ast), Nicole Fountain 14 (8 reb), Shay Young 4 (2 reb), Dechae Evans 2 (2 reb), Shataera Anderson (2 reb).

STEELE CANYON 48, MISSION HILLS 24 – J.V. BARBARIN, a 5-foot-8 junior, put together one of her best varsity games with 17 points and a dozen rebounds in Friday’s (Dec. 26) NAIA Division contest of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic.

It was the 6th straight win for the undefeated Cougars, who hadn’t played a game since early December.

“We started off pretty sluggish but I was overall pleased with our defense,” said Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH. “J.V. Barbarin carried the team on her back – she and CHRISTINA WILLIAMS – in the 2nd half.”

Williams rang up 11 points, while SAMANTHA VERNON grabbed 9 rebounds and chipped in with 5 points. G’KIA MYLES also banged the boards for 7 rebounds.

Steele Canyon broke the game open with a 27-8 scoring burst in the final quarter.

“It was the first game back after 2½ weeks of hard practice,” said Smith. “In the 4th quarter the girls really wanted to finish the game off.”

Steele Canyon scoring: J.V. Barbarin 17 (12 reb), Christina Williams 11, Samantha Vernon 5 (9 reb), Gabrielle Beasley 4, Julianne Kolegraff 4, G’kia Myles 4 (7 reb), Jazmin Daigle 2, Mace Alameri 1.

GRANITE HILLS 51, EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 26 – Junior SABRINA JIMENEZ scored a career-high 31 points to guide Granite Hills past Central Union in Friday’s (Dec. 26) NCAA Division 2 game of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic.

Jimenez connected on 15 field goals – one a 3-pointer – as the Eagles (6-3) outscored the Spartans in all four quarters.

Granite Hills led 31-11 at halftime.

“Sabrina Jimenez played a super game,” Eagles coach JERRY PARKER said. “She used to play point guard but she has a different role this year (as a 2-guard) and she has adjusted well to it.”

Although Parker had no stats to back up his statement, he praised the work of LAUREN KOBLISCHKE, one of two seniors on the team.

“Lauren Koblischke has become a team leader and the players all look up to her for guidance,” Parker said.

Granite Hills scoring: Sabrina Jimenez 31, Maddy Sheeran 8, Keji Kubari 4, Jessica Harris 3, Alyssa Canoff 3, Lauren Koblischke 2.

GROSSMONT 64, VALLEY CENTER 32 – HEATHER SPRINGE hit 9-of-18 shots from the field, including 4 triples, guiding Grossmont to a lop-sided victory over Valley Center in Friday’s (Dec. 26) NAIA Division of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic.

The Foothillers (8-2) pounced on the Jaguars (2-9) by a 15-2 score in the opening quarter and never looked back. Any hopes Valley Center had of staging a comeback was wiped out when Grossmont claimed a 21-10 scoring spread in the 3rd quarter.

Grossmont’s TERRA MUSGROVE connected on 6-of-13 shots from the field and all 4 free throws for 16 points, then capped her outing with 10 rebounds for a nifty double-double.

Springe was solid from long range, hitting 4-of-9 shots from above the arc. DANIELLE BALDERAS hit 2-of-5 shots from long distance.

“Springe and Musgrove played well together,” said Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG. “They each had a dominating performance.”

It was the second time Grossmont has beaten Valley Center this season, previously in the Grossmont Thanksgiving Tournament.

Grossmont scoring: Heather Springe 24 (7 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Terra Musgrove 16 (10 reb, 1 blk), Danielle Balderas 7 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Frankie Treadwell 6 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Carly Applegate 5 (2 reb, 2 ast), Chloe Cook 3, Chanel Putras 2 (2 ast), Jessie Edgil 1.

EL CAJON VALLEY 34, FALLBROOK 16 – Was it good defense or poor offense? The day after Christmas, no coach really knows.

Coach RANDY ROBINSON’s Braves (6-4) outscored coach ROGER MOSES’ Fallbrook Warriors in all four quarters in Friday’s (Dec. 26) Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic Prep Division opener.

SAMANTHA JULIEN paced the Braves with a dozen points, 5 rebounds and a pair of steals.

HAZEL DOE, 5-foot-3 junior, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for the Braves, who are only 2 victories shy of last year’s season total.

“It’s always nice to keep winning at this point of the season – gives the kids more confidence,” said Robinson. “We did everything well except shoot. We caused a lot of turnovers and that says a lot about our defense.”

El Cajon Valley scoring: Samantha Julien 12 (5 reb, 2 stl), Hazel Doe 6 (10 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Kaylani Faten 5 (6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Erin Robinson 5 (8 reb, 3 stl), Jeena Esho 4 (3 stl), Tericka Williams 2 (3 reb, 2 ast).

SHERMAN OAKS-BUCKLEY 45, VALHALLA 40 – The Norsemen fell behind 23-14 at halftime but outscored Buckley of Sherman Oaks in the 2nd half. But it was too little, too late in Friday’s (Dec. 26) Prep Division of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic.

NICHOLE MILLER and MacKENZIE CARTMILL paced Valhalla ’s offense with 13 and 11 points respectively.

EMILY ROBERTS was a giant on the boards with 10 caroms; she also dished 6 assists.

“You could tell that we had just come off the holidays,” said Valhalla assistant coach SIG CHABROWSKI. “We were cold and it took us awhile to get going. We weren’t aware of game situations. That’s something we need to work on. We’d make a run at Buckley and then fall back again.”

Valhalla scoring: Nichole Miller 13, MacKenzie Cartmill 11 (3 ast, 3 stl), Kelsey Cartmill 6 (3 reb), Emily Roberts 2 (10 reb, 6 ast), Tenisha Lee 4 (6 reb, 1 blk), Chelsea Hale 2 (2 reb), Torrey Rook 2 (2 reb), Danielle Wilson (4 reb).

EL CAPITAN defeated SAN PEDRO – El Capitan won by forfeit when the Pilots failed to show up for an NCAA Division 2 game of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic on Friday (Dec. 26).

SAN PASQUAL 50, HELIX 36 – No other information was available for this NCAA Division 3 game of the Barona SoCal Holiday Prep Classic on Friday (Dec. 26).

Helix scoring: Sinoi Leasau 13 (11 reb), Jacqueline Smith 12 (10 reb), Kim Scott 5 (2 reb), Mariah Walker 4 (2 stl), Lexi Audley 2.

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (12-24-08) — El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES and his Vaqueros will host the largest girls basketball tournament in the San Diego CIF section beginning Friday (Dec. 26) and running through Tuesday (Dec. 30).

This is the 6th year of this tournament which Quinones launched when he was head girls basketball coach at Steele Canyon in 2002.

“We started with eight teams that first year,” Quinones recalled. “Now, we’ve seen it grow to 52 varsity teams from five states (as far away as Georgia) this year. Our goal is to make it a national event.”

Quinones has a nice collection of teams this season, including the No. 1 ranked team in California – Santa Ana Mater Dei – which is ticketed to face Mount Miguel on Monday (Dec. 29) at El Capitan at 8 p.m.

“We should have a full house for that one,” Quinones said. “Two great teams in a great atmosphere. Should be a good time.”

Six of the Top 10 teams in the San Diego CIF section are involved in this year’s tournament, which is sponsored by Barona for the fourth consecutive season.

Nine of the 11 Grossmont Conference girls’ teams are taking part.

More than 100 games will be played in seven local gymnasiums over the four days. The championship games for each of the six divisions will be played on (Tuesday) Dec. 30. The elite WNBA title bout will be held at El Capitan at 8 p.m. (See schedule for further details).

Quinones is being assisted by Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL and San Diego’s Marlon Wells in helping draw college coaches to this tournament.

“Those guys have a lot of college connections,” Quinones said. “They’ve been a lot of help. We sent out announcements to more than 300 college coaches.

“I’m really excited about this year.”

Elsewhere, West Hills (8-2) opens play in the 9th annual West Coast Jamboree against Mission San Jose on Friday (Dec. 26) in Concord at 8:30 a.m. This is a prestigious event in Northern California that features 144 teams.

Also on Friday (Dec. 26), Monte Vista hosts the 2nd annual Lady Monarchs Classic – a five-day event concluding on New Year’s Eve Day. The Monarchs (3-3) do not begin play until the second day when they host Calexico Saturday (Dec. 27) at 1:30 p.m.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-21-08) — Senior EMILY ROBERTS registered a game-high 18 points, leading the Norsemen to their largest margin of victory in more than three seasons in pasting Bonita Vista 62-33 in Saturday’s (Dec. 20) Granite Hills Holiday Invitational pool play contest held at El Cajon Valley High.

“It was fun today,” noted Roberts. “We played as a team. It felt good to get a win going into the holidays. It’s taken some time to get back into the flow. I have to wear a special device to protect my nose. As a senior I know a lot is expected. I have to show my leadership skills because we are a young team.”

The victory was the biggest for Valhalla since Dec. 16, 2005, when the Norsemen handled Hoover, 57-24, in a Patrick Henry Tournament ballgame.

TENISHA LEE added 12 points for the Norsemen, while NICHOLE MILLER chipped in with 9 points and a team-best 10 rebounds.

“This was a good win for us,” said Valhalla coach CARLOS MOSS. “The team battled the whole game. We had a lot of bonding on the floor. We got good contributions from everybody.”

Valhalla scoring: Emily Roberts 18 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Tenisha Lee 12 (4 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Nichole Miller 9 (10 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Kelsey Cartmill 9 (2 ast), Chelsea Hale 7 (3 reb, 1 blk), MacKenzie Cartmill 2 (3 ast, 5 stl), Karissa Ferrell 2, Ashlee Alfonso 2 (2 reb), Danielle Wilson 1 (3 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl).

WEST HILLS 50, TORREY PINES 41 – No question the Wolf Pack is one of East County ’s top girls basketball teams. And even when the Pack isn’t clicking on all cylinders it still holds its own against the county’s best.

West Hills (8-2) more-or-less staggered past Torrey Pines to claim the 3rd place trophy of the 62nd Annual Kiwanis Tournament Saturday (Dec. 20) at Serra.

Senior AMBER DARBY, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, rolled a solid double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds to direct the Pack.

KIMMIE CLARK, who was 6-for-6 from the free throw line and canned a pair of 3-pointers, finished with 14 points.

Despite the medal-winning victory, West Hills coach RYAN KINSER was less than elated with his team’s play.

“Torrey Pines is young and really scrappy,” Kinser said. “In the 2nd half we gave up only two field goals but sent them to the line 22 times for 16 free throws. A lot of them were stupid fouls and the Falcons capitalized.”

“Escaping with 3-1 (in the tournament) is pretty good for us,” he added. “Offensively it was a tough four games for us – we never could get it going. Too many turnovers and missed shots.”

A plus for West Hills is the planned return of 5-foot-11 junior standout SHERIKA MILLER who is coming off a broken hand.

West Hills scoring: Amber Darby 16 (12 reb), Kimmie Clark 14 (2 ast, 2 stl), Danielle Hays 7 (4 reb), Connie Hines 6 (7 reb, 2 stl), Corryn Kivett 4 (2 reb), Mariah Bennett 3 (2 reb), Marilyn Naderhoff (2 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Shelby Russo (4 reb).

GROSSMONT 53, CHRISTIAN LIFE 28 – Grossmont’s HEATHER SPRINGE had a little extra bounce in her step as she punched in 10-of-20 shots from the field on her way to a 21-point scoring spree Saturday (Dec. 20) in the Granite Hills Holiday Invitational as the Foothillers crushed Christian Life Academy .

Grossmont (7-2) sprinted to a 14-2 first-quarter lead and gradually increased their margin en route to snapping a two-game losing streak.

The Foothillers racked up 22 steals, as Springe and CHANEL PUTRAS garnered 6 apiece. FRANKIE TREADWELL had 5 thefts.

The Hillers’ shooting, however, was horrendous outside of Springe. The rest of the team shot 24 percent (12-of-51). As a team Grossmont made only 2-of-21 free point attempts.

“It was a slow pace,” said Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG. “We had a chance to work on some of the things that we’ve struggled with the past two games. Every player got significant minutes today. They all contributed to a good team win.”

Junior JESSIE EDGIL was sort of an unsung hero for Grossmont as she scored 11 points and collected 5 caroms.

“Jessie played well off the bench,” noted Long. “Her 11 points are a career high.”

Grossmont scoring: Heather Springe 21 (4 reb, 3 ast, 6 stl), Jessie Edgil 11 (5 reb), Terra Musgrove 8 (10 reb), Danielle Balderas 5 (3 reb, 2 ast), Frankie Treadwell 5 (2 ast, 5 stl), Chanel Putras 3 (2 reb, 3 ast, 6 stl), Carly Applegate (6 reb), Christa Sawyers (2 stl).

SANTANA 41, MORSE 34 – It’s a good thing the Sultans enjoyed a strong start in Saturday’s (Dec. 20) final round of the 62nd Annual Kiwanis Tournament.

Coach JIM MOTTERSHAW’s Sultans stormed to a 19-3 advantage after the first 8 minutes in a game played at Scripps Ranch.

“We played a great 1st quarter and struggled offensively in the 2nd and 3rd quarters,” said Mottershw. “We were never in doubt of losing the game. Sometimes we played better and sometimes we played worse. We need to be more consistent. I think they’re trying to do their best. We are just hoping to get better, not only individually but as a team.”

JAMIE ELIAS, who had been hampered by a brief slump, led Santana (7-2) with 17 points and 4 assists. She accounted for her team’s only two 3-point buckets as Santana snapped a 2-game losing streak.

KAILA SMITH had probably her best game on the boards, ripping off 14 rebounds to go with 7 points.

ALYSSA PADBERG contributed 10 points and 3 assists for the winners.

Santana scoring: Jamie Elias 17 (4 ast), Alyssa Padberg 10 (3 ast), Kaila Smith 7 (14 reb), Tawnya Proctor 3, Amanda Grable 2 (5 reb), Lauren Mueller 2.

GRANITE HILLS 38, EL CAJON VALLEY 37 – This could be called a game that nobody wanted to win. The Madison Avenue rivals each had multiple chances to pull out a victory in Saturday’s (Dec. 20) final round of the Granite Hills Holiday Invitational on the Eagles’ floor.

With 10.4 seconds remaining, El Cajon Valley ’s HAZEL DOE hit a basket to cut the deficit to 1 point.

El Cajon Valley (5-4) had to foul three times to finally get Granite Hills (5-4) on the free throw line. With 5.4 seconds left, the Eagles missed the free throw and El Cajon Valley got the rebound but overshot the post and the game was over.

“This was a new experience for us,” Braves coach RANDY ROBINSON said. “We had never been in a position to close out a game. It was definitely a learning experience for our players. I’m pleased with the way we played today. We battled the whole game.”

The Braves took a 30-26 lead into the 4th quarter.

“That 4th quarter was a real dogfight,” Robinson said.

Despite winning, Eagles coach JERRY PARKER was speechless. That’s right, he had nothing to say.

Granite Hills’ SABRINA JIMENEZ scored a game-high 19 points, including a trio of triple and 4-for-5 shooting from the free throw line.

JEENA ESHO, a 5-foot-2 senior guard, led the Braves with 12 points and 7 rebounds. She hit a pair of 3-pointers and made both of her free throws.

Doe also hit a pair of treys on her way to a10-point total. She paced the Braves with 5 assists and 4 steals.

KAYLANI FATEN muscled in 7 points and grabbed 6 boards.

Granite Hills scoring: Sabrina Jimenez 19, Jessica Harris 5, Hailey Garner 4, Alyssa Canoff 3, Keji Kubari 3, Cora Leonard 2, Lauren Koblischke 2.

No other statistics reported.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jeena Esho 12 (7 reb, 2 stl), Hazel Doe 10 (3 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Samantha Julien 8 (2 reb, 2 ast), Kaylani Faten 7 (6 reb), Erin Robinson (3 reb, 4 ast), Tericka Williams (2 reb, 2 ast).

HELIX 42, BRAWLEY 32 – SINOI LEASAU tallied a game-high 15 points, as the Highlanders snapped a mild 4-game losing skid after dumping the Wildcats in Saturday’s (Dec. 20) Granite Hills Holiday Invitational contest held at El Cajon Valley High.

Leasau also had 6 rebounds, 6 steals and 2 assists, while KIM SCOTT added 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, and JACQUELINE SMITH hauled down 12 rebounds and made 4 steals.

“Kim Scott was our leader on defense today,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. “She was really aggressive.”

The Scotties actually trailed Brawley through the first period, but an 18-6 edge in the second quarter gave Helix (5-5) the lead for keeps over Brawley (4-4).

“We are playing out of synch,” Hansen said. “We don’t have a proper flow. Our full-court press completely changed the tone of the game. We need to regroup and come out ready to battle each game.”

Helix scoring: Sinoi Leasau 15 (6 reb, 2 ast, 6 stl), Kim Scott 13 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Jacqueline Smith 6 (12 reb, 4 stl), Lexi Audley 4 (7 reb), Simone Corder 4, Iesha Murray (2 stl).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-20-08) — It was a dismal day for six of the seven East County girls’ basketball teams on Friday (Dec. 19). They all came up on the short end except El Cajon Valley, which defeated Valhalla 42-25 in the Granite Hills Holiday Invitational.

El Cajon Valley will play for 3rd place in the tournament on Saturday against host Granite Hills at 12:30 p.m. It’s been a long time since the Braves have played for any kind of metal.

ERIN ROBINSON paced the Braves with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 6 steals. SAMANTHA JULIEN added 8 points, 8 steals, 5 rebounds and 2 assists for El Cajon Valley (5-3).

“I was pleased with the way we came out at the start of the game,” said Braves coach RANDY ROBINSON, whose team sprinted to a 27-7 halftime lead. “ Valhalla really turned up the intensity on us in the 2nd half.”

The veteran coach pointed out that no one player has been the driving force behind the Braves’ fast start.

“TERICKA WILLIAMS has done a great job off the bench,” said coach Robinson. She’s really our ‘super sub’ and has played all five positions. Erin Robinson was huge tonight. She was strong at both ends of the floor.”

El Cajon Valley scoring: Erin Robinson 16 (13 reb, 6 stl), Samantha Julien 8 (5 reb, 2 ast, 8 stl), Hazel Doe 8 (5 reb, 3 stl), Tericka Williams 5, Jeena Esho 3, Kaylani Faten 2 (8 reb).

Valhalla scoring: Tenisha Lee 9 (6 reb, 1 blk, 4 stl), MacKenzie Cartmill 5 (1 blk), Nichole Miller 3 (6 reb, 3 blk), Chelsea Hale 2, Ashlee Alfonso 2 (1 blk, 2 stl), Torrey Rook 2 (2 reb), Emily Roberts 2 (6 reb, 2 stl), Danielle Wilson (2 reb, 1 blk).

LA COSTA CANYON 52, WEST HILLS 36 – Even though La Costa Canyon has lost two games in their first eight outings, the Mavericks are proving that they may be one of the top three girls’ basketball teams in the San Diego Section.

Facing arguably East County ’s second-best team, the Mavericks outscored West Hills (7-2) in all four quarters on Friday (Dec. 19) to advance to Saturday’s championship game of the 62nd Annual Kiwanis Tournament.

West Hills will face Torrey Pines for 3rd place in the county’s oldest basketball tournament at 2:15 Saturday at Serra.

AMBER DARBY was the only member of the Pack that reached double scoring digits and also led the team with 6 rebounds.

“It came down to a lack of offense,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “La Costa Canyon took us out of our game.”

West Hills scoring: Amber Darby 10 (6 reb), Shelby Russo 7, Marilyn Naderhoff 4 (3 reb, 3 ast), Mariah Bennett 4, Kimmie Clark 3 (2 stl), Corryn Kivett 2 (4 reb), Connie Hines 2 (4 reb), Brooke Spradlin 1 (2 reb), Danielle Hays 1.

MONTGOMERY 49, GROSSMONT 44 – After winning six straight games to open the season the Foothillers have suddenly fallen out of synch.

Suffering their second consecutive loss in the Granite Hills Holiday Invitational on Friday (Dec. 19), the Foothillers put up 59 shots but connected just slightly better than 25 percent of the time.

“We shot very poorly,” said Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG. “That’s something we’ll have to correct. I didn’t like our effort tonight – we were not ready to play at all.”

FRANKIE TREADWELL hit 5-of-10 shots from the floor, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

CHANEL PUTRAS was 4-for-5 from 3-point range to share high point honors with Treadwell. She also led the team with 4 steals and added 4 assists.

Grossmont trailed by 16 points in the 2nd quarter, but cut the Aztecs’ (5-3) lead to 4 points in the 4th quarter. But that’s as close as they would get.

Grossmont scoring: Frankie Treadwell 12 (12 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Chanel Putras 12 (4 ast, 4 stl), Heather Springe 11 (4 reb, 1 blk), Terra Musgrove 7 (9 reb, 1 blk), Carly Applegate 2, Danielle Balderas (5 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Jessie Edgil (3 reb).

CARLSBAD 40, GRANITE HILLS 35 – The idea of hosting a tournament – outside of making a few fund-raising dollars – is to create a path to the championship game. Most any tournament director will tell you that.

Granite Hills fell on its collective face in Friday’s (Dec. 19) loss to visiting Carlsbad, which eliminated the Eagles (4-4) from the metal round of the Granite Hills Holiday Invitational.

“We stunk it up offensively in the 2nd half,” Eagles coach JERRY PARKER said. “Just let a game that we could have won slide right through our fingers.”

Granite Hills made only three field goals in the final two periods.

“In addition to not boxing out on the boards, we had trouble with the ball getting stuck in peoples’ hands. Just had no ball movement at all,” Parker noted. “I realize we’re young but it’s time to grow up.”

Granite Hills scoring: Sabrina Jimenez 11 (7 reb, 3 stl), Monique Ybarra 5 (5 reb), Maddy Sheeran 4 (4 reb), Keji Kubari 4 (3 reb, 4 blk), Jessica Harris 4, Lauren Koblischke 3 (11 reb), Hailey Garner 2 (2 ast, 2 stl), Alyssa Canoff 2 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Cora Leonard (2 reb).

SAN DIEGO 67, HELIX 47 – The Cavers (7-3) outscored the Highlanders 42-24 in the middle two quarters of Friday’s (Dec. 19) Granite Hills Holiday Invitational to deal Helix its fourth straight loss.

“We had trouble shooting tonight,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN of the Highlanders, who made only 37 percent of 41 shots from the field. “We just cannot seem to find our rhythm.”

Helix did manage to convert 16-of-24 free throws, led by KIM SCOTT, who swished 8-of-13 charity shots. Scott led the team with 11 points, one more than SINOI LEASAU.

Helix scoring: Kim Scott 11 (3 ast, 2 stl), Sinoi Leasau 10 (6 reb, 2 stl), Jacqueline Smith 8 (8 reb), Lexi Audley 6 (2 reb), Simone Corder 4, Iesha Murray 4 (4 reb), Kristina Scott 2 (5 reb, 2 stl), Brittnay Hollie 2.

PATRICK HENRY 54, SANTANA 33 – Life in the Kiwanis Tournament has been kinda tough on the Santana Sultans. Rarely has a Santana unit been cuffed around as the Sultans (6-2) were in Saturday’s (Dec. 19) contest with Patrick Henry (5-5).

The Patriots led 37-10 at halftime.

But veteran Santana coach JIM MOTTERSHAW was so upset with his starting lineup that he made wholesale changes with the Sultans trailing 11-3 after 4 minutes.

“I took our starting lineup out of the game halfway through the 1st quarter,” Mottershaw said.

The reserves played the remainder of the quarter and all of the 2nd quarter.

KAILA SMITH paced Santana with 12 points and 6 rebounds.

“We are very inconsistent and came out not ready to play,” said Mottershaw. “I’m very disappointed in the way we have played lately. At this point of the season we should be playing better basketball.”

Santana scoring: Kaila Smith 12 (6 reb), Jamie Elias 7 (2 ast), Samantha White 5 (4 reb), Tawnya Proctor 4 (7 reb), Alyssa Padberg 2 (2 ast), Lauren Mueller 1, Marjie Panknin 1, Kim Gross 1.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-19-08) — Entering Thursday (Dec. 18) night's action, El Cajon Valley High could look and wonder at the success of its Grossmont North League rivals. The four opposing schools posted a combined record of 27-2 -- a resounding 93.1 winning percentage -- making it easy to miss that ECVHS is off to its best start in several seasons.

In their latest outing the Lady Braves added to their ledger.

Paced by 17 points and 8 rebounds by ERIN ROBINSON, El Cajon Valley skated past visiting San Ysidro, 48-41, in pool play action of the Granite Hills Holiday Invitational.

Much of the turnaround can be attributed to point guard HAZEL DOE, who was forced into the starting role last season when the incumbent, senior STEPHANIE SMITH, was lost for the season with a knee injury.

"I was the back-up, but when Stephanie left, coach said I was the one to take over," explained Doe. "I need to move my feet more on defense, but on offense, I think I got it.”

Getting her team situated by controlling the ball, Doe showed balance with her 5 points and 4 assists, but she also showed improvement on defense with 4 steals to help the Braves pull away in the third quarter.

"We're a lot better than last year," Doe added. "Hopefully, we'll do better in league if we work more on our defense."

Doe's command on the court carries over to her teammates.

"I'm so proud of our girls because we've worked so hard," added shooting guard JEENA ESHO, who also backs-up Doe at the point. "Coach (RANDY ROBINSON) works our butts off, getting us to the point to get us ready for league."

Robinson, who has guided several East County programs, including a previous stint with the Braves' girls and boys programs, was an emergency replacement just days prior to the season when Esho was still an underclassman. The senior welcomes his addition.

"We're getting there so much more since coach joined the team," Esho added.

While the offense shows it can now deal with an opponent's press, it was the defensive side which allowed El Cajon Valley to gain the victory. Even at 11-all through one period, then 19-all at the half, the Braves allowed just four points in the third period to mount a 33-23 advantage.

Robinson (no relation) scored eight of her points during the quarter, while Esho took a feed from Doe for a wide-open 3-point goal during a 10-1 run to ignite the second half spree.

"What changed was that we weren't real happy with losing on Wednesday, so we got up there and scored some points," added Esho, who finished with 10 points.

On the other end of the court, KAYLANI FATEN paced the Braves with a team-best 9 rebounds.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Erin Robinson 17 (8 reb, 3 stl), Jeena Esho 10, Samantha Julien 8 (4 reb), Tericka Williams 6, Hazel Doe 5 (4 ast, 4 stl), Kaylani Faten 2 (9 reb).

WEST HILLS 43, PATRICK HENRY 32 – For one of the few times this season, once-beaten West Hills was slow getting out of the gate on Thursday (Dec. 18) in the second round of the 62nd Annual Kiwanis Tournament.

“We started off slow – we didn’t shoot well at all in the 1st quarter,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER.

Nevertheless the Wolf Pack led 12-10 after the 1st period, but were clinging to a 17-16 edge over the Patriots (4-5) by intermission.

It wasn’t until West Hills finally applied the defensive clamps on Patrick Henry in an 11-2 fourth-quarter that the Wolf Pack was able to celebrate their 7th win in eight starts.

KIMMIE CLARK paced the Pack with 12 points, including 5-for-5 free throw shooting. MARIAH BENNETT was also 5-for-6 from the free throw stripe as the Wolf Pack shot collectively .706 (12-of-17).

“Patrick Henry stayed in the game until the 4th quarter,” said Kinser. “I thought we played exceptional defense in the 4th quarter. It took us awhile to get our offense going.”

West Hills will play in the Kiwanis semifinals Friday (Dec. 19) vs. La Costa Canyon at Mira Mesa at 6:30.

West Hills scoring: Kimmie Clark 12 (3 reb), Marilyn Naderhoff 8 (5 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Connie Hines 6 (4 reb, 3 stl), Amber Darby 6 (8 reb), Corryn Kivett 4 (4 reb), Shelby Russo 2 (4 reb), Mariah Bennett 5 (3 reb), Danielle Hays (3 reb, 6 stl), Brooke Spradlin (2 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 68, BONITA VISTA 35 –Seems like every time they win this season the Granite Hills Eagles do so in a laugher. That was the case again Thursday (Dec. 18) when they bowled over Bonita Vista in the Granite Hills Holiday Invitational.

Granite Hills (4-3) outscored Bonita Vista in all four quarters as SABRINA JIMENEZ and MADDY SHEERAN paved the way with 17 points apiece. Sheeran knocked down a trio of 3-pointers, while Jimenez logged 8 assists.

Freshman JESSICA HARRIS added 14 points for the Eagles, who led 34-16 at halftime.

Granite Hills scoring: Sabrina Jimenez 17 (8 ast, 3 reb), Maddy Sheeran 17 (2 ast, 2 stl), Jessica Harris 14 (4 reb, 2 ast), Alyssa Canoff 6, Keji Kubari 4 (9 reb, 2 blk), Lauren Koblischke 4 (2 reb), Hailey Garner 3 (3 ast), Cora Leonard 2 (5 reb), Monique Ybarra 1 (5 reb).

SAN DIEGO 44, GROSSMONT 33 – The visiting Foothillers shot a paltry 20 percent (10-for-50) from the field, but still had a chance to knock off host San Diego in Thursday’s (Dec. 18) Granite Hills Holiday Invitational.

This was Grossmont’s first loss after winning six in a row.

With 2 minutes remaining Grossmont was down by only four points and San Diego hit a pair of 3s to put the game away.

Grossmont, already playing without it’s No. 2 scorer, HEATHER SPRINGE (sprained ankle), was further hampered when TERRA MUSGROVE picked up her 4th foul midway through the 4th quarter. Musgrove came in averaging 16.7 points a game. She ultimately fouled out.

CARLY APPLEGATE chipped in 7 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals for the Foothillers, while CHANEL PUTRAS punched in 7 points, blocked 3 shots, dished 4 assists and made 4 steals.

“Our defense is what kept us in the game,” said Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG. “Chanel Putral played an outstanding game tonight. She is very athletic for a point guard.”

DANIELLE BALDERAS led the Hillers with 11 points.

“A lot of it boils down to the fact that we didn’t shoot very well,” said Long. “We had too many turnovers.

Grossmont scoring: Danielle Balderas 11 (6 reb, 1 blk, 4 stl), Chanel Putras 7 (4 ast, 3 blk, 4 stl), Terra Musgrove 6 (6 reb), Carly Applegate 7 (9 reb, 1 blk, 4 stl), Frankie Treadwell 2 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl).

LA COSTA CANYON 56, SANTANA 37 – No question Santana coach JIM MOTTERSHAW was puzzled why his Sultans, undefeated at the time, were matched against top-seeded La Costa Canyon in Thursday’s (Dec. 18) second round of the 62nd Annual Kiwanis Tournament.

The Sultans received no input from senior JAMIE ELIAS, who averages 17.8 points per game.

LAUREN MUELLER paced Santana (6-1) with 10 points.

Katelyn Rowe scored 22 points to lead La Costa Canyon, which built a 48-23 advantage by the close of three quarters.

“La Costa Canyon was much better than us tonight,” said Mottershaw. “They completely outplayed us.”

Santana scoring: Lauren Mueller 10, Samantha White 8 (4 reb), Kaila Smith 7, Amanda Grable 3, Tawnya Proctor 3 (5 reb, 2 ast), Alyssa Padberg 2 (4 reb, 4 ast), Marjie Panknin 2, Kim Gross 2, Delia Files (4 reb).

MONTGOMERY 50, HELIX 39 – When your top scorer this season hits only one of 18 shots from the floor, you know you’re in trouble. That was the case for Helix in Thursday’s (Dec. 18) Granite Hills Holiday Invitational against Montgomery at San Diego High.

JACQUELINE SMITH attempted to pick up the slack by hitting 7 of 8 shots from the floor for a team-best 14 points and grabbing 6 rebounds.

“She was strong at both ends of the floor,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN.

SINOI LEASAU scored 11 points – the majority coming on her 9-for-12 free throw shooting.

“Sinoi has been in a little slump lately and we need to find a way to break her out of it,” said Hansen.

Playing time for MARIAH WALKER was limited as she was playing with the flu. Even in her brief court time she came up with 7 rebounds – 2 less than team leader Leasau.

Helix scoring: Jacqueline Smith 14 (6 reb), Sinoi Leasau 11 (9 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Kim Scott 6 (5 reb), Kristina Scott 2 (4 stl), Simone Corder 2 (2 reb), Lexi Audley 2 (3 reb), Mariah Walker 2 (7 reb, 2 stl).

ORANGE GLEN 60, VALHALLA 31 – Visiting Orange Glen bolted out to a 20-5 first-quarter lead and never looked back as the Norsemen suffered their 6th loss in seven starts in Thursday’s (Dec. 18) Granite Hills Holiday Invitational.

Valhalla was out of it from the beginning and never challenged the Patriots (3-3).

On the bright side junior NICHOLE MILLER turned in a sturdy game, hitting 6 of 12 shots from the floor for 12 points while gathering 12 rebounds and blocking 4 shots.

Valhalla scoring: Nichole Miller 12 (12 reb, 4 blk), Kelsey Cartmill 8 (2 ast, 2 stl), Tenisha Lee 5 (3 reb, 1 blk), Karissa Ferrell 4, Ashlee Alfonso 2, Torrey Rook (2 reb, 2 blk), Emily Roberts (8 reb, 2 stl), MacKenzie Cartmill (3 reb, 2 stl), Chelsea Hale (5 reb, 1 blk),Emily Wilson (1 blk).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-18-08) — In a nearly identical outcome mirroring the season opener, the ability of Granite Hills High guard SABRINA JIMENEZ to distribute the ball saw eight of her Eagles teammates score points in a 63-44 victory over guest Valley Center in Wednesday's (Dec. 17) opener of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

The Eagles (3-3) also bested the Jaguars, 63-42, to open the 2008-09 campaign on Nov. 28.

Jimenez still topped all scorers with 17 points, yet by getting the rest of her teammates involved -- a roster which features three starting freshmen -- Granite Hills was able to pull away for a comfortable decision.

"We've played three close games that we've lost, but we learned from those mistakes," noted Jimenez, who tied with El Capitan's ASHLEY DUFFY for second place in the entire East County in assists per game (5.9) last season. "We're a young team so we understand that and we'll get better."

Not only are the Eagles receiving scoring balance, coach JERRY PARKER's troops are equal opportunity workers on defense with every player registering at least one steal among the 13 thefts recorded against Valley Center.

"We have a really hard-working team," added Jimenez. "There's a lot of improvement in front of us and we're going to keeping going. I'm really happy with this team so far."

Among the four freshmen, Jimenez noted that upwards of three will start at a time while center LAUREN BENDER mends from an ankle injury. One of those 9th-graders is guard JESSICA HARRIS, who scored 10 points (matching her season average of 10.3) and committed just a single turnover against the Jaguars.

"We're all pretty good and we give it all we got, and that's why we made the varsity," noted Harris about the freshmen. "We'll be a good team for the next few years because we're all close and play together. It should carry us through."

However, the team's long-term success centers around Jimenez, as Granite Hills seeks its fourth consecutive first-division finish in the Grossmont South League -- last season, the Eagles finished second behind 8-time defending champion Mount Miguel.

"Sabrina brings everyone together," added Harris. "If we're down, she brings us up -- she's the leader on the court."

The balanced attack saw HALEY GARNER tally 8 points, while three others -- ALYSSA CANOFF, LAUREN KOBLISCHKE and MADDY SHEERAN -- added six points each.

Granite Hills led 13-11 early in the second quarter, then went on a 15-2 run to break the contest open. The stretch was capped by a putback basket by Jimenez while being fouled for a 3-point play, then the junior point guard threw a 50-foot pass to a streaking Canoff for a layin.

For Valley Center (1-7), center Danielle Thornton led the way with 16 points and 10 boards.

Granite Hills scoring: Sabrina Jimenez 17 (8 ast, 6 reb), Jessica Harris 10 (4 reb), Haley Garner 8 (4 reb), Alyssa Canoff 6, Lauren Koblischke 6 (5 reb, 4 stl), Maddy Sheeran 6 (3 ast), Monique Ybarra 4, Keji Kubari 4 (4 reb), Cora Leonard 2 (5 reb).

GROSSMONT 42, HELIX 35 – Playing with one wing down, the Grossmont Foothillers proved that they have pretty good depth Wednesday night (Dec. 17) as they knocked off rival Helix in the opening round of the Granite Hills Holiday Invitational.

HEATHER SPRINGE, who is averaging double digits for the 6-0 Foothillers, sprained an ankle in practice this week and will be lost to the team until after Christmas

Credit TERRA MUSGROVE (20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks), DANIELLE BALDERAS (10 points, 5 assists and 5 steals) and FRANKIE TREADWELL (10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals) for picking up the slack in Springe’s absence.

It was a come-from-behind effort for Grossmont, which outscored Helix (4-3) in the middle two quarters 30-18.

“Helix is the most athletic team we’ve played thus far,” said Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG. “They set a pace we weren’t used to. They gave us all kinds of trouble the whole game. I thought we played good defense throughout the game, and we were able to make some key baskets down the stretch.”

The Highlanders welcomed back SINOI LEASAU, who led the team with 11 points but did not have her best shooting night of the year.

Senior post player MARIAH WALKER was solid in the middle with 10 points and a dozen rebounds for the Highlanders.

“We played with intensity, we just had trouble making our baskets in the 2nd half,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. “Mariah Walker was our best player tonight – she played real well on both ends of the floor.”

Grossmont scoring: Terra Musgrove 20 (7 reb, 2 blk), Danielle Balderas 10 (3 reb, 5 ast, 5 stl), Frankie Treadwell 10 (4 reb, 3 stl), Carly Applegate 2 (5 reb), Chanel Putras (4 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Jessie Edgil (2 reb).

Helix scoring: Sinoi Leasau 11 (7 reb, 3 ast), Mariah Walker 10 (12 reb, 3 stl), Kim Scott 7 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Kristina Scott 3 (2 reb), Jacqueline Smith 2 (5 reb), Lexi Audley 2.

SANTANA 53, MIRA MESA 32 – JAMIE ELIAS knocked down 24 points – half of them coming on four 3-pointers – as the unbeaten Sultans streaked to their 6th straight win in Wednesday’s (Dec. 17) opening round of the 62nd Annual Kiwanis Tournament at Mira Mesa.

Junior guard ALYSSA PADBERG turned in a fine all around game for Santana, dishing 10 assists while scoring 8 points, collecting 5 rebounds and 3 steals.

But it was her defense that pleased coach JIM MOTTERSHAW the most.

“Padberg held Mira Mesa’s top scorer to two points,” he said.

Santana jumped out to a 12-6 first-quarter lead then broke the game open in the 2nd half.

“We played the first 4 minutes and the 2nd half of the game real well – in between that we struggled,” said Mottershaw. “I was happy with our defense tonight. I was really pleased with our perimeter defense.”

The Kiwanis Tournament features some oddball seeding procedures. Undefeated Santana is seeded No. 10; Mira Mesa is No. 7. But now the Sultans, in the 2nd round of the tournament, are matched up with top-seeded La Costa Canyon (4-2). Figure that one out.

Santana scoring: Jamie Elias 24 (3 stl), Alyssa Padberg 8 (5 reb, 10 ast, 3 stl), Marjie Panknin 6, Kaila Smith 5 (4 reb), Lauren Mueller 4, Kim Gross 2 (4 reb), Delia Files 2 (6 reb, 3 stl), Tawnya Proctor 2.

WEST HILLS 54, MISSION BAY 28 – Rebounding from a weekend loss to No. 1 ranked Bishop’s, the Wolf Pack battered the Buccaneers in Wednesday’s (Dec. 17) opening round of the 62nd Annual Kiwanis Tournament at Mission Bay.

West Hills (6-1) pounced on the Bucs to lead 30-14 by intermission, and outscored Mission Bay in each of the final two quarters as well.

KIMMIE CLARK led a balanced attack with 11 points – the majority coming on a trio of triples. AMBER DARBY added 10 points.

West Hills welcomed back junior guard MARIAH BENNETT, who finished with 4 points.

“We started off well – we shot well early,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “We played a good steady game. We had a balanced attack on offense throughout the game. I’m a little disappointed in our defense. We’ll need to play better tomorrow. It’s nice having Mariah Bennett back. She gives us another card in the deck.”

West Hills scoring: Kimmie Clark 11, Amber Darby 10, Marilyn Naderhoff 8, Corryn Kivett 6, Shelby Russo 6, Connie Hines 4, Mariah Bennett 4, Danielle Hays 3, Brook Spradlin 2.

SAN YSIDRO 58, VALHALLA 53 – The host Valhalla Norsemen might have pulled off a victory in Wednesday’s (Dec. 17) opening round of the Granite Hills Holiday Invitational had they shot better from 3-point distance.

The Norsemen (1-5) lofted 12 shots from above the arc but made only one.

Despite the loss the Norsemen welcomed back their senior leader EMILY ROBERTS, who came off an injury to chip in 10 points and 8 rebounds.

TENISHA LEE scored a game-best 20 points for Valhalla as she connected on 8 of 10 shots from the floor and added 4 free throws.

“We battled really hard, we just had too many turnovers,” said junior center NICHOLE MILLER, who tallied 8 points and 8 rebounds. “We are running our plays well but had trouble making our shots. We ran a trapping defense tonight for the first time. I think we played it really well. I was getting my shots and rebounding the ball well.”

Valhalla scoring: Tenisha Lee 20 (4 reb), Emily Roberts 10 (8 reb), Nichole Miller 8 (8 reb, 1 blk, 4 stl), Ashlee Alfonso 5 (3 reb), MacKenzie Cartmill 4, Kelsey Cartmill 2 (3 reb, 1 blk), Chelsea Hale 2 (1 blk), Karissa Ferrell 2, Danielle Wilson (2 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl).

ORANGE GLEN 57, EL CAJON VALLEY 30 – For one half host El Cajon Valley had things going its way in Wednesday’s (Dec. 17) opening round of the Granite Hills Holiday Invitational.

The Braves led 23-18 at that point. The 2nd half, however, was disaster as visiting Orange Glen claimed a 37-6 scoring advantage.

“We played with great intensity for the 1st half,” said El Cajon Valley RANDY ROBINSON. “But in the 2nd half Orange Glen changed defenses – did a good job of mixing it up between man, zone and trapping. We didn’t respond very well, turned the ball way over too much.”

El Cajon Valley scoring: Hazel Doe 9 (2 reb, 7 stl), Samantha Julien 7 (7 reb), Erin Robinson 6 (6 reb), Kaylani Faten 6 (3 reb, 2 stl), Tericka Williams 2 (4 reb), Jeena Esho (2 reb, 2 stl), Desiree Garcia (2 stl).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-16-08) — Senior SAMANTHA JULIEN rolled a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds Monday (Dec. 15) to lead El Cajon Valley to a 51-11 non-league romp over visiting Christian. The Braves improved to 3-2.

ERIN ROBINSON chipped in with 11 points for El Cajon Valley.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Samantha Julien 13 (10 reb, 2 stl), Erin Robinson 11 (3 reb, 3 stl), Jeena Esho 9 (5 reb, 2 ast), Desiree Garcia 6 (2 reb), Hazel Doe 4 (5 ast, 8 stl), Kaylani Faten 3 (4 reb), Sophia Yeargain 2 (2 reb, 2 stl), Aundria Myles 2, Tericka Williams 1 (8 reb, 3 stl).

Christian scoring: Monique Elliott 5, Makala Bailey 4, Carrisa Johnson 2.

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (12-14-08) — For three periods, West Hills, a newcomer to the county rankings positioned at No. 10, trailed The Bishop's School by two points. The score lines read 21-19, 29-27 and 45-43.

But they never could overcome the top-rated Knights.

"We've got two Division I players," noted Bishop's forward Gizelle Studevent. "But we still play together and everyone knows their roles – nobody is selfish."

Behind 18 points from Austrian import Inga Orekhova and 17 more from Studevent, The Bishop's went on to take the Black Division title of Mount Miguel's Matadors Classic, pulling away for a 57-49 decision over the previously undefeated Wolf Pack.

"They're good – a very talented team," said Wolf Pack junior MARILYN NADERHOFF. "We learned that we have to continue to work hard and stay on the shooters."

Orekhova, a 6-foot-3 center, has overcome a pair of major knee operations to earn a scholarship to Northwestern. Studevent is also ticketed for the Big Ten Conference with a full-ride to Penn State.

"We're like a family now with everyone working hard," added Orekhova, who played in just 11 contests last season. "And it shows in our defense."

West Hills guard KIMMIE CLARK kept her team close with a game-high 19 points, including five 3-point shots. But when the Pack (5-1) connected on only 1-of-9 shots down the stretch, The Bishop's (6-0) expanded its fourth-quarter lead to as many as 10 points.

"We had a little bit of trouble getting into our offense, but we did our best," added Naderhoff. "We just need to move on to our next game."

Meanwhile, The Bishop's is looking forward to more than simply a SDCIF title. Ranked No. 1 in one San Diego County poll and No. 2 in another, the Knights believe more is in the offing.

"We played Mount Miguel and beat them by 20 a couple of months ago," Studevent recalled about a fall league contest. "Yes, we want to win CIF here, but state is where we want to be."

“We knew we would have our hands full,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “Our goal was to hold them under 60 point, and we did. Another goal was to keep Orekhova and Studevent under 20, and we did. For three quarters we battled them; in the 4th we kinda ran out of gas. We are still short-handed (one player to injury, one to grades). Hopefully we will have them back soon.

“We would have liked to have played (Bishop’s) at full strength. We were right with them for the whole game. They have been scoring 75 on everybody so we were real happy with the good start. I’m proud of the girls.”

West Hills scoring: Kimmie Clark 19, Corryn Kivett 10, Marilyn Naderhoff 6, Brook Spradlin 4, Shelby Russo 4, Amber Darby 4, Connie Hines 2.

Game 2: EL CAPITAN 44, MINGUS (Ariz.) 18 – Senior ASHLEY DUFFY, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, directed the 9-1 Vaqueros to a 3rd-place finish in Saturday’s (Dec. 13) final day of the Lady Bears Court Classic in Prescott (Ariz.).

All of Duffy’s points came on field goals. She also had 10 steals and 5 assists.

“I thought this was one of our better games of the whole season,” said Duffy. “We played great defense, adjusted to no shot clock and were more patient in our spread offense.”

“I know the purpose of a trip like this is for bonding our team,” she added. “I’ll have to admit I didn’t know some of the girls on our team until we came here, so I guess that’s a good thing. I think we’ve grown closer together as a unit and that should make for good things in the future.”

What impressed coach FRANK QUINONES was El Capitan’s defense, which held the Mingus Marauders, which came in averaging 50 points a game, to less than a third of their scoring average.

“We heard a lot of stuff about how good Mingus was, and having never seen them play and having no scouting reports, we were definitely concerned,” he said. “We played them straight up man-to-man. Even though they were trying to trap us, Ashley got past them and created a lot of scoring opportunities with great passes.”

Duffy scored 100 points in the five games.

“You know what’s really cool about being up here? I’ve never been in the snow before, and now it’s snowing,” Duffy said. “I can’t help but think that we’re the best team here and we could have beat that Mesa team if we hadn’t played them in the first round. Remember, this is a mile high up and it takes some time to adapt.”

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 24 (4 reb, 10 stl, 5 ast), Amber Rel-Solia 10 (7 reb), Taylor Autry 6 (7 reb, 3 ast), Emily Sutton 3 (4 reb, 2 stl), Megan Drennen 1 (3 reb, 2 stl), Chelsey Kyle (3 reb, 2 stl), Marissa Pitman (2 reb).

Game 1: EL CAPITAN 69, CORONADO (Ariz.) 36 – The visiting Vaqueros blazed out of the chute in Saturday morning’s (Dec. 13) Lady Bears Court Classic contest in Prescott (Ariz.) with a 16-5 1st quarter burst and never looked back.

ASHLEY DUFFY led the Vaqueros with 22 points and 9 steals, while AMBER REL-SOLIA added 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

In terms of scoring it was a fruitful outing for Rel-Solia.

“I got the ball a lot,” she said. “They went to me and I was able to make my shots. Most of my shots came from the block. Yeah, it’s fun and it was one of my best games.”

The Vaqueros turned the game into a blowout with a 22-10 spread in 3rd quarter.

CHELSEY KYLE contributed 10 points and 3 rebounds for El Capitan.

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 22 (3 reb, 5 ast, 9 stl, 1 blk), Amber Rel-Solia 13 (8 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Chelsey Kyle 10 (3 reb), Autry 8 (9 reb, 2 ast), Darian Borras 6 (2 reb), Marissa Pitman 6 (6 reb, 2 ast), Megan Drennen 2 (6 reb, 4 ast), Emily Sutton 2 (3 reb, 3 ast).

SANTANA 38, LA JOLLA 20 – It’s a good thing that Santana plays hard-nosed defense because the Sultans made only 8 baskets of 33 shots in Saturday’s (Dec. 13) Vaquero Shootout at La Jolla.

The Sultans (5-0) put the game away with a 14-4 scoring run in the final period. The majority of that scoring spree came from the charity stripe where Santana converted 10-of-12 free throws.

“I thought we played very good defense overall – pressured the ball, closed the lanes and rotated well,” observed Santana coach JIM MOTTERSHAW. “But plain and simple, we have to shoot the ball better and not turn the ball over like we did – 19 times.”

Santana scoring: Jamie Elias 12 (5 stl), Alyssa Padberg 6 (3 ast), Lauren Mueller 6, Samantha White 3, Delia Files 3, Kim Gross 3 (7 reb), Kaila Smith 2 (6 reb).

SAN DIEGUITO 34, EL CAJON VALLEY 33 – After a 16-2 third quarter put visiting El Cajon Valley in a 13-point deficit in Saturday’s (Dec. 13) San Dieguito Tournament, the Braves made a valiant charge over the final eight minutes and come within inches of pulling out a victory.

El Cajon Valley (2-2), which trailed by a single point at the time, had two shots at a win in the last 12 seconds.

JEENA ESHO had a 3-point shot lip the rim and come off, and ERIN ROBINSON came down with the rebound and appeared to be fouled, but did not get the call.

With 2.3 seconds remaining San Dieguito had a chance to put the game away but missed the free throw. The Braves got the rebound but could not get off a desperation shot.

“Erin was obviously fouled when she went up for the putback,” said Braves coach RANDY ROBINSON. “But there was no call. But that’s the way it goes.”

What Robinson wanted to point out in his three years of coaching the Braves was the improvement his team has made in the San Dieguito Tournament alone.

“Two years ago when we played San Dieguito, we lost by 40, and last year we lost by 25,” he said. “We’re not there yet – still a work in progress. But I can see the improvement we’ve made.”

Erin Robinson led the Braves with 16 points and 9 rebounds.

“She’s our go-to girl,” said coach Robinson of the 5-foot-7 junior who scored 6 of the Braves 16 points in the final period.

KAYLANI FATEN scored 5 points in the 4th quarter.

Coach Robinson had special praise for 5-foot-9 senior SAMANTHA JULIEN, who contributed 5 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

“The thing that Sam does really well is she gives us good ‘help defense,’” he said. “I’m pleased with the way she’s progressed.”

El Cajon Valley scoring: Erin Robinson 16 (9 reb, 2 stl), Samantha Julien 5 (4 reb, 3 ast), Kaylani Faten 5 (5 reb, 3 stl), Jeena Esho 3 (4 reb), Hazel Doe 2 (3 stl, 2 ast), Tericka Williams 2.

VISTA 51, GRANITE HILLS 49 – Freshman JESSICA HARRIS hit 4 treys, sophomore CORA LEONARD made 2 triples and MADDY SHEERAN, SABRINA JIMENEZ and ALYSSA CANOFF each hit a 3 in Saturday’s (Dec. 13) Vaquero Shootout at Granite Hills, but the Eagles still came up short.

“We were up most of the game but Vista played more physical then we did,” said Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER. “In the 1st half we shot the ball really well – Jessica Harris hit four 3’s in the 1st half. I saw a problem in the 1st half, thought we needed to get more physical."

The Panthers outscored the Eagles 27-15 in the 2nd half to steal the victory.

“In the 2nd half we didn’t shoot the ball well and we let them back in it,” Parker added. “It’s happened to us twice this season, but it’s still early.”

Harris led the Eagles with 18 points and Jimenez had 12.

“Not having LAUREN BENDER (ankle sprain) hurt us. She’s off for a week and then will be reevaluated,” said Parker.

Granite Hills scoring: Jessica Harris 18 (3 ast), Sabrina Jimenez 12 (2 reb, 1 blk, 3 ast, 2 stl), Cora Leonard 9, Maddy Sheeran 5 (2 ast), Alyssa Canoff 3, Monique Ybarra 2 (3 ast), Hailey Garner (4 reb), Lauren Koblischke (2 stl, 2 ast), Keji Kubari (4 reb).

HILLTOP 56, HELIX 28 – After falling behind 20-2 in the 1st quarter of the Matador Classic White Division championship game at Mount Miguel on Saturday (Dec. 13), the Highlanders (4-2) never recovered.

Of course playing without leading scorer SINOI LEASAU, sidelined with a sore back, didn’t help matters for Helix.

“We played poorly tonight,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. “Hilltop was aggressive after the ball and I don’t think we came ready to play. We just flat-out got beat.”

JACQUELINE SMITH, even in defeat, turned in a respectable performance with a team-high 7 points, 14 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks. MARIAH WALKER added 5 points and 11 rebounds.

Helix scoring: Jacqueline Smith 7 (14 reb, 2 stl, 3 blk), Iesha Murray 6 (5 reb), Mariah Walker 5 (11 reb), Kristina Scott 4 (2 reb), Lexi Audley 2 (3 reb), Kim Scott 2 (6 reb).

© East County Sports.com
PRESCOTT, Ariz. (12-13-08) — After suffering their first loss in Thursday’s opening round of the Lady Bears Court Classic in the Central Arizona mountains, the Vaqueros rebounded with back-to-back victories on Friday (Dec. 12), defeating Buena (Ariz.) and host Bradshaw Mountain high schools.

Game 1: EL CAPITAN 51, BUENA (Ariz.) 45 – Things did not start out well for the Vaqueros as they fell behind Buena 18-10 in the 1st quarter and continued to trail by 8 at halftime.

El Capitan put together a strong 2nd half showing to record a come-from-behind over the Arizona school.

“We came out sluggish,” said Vaqueros coach FRANK QUINONES. “We talked to the girls about keeping it simple, executing our plays.”

ASHLEY DUFFY paced the Vaqueros with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals, while TAYLOR AUTRY led the supporting cast with 14 points – including 2 three-pointers – and 5 rebounds.

“We did really well today actually,” said Autry. “Coach’s favorite saying is ‘take care of business.’ It just means to hustle on defense, play smart basketball, do what we came here to do. Everyone’s having a good time and getting along.”

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 21 (8 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk, 6 stl), Taylor Autry 14 (5 reb), Amber Rel-Solia 7 (4 reb), Darian Borras 3, Emily Sutton 3 (3 reb), Chelsey Kyle 2 (3 reb), Marissa Pitman (3 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Megan Drennen (4 reb, 2 stl).

Game 2: EL CAPITAN 49, BRADSHAW MOUNTAIN (Ariz.) 31 – The Vaqueros used a 19-7 second-quarter scoring spree in Friday’s (Dec. 12) night game of the Lady Bears Court Classic twinbill to blow out the host team.

“It’s fun coming to these games because nobody knows about us, but Bradshaw Mountain was saying they knew everything about El Capitan,” said Vaqueros coach FRANK QUINONES. “It’s always fun to play the host school and take them down. There was no shot clock – Arizona doesn’t use a shot clock. We’re used to playing with a shot clock, but we played them Arizona-style, and we were making their defense work. We did real well. We made them work on defense, not like last night.”

Once again, ASHLEY DUFFY paced the Vaqueros (7-1) with 21 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals.

Duffy emphasized the fact that the elevation of Prescott is more than a mile high.

“I’m used to playing club ball so I’m used to the altitude,” she said. “But some of the other girls had to get used to that. In the 2nd game we played as a team. It was probably one of our best games as a team. All of our girls stepped up – CHELSEY KYLE helped us a lot.”

Once again TAYLOR AUTRY came up big with 11 points and 7 rebounds.

MARISSA PITMAN hit 2 three-pointers, as did Duffy.

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 21 (13 reb, 6 ast, 5 stl), Taylor Autry 11 (7 reb, 3 ast), Marissa Pitman 8 (2 reb), Darian Borras 4, Megan Drennen 3, Chelsey Kyle 2 (2 reb), Emily Sutton (2 stl), Amber Rel-Solia (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk).

HELIX 50, SCRIPPS RANCH 45 (OT) – The Helix Highlanders will play Hilltop for the Matador Classic White Division championship at 7:30 Saturday night (Dec. 13). But they almost didn’t get there.

In Friday’s (Dec. 12) game at Scripps Ranch the Highlanders (4-1) hustled to a 15-7 first-quarter lead, but gradually their offense began to go soft, including the 3rd quarter when they scored only 3 points.

With 6.7 seconds remaining in regulation, sophomore KRISTINA SCOTT hit a 3-point shot on the right wing to tie the score at 40 and send the game into overtime.

Her twin sister, KIM SCOTT led the effort in the extra period, shooting 4-for-4 at the free throw line as the Highlanders claimed an overall 10-5 scoring edge.

Helix took advantage of the fact that Scripps Ranch was in the double bonus and every Falcons foul gave Helix 2 free throws in overtime.

“It was a great game and a great win,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. “I was happy to get out of there with a win. They pushed the ball on us and it took us awhile to get used to their tempo. I was real pleased tonight with our defensive effort. The girls are playing hard and pushing for each win.”

Helix scoring: Kim Scott 18 (3 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl), Sinoi Leasau 13 (3 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Kristina Scott 6 (3 stl), Mariah Walker 6 (3 reb, 5 stl), Jacqueline Smith 5 (12 reb, 2 blk), Simone Corder 2 (2 reb), Chanelle McNutt (3 reb).

EL CAJON VALLEY 56, PREUSS 23 – It’s been a long time since an El Cajon Valley girls’ basketball team has forged to a 22-4 first-quarter lead, as coach RANDY ROBINSON’s squad did in the opening period of Friday’s (Dec. 12) San Dieguito Tournament game against Preuss.

Six Braves scored 7 points or more in the game, led by junior ERIN ROBINSON’s high of 10 points.

Senior DESIREE GARCIA led the Braves on the boards with 8 rebounds, while Robinson and KAYLANI FATEN came away with 6 caroms apiece.

Braves ballhawks HAZEL DOE and SOPHIA YEARGAIN collected 5 steals apiece as El Cajon Valley advanced its record to 2-1.

“We jumped out really early then started playing all our players,” said coach Robinson. “Everybody played hard and did well. We are still in a situation where we are learning, and we have some new players. They are very enthusiastic and supportive of each other.”

El Cajon Valley scoring: Erin Robinson 10 (6 reb, 3 stl), Kaylani Faten 9 (6 reb, 2 ast), Hazel Doe 8 (2 ast, 5 stl), Tericka Williams 8 (4 reb), Sophia Yeargain 8 (5 stl), Samantha Julien 7 (4 reb), Jeena Esho 4, Desiree Garcia 2 (8 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 54, SAN MARCOS 37 – Junior guard SABRINA JIMENEZ poured in 21 points, peddled 6 assists, grabbed 5 rebounds and made 3 steals to lead host Granite Hills to its second win in four starts in Friday’s (Dec. 12) Vaquero Shootout victory over San Marcos.

Jimenez nailed a pair of 3-balls and was 5-of-6 from the free throw line for the Eagles, who built a 21-11 halftime lead.

Freshman JESSICA HARRIS pitched in 11 points for Granite Hills.

“Our bench played real well,” said Eagles coach JERRY PARKER. “They were very productive and gave us a lot of energy. Freshman KEJI KUBARI and sophomore CORA LEONARD gave us valuable minutes off the bench in the post position. We played excellent defense tonight. I was very pleased with that.”

Six-foot senior post player LAUREN BENDER suffered a severe ankle sprain in the 1st quarter and is out indefinitely.

Granite Hills scoring: Sabrina Jimenez 21 (5 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Jessica Harris 11, Alyssa Canoff 6 (5 reb), Keji Kubari 6 (6 reb, 2 blk), Hailey Garner 5 (3 ast, 3 stl), Lauren Koblischke 3 (2 reb), Cora Leonard 2 (3 reb), Monique Ybarra (4 reb).

© East County Sports.com
RANCHO PENASQUITOS (12-12-08) — Folks up Mt. Carmel way did all they could do to rattle the No. 3 Mount Miguel Matadors who visited the Sundevils’ gymnasium in Thursday’s (Dec. 11) Vaquero Shootout.

“They got a little chippy and that changed the complexion of the game,” said Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL. “Their fans were really on us. That was a mistake on their part because we weren’t really fired up until that happened.”

Senior guard DANESIA WILLIAMSON scored 30 points, dished 7 assists and made 5 steals as the unbeaten Matadors won their 9th game without interruption, slapping the Sundevils, 59-44.

“Danesia hit some long 3s, as did MYISHIA WATKINS,” said Sandoval, noting that each of the guards hit a trio of treys.

Mount Miguel, which led only 14-13 after one quarter, maneuvered to a 10-point halftime lead. The Matadors broke the game open in the 3rd quarter with a 16-6 scoring spread.

“Their crowd really got Danesia fired up,” Sandoval said. “She was 11-for-11 from the free throw line in the 3rd quarter.”

Sandoval said the 9th ranked Sundevils kept trying to block Williamson’s 3-point shots and wound up fouling her instead.

The Matadors outscored the Sundevils 35-16 in the middle two quarters.

“This was a nice one for us,” Sandoval said.

Mount Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 30 (7 ast, 5 stl), Myishia Watkins 9 (2 reb, 4 ast), Dechae Evans 6 (6 reb), Danielle Miller 6 (2 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Shataera Anderson 4 (5 reb Shay Young 4 (7 reb), 2 stl).

EL CAJON VALLEY 46, TRI-CITY CHRISTIAN 28 – The visiting Braves raced out to a 19-10 first-quarter lead in Thursday’s (Dec. 11) opening round of the San Dieguito Tournament. The Braves (1-1) increased their advantage to 39-15 by the end of three periods.

“We got off to a really strong start, we put pressure on and they turned the ball over,” said El Cajon Valley coach RANDY ROBINSON. “By the 4th quarter I was able to rest everybody and play the kids who don’t get to play very much. This was a tournament for us I think we can be competitive.”

Junior ERIN ROBINSON turned in a sparkling game for the Braves, nailing 22 points, grabbing 9 rebounds and logging 3 steals.

“My assistant, JESSICA CABLE, is working with my low post kids – she does a real good job for us,” said Robinson.”

El Cajon Valley scoring: Erin Robinson 22 (9 reb, 3 stl), Kaylani Faten 6 (5 reb, 2 stl), Samantha Julien 6 (6 reb), Jeena Esho 5 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Hazel Doe 3 (2 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Desiree Garcia 2 (3 reb, 2 stl), Tericka Williams 2 (2 reb, 4 stl).

MESA (Ariz.) 48, EL CAPITAN 40 – Playing in the mile high community of Prescott, Ariz. Thursday (Dec. 11) on a college sized basketball court, the visiting Vaqueros found themselves gasping for air as they suffered their first loss in six starts.

“I know you can’t expect to win them all, but we played like we were tired,” El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES said of the opening round game of the Lady Bears Court Classic. “It was a long trip getting here and a late night arrival. But those aren’t excuses. We played poorly.”

Only ASHLEY DUFFY finished in double scoring digits with 12 points, 7 steals, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. She also netted 5 of 7 free throws. The remainder of the El Capitan squad connected on just 6 of 18 charity tosses.

“All of the Arizona teams are used to playing on college sized courts, which extend 10 feet longer on each end,” Quinones said. “That’s a lot more area to defend.”

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 12 (5 reb, 6 ast, 7 stl, 1 blk), Taylor Autry 9 (2 reb, 2 ast), Amber Rel-Solia 6 (5 reb, 2 stl), Marissa Pitman 5 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Chelsey Kyle 4 (2 reb), Megan Drennen 2 (8 reb), Emily Sutton 2 (2 reb).

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (12-11-08) – Mission Hills’ arrival at Santana for Wednesday’s (Dec. 10) Vaquero Shootout against the Sultans was just what Santana coach JIM MOTTERSHAW would have ordered, had he had a menu.

“I was really happy with some of the things Mission Hills did because it allowed us to work on some things that we need to work on,” said Mottershaw after Santana mashed Mission Hills, 48-30. “One of the things they did was give us a chance to work on our zone offense.”

Mottershaw was also pleased with how the 4-0 Sultans handled the Grizzlies’ press.

“We got a lot of layups and that’s what you want,” he said.

JAMIE ELIAS scored 9 of her game-high 23 points in the 1st quarter as the Sultans soared to a 15-8 lead.

“One thing about our team is we may not have the most talent, but not many teams work as hard as we do,” said Elias, a senior guard.

Santana’s LAUREN MUELLER put the clamps on the Grizzlies’ leading scorer, Lisa Allen, limiting her to 5 points, which is about one-third her season average.

“That’s what I mean about playing hard,” Elias said. “Lauren was all over her – just shut her down.”

Santana led 29-19 at the half and then staggered to the finish line for the victory.

Elias was 8-of-19 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the free throw line. She accounted for Santana’s only 3-point bucket.

“I got a lot of perimeter shots but they weren’t falling for me tonight,” she said. “I think I did better on the inside.”

Not that Mottershaw was overjoyed by Santana’s work in the paint. The Sultans, in fact, busted only 4 offensive rebounds. On the bright side, however, Santana had 13 assists and only 12 turnovers.

Santana scoring: Jamie Elias 23 (4 reb), Kim Gross 9 (5 reb), Lauren Mueller 6, Alyssa Padberg 4 (5 reb, 6 ast), Kaila Smith 4, Delia Files 2 (3 ast).

WEST HILLS 52, SAN DIEGO 38 – The Wolf Pack got a taste of what it means to play a road game against a highly respected opponent in Wednesday’s (Dec. 10) Matador Classic at San Diego.

West Hills proved that it is, indeed, one of the Top 10 teams in the San Diego Section CIF.

AMBER DARBY turned in a giant game for the 10th-ranked Pack with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds, helping West Hills to its 5th win without a loss.

“We played a good basketball game in a very difficult environment,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER.

It was sort of a case of West Hills pulling a bookend job on the Cavers (3-2), claiming a 16-10 first-quarter lead and eventually closing out the contest with a 16-9 run.

KIMMIE CLARK scored 8 of her 13 points in the opening quarter.

“AMBER DARBY came to life in the 2nd half and played well in the post,” said Kinser. “MARILYN NADERHOFF (6 assists) did a great job of getting the ball to the right player.”

San Diego freshman guard Tia Dixon, who came in averaging close to 17 points per game, was limited to 11 points by the Wolf Pack.

“I was really pleased with our defensive effort tonight. We shut down San Diego ’s best player,” said Kinser.

West Hills scoring: Amber Darby 17 (11 reb), Kimmie Clark 13, Marilyn Naderhoff 11 (3 reb, 6 ast, 6 stl), Danielle Hays 7 (4 reb), Connie Hines 2 (4 reb, 3 stl), Brooke Spradlin 2 (2 reb), Shelby Russo (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Corryn Kivett (4 reb).

SAN YSIDRO 56, CHRISTIAN 19 – The youthful Patriots of Christian High trailed by only 15 points at halftime in Wednesday’s (Dec. 10) non-league game against visiting San Ysidro.

That’s when the roof caved in as the Cougars outscored the Patriots 19-1 in the 3rd quarter. Game over.

“We took a step backwards tonight,” said Patriots coach SKIP GERLEK. “We didn’t play defense as much as we did against Monte Vista.”

MAKALA BAILEY paced the Patriots with 8 points.

“We gave away the basketball too much – had too many turnovers,” Gerlek said. “We haven’t gotten into the next stage of being aggressive on offense.”

Christian scoring: Makala Bailey 8, Monique Elliott 4, Ricki Gentry 2, Kara Cartwright 2, Mary Grabowski 2, Mia Johnson 1.

MOUNT MIGUEL 65, BONITA VISTA 13 — It’s hard to image how lopsided this Matador Classic contest could have become Wednesday night (Dec. 10) at San Diego High.

DANESIA WILLIAMSON, who is battling the flu, scored 18 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, handed off 7 assists and made 6 steals as Mount Miguel rolled its record to 8-0.

Mount Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 18 (4 reb, 7 ast, 6 stl), Myishia Watkins 13 (4 ast, stl), Shay Young 13 (13 reb, 2 stl), Dechae Evans 11 (6 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl, 1 blk), Danielle Miller 8 (6 reb, 4 stl), Shataera Anderson 2 (2 reb, 3 ast).

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (12-10-08) — In a battle of Top 10 teams, host Mount Miguel – playing without senior starter NICOLE FOUNTAIN (hyper-extended knee) – proved to the visiting Mavericks of La Costa Canyon there’s a lot of difference between No. 2 and No. 8 on the ratings board.

Four Matadors reached double scoring digits Tuesday night (Dec. 9) as Mount Miguel stormed to a 68-41 victory in the Vaquero Shootout. The Matadors marched in front 22-10 in the first quarter and by the close of the 3rd period, Mount Miguel (7-0) was breezing 58-28 over the Mavericks (2-2).

This is the best balanced scoring that Mount Miguel has had this year.

Senior guard DANESIA WILLIAMSON set the pace with 18 points – half of which came on 3-points buckets. She also handed out 8 assists.

“Danesia got us going early,” said Matadors coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL. “We had 8 of the first 10 points in the game. We have a really good balance this year. Danesia’s doing a much better job getting everybody involved.”

MYISHIA WATKINS did most of her damage from above the arc, nailing 3 triples on her way to a 13-point finish. Watkins also shared the wealth with 5 assists.

Junior newcomer DECHAE EVANS made an immediate impact with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 steals in her Mount Miguel debut.

DANIELLE MILLER chipped in with 12 points for the Matadors.

“The kids were pretty pumped up,” said Sandoval. “La Costa Canyon is a Top 10 team – ranked No. 8 – the first one we’ve played this year. At one point they had a 6-foot-2 and a 6-foot-3 kid on the floor.”

Mount Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 18 (4 reb, 8 ast, 4 stl), Myishia Watkins 13 (2 reb, 5 ast), Dechae Evans 13 (13 reb, 4 stl), Danielle Miller 12 (3 reb, 2 stl), Shataera Anderson 6 (3 stl), Shay Young 6 (4 reb, 2 stl).

GROSSMONT 60, VALLEY CENTER 39 – HEATHER SPRINGE, a 5-foot-8 senior, pumped in 25 points, snared 7 rebounds and made 5 steals to guide undefeated Grossmont to its 5th straight win Tuesday (Dec. 9) at Valley Center.

Springe has scored 74 points in her last three games. Her average for the season is 20.2 and she also averages 7 rebounds, 4.5 steals and better than 3 assists per outing.

It wasn’t the best of shooting nights for the Foothillers, although they led 34-17 by halftime. Grossmont hit only 33 percent of 78 shots from the field. The Hillers did make good on 8-of-19 tries from above the arc, but failed to connect on any of their 9 free throws.

CHANEL (No. 21) PUTRAS added 11 points, 6 assists and 5 steals for the Foothillers who also received 8 points and 11 rebounds from junior FRANKIE TREADWELL.

DANIELLE BALDERAS contributed 8 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.

“I’m proud of our girls because we played so strong,” said Foothillers coach MEGAN LONG. “We got contributions from everybody.”

Grossmont scoring: Heather Springe 25 (7 reb, 5 stl), Terra Musgrove 8 (5 reb, 4 blk), Chanel Putras 11 (6 ast, 5 stl), Frankie Treadwell 8 (11 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Danielle Balderas 8 (9 reb, 4 ast), Carly Applegate (6 reb), Jessie Edgil (4 reb).

THE BISHOP’S 75, HELIX 33 – Things were moving along pretty well for Helix in the early part of the season, until Tuesday night (Dec. 9) when they ran into top-ranked Bishop’s on the Knights’ court in the Matador Classic.

The Bishop’s started four players 6-feet or taller, including 6-foot-3 Inga Orekhova, a Northwestern University bound senior, who nailed 4 three-pointers on her way to a 16-point finish. The undefeated Knights (3-0) outscored the Highlanders 50-17 in the middle two quarters.

“Bishop’s is an unbelievable team,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. “Our girls competed and played hard the whole game. I was pleased with their effort tonight.”

Senior SINOI LEASAU led Helix (3-1) with 18 points and 6 rebounds. She was 7-of-9 from the free throw line.

KIM SCOTT was 4-for-4 from the charity stripe and finished with 6 points for the Highlanders. MARIAH WALKER also had 6 rebounds for Helix.

“We knew Bishop’s was going to be tough,” said Hansen. “They were bigger and more athletic. I figured they would give us a lot more trouble, and they did.”

Helix scoring: Sinoi Leasau 18 (2 reb), Kim Scott 6 (3 reb), Jacqueline Smith 4 (2 reb), Kristina Scott 3 (2 reb), Mariah Walker 2 (6 reb),

WEST HILLS 65, SD-SOUTHWEST 8 – Undefeated West Hills built a 52-6 advantage over visiting San Diego Southwest after three quarters of Tuesday’s (Dec. 9) Matador Classic in Santee.

KIMMIE CLARK paced the Wolf Pack (4-0) with 13 points, the majority coming on a trio of 3-pointers.

CONNIE HINES pitched in 10 points, while MARILYN NADERHOFF added 9 points, 8 assists and 3 steals.

“We played hard all night – that was our focus,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “We ran our offense real well tonight.”

West Hills scoring: Kimmie Clark 13 (2 reb, 3 ast), Marilyn Naderhoff 9 (3 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl), Shelby Russo 9 (4 reb, 4 ast), Brooke Spradlin 8 (3 reb, 2 ast), Amber Darby 6 (3 reb), Alyssa Evejan 6 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Corryn Kivett 2 (2 reb, 2 ast), Danielle Hays 2 (2 reb).

MONTE VISTA 55, CHRISTIAN 8 – Sophomore DEANNA BEMBRY was 7-for-7 from the field for a game-high 14 points as host Monte Vista mashed Christian in a non-league game Tuesday (Dec. 9) night. Bembry also garnered 7 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists for the Monarchs.

Monte Vista (3-3) led 28-4 at halftime over the Patriots (0-4).

LiAIESHA BRANDON added 10 points and 7 boards for the Monarchs, while JESSICA GARCIA had 6 points and 5 rebounds. SHANTEE WOODS chipped in with 5 steals.

“We did what we’ve been doing all year,” said Monte Vista coach MIKE SKIBBE. “We gave all our players quite a lot of playing time tonight. We were a little sluggish at the beginning, so I had to remind the girls to keep playing hard. I’ve seen a lot of improvement on the team between last year and this year. I’m excited about our chances this year.”

Offense continues to be a problem for the inexperience Patriots.

“We are a very young team – 5 freshmen, 3 sophomores, 1 junior, 1 senior,” said Christian coach SKIP GERLEK. “We are really having trouble getting into our offensive sets. The more we play and the more experience we get, the better we should be. There’s a lot of sunshine in our future.”

Monte Vista scoring: Deanna Bembry 14 (7 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), LiAiesha Brandon 10 (7 reb), Jessica Garcia 6 (5 reb), Dionna Mercer 5, Shantee Woods 4 (5 ast), Alexandra Ross 4, Alexandria Conwright 4, Opal Ross 3, Nichelle Smith 2, Christina Kooyman 2, Kayla Pusey 1.

Christian scoring: Monique Elliott 3, Kara Cartwright 2, Mary Grabowski 2, Makala Bailey 1.

© East County Sports.com
LA JOLLA (12-9-08) — There’s something strange about playing games on Mondays. About the only thing you can count on is to expect the unexpected.

Visiting El Capitan blistered La Jolla, 46-21, on Monday (Dec. 8) in a Vaquero Shootout contest, but Vaqueros coach FRANK QUINONES would not rate the Vaqueros’ fifth victory without a loss as one of their better performances.

Quinones was quick to point out that El Capitan led the Vikings only 15-11 at halftime.

“In the 2nd half, we finally started to play some defense,” he said. “But we never did shoot well. We had plenty of opportunities; it was just an off night. We must have had 30 shots inside the paint.”

As a team El Capitan managed to hit 37 percent of 49 shots from the field. They made only 1-of-10 from above the arc.

Thanks to ASHLEY DUFFY’s 7-for-8 free throw shooting, the Vaqueros did a respectable job from the charity stripe by hitting 9-of-14.

Duffy, who had her poorest shooting night of the season, paced the Vaqueros with 15 points, 11 steals, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks and 7 assists.

“You never know what these girls are thinking,” Quinones said. “I’d like to believe they are excited about going to Arizona.”

El Capitan will vie in the Lady Bears Court Classic in Prescott, Ariz. Quinones noted that the Vaqueros will be the only California team in the 16-team tournament.

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 15 (8 reb, 7 ast, 11 stl, 4 blk), Taylor Autry 9 (4 reb, 3 stl), Amber Rel-Solia 8 (6 reb), Megan Drennen 4 (4 reb), Chelsey Kyle 4, Emily Sutton 3 (6 reb), Marissa Pitman 3 (3 reb, 2 stl).

SCRIPPS RANCH 62, VALHALLA 22 – Junior TENISHA LEE rolled a double-double of 10 points and 15 rebounds in Monday (Dec. 8) night’s Matador Classic, but the visiting Norsemen were no match for Scripps Ranch.

Lee made 4-of-5 shots from the field and the team’s only two free throws.

Excluding Lee, the rest of the Norsemen made only 6-of-34 shots from the field.

Valhalla was 0-for-10 from the 3-point line.

“We are young and we are going through growing pains,” said Valhalla coach CARLOS MOSS. “We are improving game by game. It’s going to take us some time to get things together.”

Valhalla scoring: Tenisha Lee 10 (15 reb, 2 stl), Kelsey Cartmill 2 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), MacKenzie Cartmill 2, Ashlee Alfonso 2 (1 blk), Karissa Ferrell 2, Torrey Rook 2 (2 reb, 2 blk), Danielle Wilson 2 (2 reb), Chelsea Hale (2 reb).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-7-08) — HEATHER SPRINGE scored 27 points, dished 5 assists, made 5 steals and collected 6 rebounds, as Grossmont concluded a four-game sweep to capture the Grossmont Thanksgiving Classic championship Saturday (Dec. 6) by knocking off previously unbeaten Orange Glen, 59-34.

The Foothillers (4-0) had the hot hand, netting 21-of-39 shots from the field for 54 percent. It’s a good thing that the Hillers were good from 2-point range because they made only 5-of-15 free throws and 4-of-14 three-point attempts.

“We came out slow,” said Foothillers coach MEGAN LONG. “Orange Glen jumped out 8-0, but we finally got our act together and battled back. I was pleased with our defense today. We took away what they wanted to do and made them work for their baskets.”

Springe connected on 12-of-24 shots from the field – 2 of them 3-pointers – and tacked on a free throw to establish a career high.

TERRA MUSGROVE was a force in the middle for the Foothillers, knocking down 8-of-14 shots for the Foothillers on her way to an 18-point finish. The 5-foot-10 senior also led Grossmont with 9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. She also garnered 4 steals.

“It’s nice to have two players like Heather and Terra in our lineup. They are both seniors and give us a good inside-outside presence. The other players feed off their efforts.”

Grossmont scoring: Heather Springe 27 (6 reb., 7 ast, 5 stl), Terra Musgrove 18 (9 reb, 3 blk, 4 stl), Danielle Balderas 9 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Carly Applegate 3 (5 reb), Frankie Treadwell 2 ( 3 reb., 3 ast), Chanel Putras (4 ast, 3 stl).

STEELE CANYON 54, EL CAMINO 33 – A year ago G’KIA MYLES’ contributions of Steele Canyon ’s success consisted almost exclusively of rebounds. But Myles is proving to become more of a complete player as she displayed in Saturday’s (Dec. 6) Lady Monarchs Invitational championship game.

A 6-foot-1 senior, Myles led the Cougars with a powerful double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds to help subdue the visiting Wildcats (4-1).

J.V. BARBARIN was named tournament MVP. The 5-foot-8 junior rolled a double-double in every one of the five games Steele Canyon has played thus far this season.

As the only undefeated team in the tournament, Steele Canyon, which played an early game, was declared champions, even though later games were scheduled.

“It was time for the second unit to step up, and they did today when we needed them to do so,” said Cougars coach PENNY SMITH.

Steele Canyon scoring: G’kia Myles 17 (14 reb, 3 blk), J.V. Barbarin 12 (11 reb, 4 blk, Gabrielle Beasley 8 (2 reb, 3 stl), Samantha Vernon 5 (8 reb, 3 blk), 2 stl), Christina Williams 5 (5 reb, 6 ast, 5 stl), Mace Alameri 4 (2 reb., 3 ast, 2 stl), Michelle Beasley 2 (3 ast, 2 stl), Jasmine Daigle 1 (2 stl).

HELIX 52, BONITA VISTA 27 – The undefeated Highlanders outscored visiting Bonita Vista at every quarter as they rolled their Matador Classic record to 3-0 on Saturday (Dec. 6).

“By far the best player on the floor tonight was SINOI LEASAU,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. “She played her usual strong game on defense and stepped up on offense when we really needed it.”

The 5-foot-5 senior wing took the leadership role that her coaches hoped she would by hammering down 18 points while snagging 4 rebounds and making 3 steals. The big thing is Leasau netted half of her 14 field goals, including one trey.

Senior MARIAH WALKER was a stealth weapon for the Highlanders, hitting 5-of-6 shots and 2-of-4 free throws for 12 points to go along with 6 rebounds.

“I didn’t know what to expect tonight,” said Hansen. “Our defense created several turnovers. It took us until the 3rd quarter to finally put the game away. We set some good screens on offense and got some good open looks at the basket.”

Helix scoring: Sinoi Leasau 18 (4 reb, 3 stl), Mariah Walker 12 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Kim Scott 7 (2 reb, 2 ast), Cierra Coleman 5, Brittnay Jenkins 3, Kristina Scott 2 (4 reb), Chanelle McNutt 2 (5 reb), Simone Corder 2 (3 reb), Jacqueline Smith 1 (6 reb).

EL CAPITAN 52, HORIZON 42 – Senior ASHLEY DUFFY continued her dominating play with 16 points, 13 rebounds, 17 steals, 8 assists and 2 blocks as El Capitan posted its 4th straight victory over visiting Horizon in Saturday night’s Vaquero Shootout.

In four games Duffy has had 3 triple-doubles and a one quadruple-double.

But on this night it was no solo effort.

Senior TAYLOR AUTRY enjoyed one of her best games ever, scoring 15-points, while gathering 4 rebounds and dishing 4 assists.

“Taylor Autry stepped up big for us tonight – 11 of her 15 points in the first half,” said El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES. “Then she went down in the 4th quarter with a head injury, but later returned to the game.”

Kimberly Fluornoy accounted for 17 points for Horizon, 10 off of fast breaks.

“When Taylor went down we kinda went stagnant, because they were concentrating on Duffy,” Quinones said. “Taylor was our weapon tonight.”

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 16 (13 reb, 8 ast, 2 blk, 17 stl), Taylor Autry 15 (4 reb, 4 ast), Amber Rel-Solia 6 (4 reb), Marissa Pitman 6 (2 reb, 2 ast), Megan Drennen 3 (2 stl), Emily Sutton 3 (2 stl), Darian Borras 2, Chelsey Kyle 2.

MONTE VISTA 65, KEARNY 47 – Playing in their second game of Saturday’s (Dec. 6) Lady Monarchs Invitational action, Monte Vista (2-3) didn’t play like a team that had a game under their belt already.

The main reason the Monarchs were much better in the matinee was that they had their full complement of players.

“We played real well tonight,” said Monte Vista coach MIKE SKIBBE. “We had a great 3rd quarter. It seems that in every game we’ve played this season we’ve played well in the 3rd quarter.”

The Monarchs outscored the Komets 20-8 in the 3rd quarter.

DEANNA BEMBRY scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, notching her second double-double this year.

“We gave everybody some good minutes tonight,” said Skibbe.

KAYLA PUSEY and LiAIESHA BRANDON each scored in double digits, 11 and 10 points respectively.

Kearny cut a 19-point deficit to 5 early in the 3rd quarter.

“Then we sprinted out to a comfortable lead,” Skibbe noted. “The gals learned how to close out a game tonight.”

Monte Vista scoring: Deanna Bembry 18 (14 reb), Kayla Pusey 11, LiAiesha Brandon 10, Alexandria Conwright 7, Stefanie Banks 4, Alexandra Ross 4,

Shantee Woods 4, Dionna Mercer 2, Opal Ross 2, Randi Houser 2, Nichelle Smith 1.

EL CAMINO 58, MONTE VISTA 32 – The Monarchs were short-handed as three of their key players were taking an S.A.T. test during Saturday’s (Dec. 6) double-header Lady Monarchs Invitational game.

“They jumped on us early,” Skibbe said of El Camino (4-0), alluding to the 21-3 drubbing the Monarchs endured in the 1st quarter. “This was a learning experience for us. But I thought we had a really good 3rd and 4th quarter.”

Monte Vista scoring: Deanna Bembry 12 (12 reb, 2 stl), Alexandria Conwright 10, Dionna Mercer 5 (2 stl), LiAiesha Brandon 2, Shantee Woods 2, Nichelle Smith 1, Opal Ross (6 reb), Kayla Pusey (4 reb).

SAN PASQUAL 40, GRANITE HILLS 37 – The host Eagles were playing chase from the outset on Saturday’s (Dec. 6) Vaquero Shootout contest at San Pasqual. But they never caught up.

“San Pasqual led the whole game between eight and 10 points until we made a run on them at the end,” said Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER.

Parker credited freshman JESSICA HARRIS for “keeping us in it.” Harris finished with 10 points, two less than team leader SABRINA JIMENEZ.

“We have four ninth graders who are just getting used to playing with a shot clock,” Parker said. “I have to credit Sabrina for doing a good job helping our young girls come along.”

Granite Hills scoring: Sabrina Jimenez 12, Jessica Harris 10, Lauren Bender 9, Maddy Sheeran 3, Keji Kubari 3.

MOUNT MIGUEL 69, SAN DIEGO 47 – No other information was available for this Matador Classic contest on Saturday (Dec. 6).

Mount Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 22 (7 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl), Shataera Anderson 14 (6 reb, 2 ast), Myishia Watkins 10 (3 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Nicole Fountain 9 (7 reb), Shay Young 6 (6 reb), Danielle Miller 6 (6 reb), Chantel Yell 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-6-08) — For a rookie coach, MEGAN LONG is off to a pretty decent head start at Grossmont High.

Long’s Foothillers need a victory over Orange Glen Saturday (Dec. 6) at 3:30 to complete a 4-game sweep in the championship of the Grossmont Thanksgiving Classic.

Given the way the Foothillers have played thus far, the trophy shops could engrave Grossmont’s name right now.

The Foothillers (3-0) overpowered San Marcos in Friday’s (Dec. 5) semifinals, cruising to a 46-23 victory. It could have been a lot worse had Grossmont chosen to make it that way, as the Hillers led 16-4 after one quarter, and 38-10 after three periods.

Senior forward TERRA MUSGROVE was solid in the middle for Grossmont, blocking 6 shots, snaring 10 rebounds, making 5 steals and cashing in 10 points.

CHANEL PUTRAS didn’t have a big shooting night but led the team with 6 assists and collected 4 steals.

“We got off to a good start and shot well in the 1st half,” said Long. “We played a sloppy 2nd half – too many turnovers. Our defense was good all night and we had a good balance. A lot of players are making important contributions to each game for us.”

Grossmont scoring: Heather Springe 22 (8 reb, 5 stl), Terra Musgrove 10 (10 reb, 6 blk, 5 stl), Chanel Putras 6 (2 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl), Frankie Treadwell 4 (3 reb), Danielle Balderas 2 (4 reb), Jessie Edgil 2 (2 reb), Carly Applegate (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl).

MOUNT MIGUEL 58, OUR LADY OF PEACE 45 – For the first time in five games No. 3-ranked Mount Miguel finally faced some legitimate competition in Friday’s (Dec. 5) Matador Classic against Our Lady of Peace.

The Matadors, who are rarely tested by a team in the San Diego Section, had to notice the scoreboard showing them on top only 44-36 after three quarters.

But this is a talented crew that can get away with a victory even when they make only 9 of 24 free throws. Despite being challenged by the visiting Pilots, the Matadors came together with a balanced offense with DANESIA WILLIAMSON’s 17 points topping four players in double figures.

What was missing from Mount Miguel ’s usual game was 3-point shooting. The Matadors’ long-range shooting ace MYISHIA WATKINS hit a pair of treys and NICOLE FOUNTAIN hit a third.

“We definitely have to get better in a lot of areas,” was all Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL had to say.

Mount Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 17 (5 reb, 2 ast), Myishia Watkins 13 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Nicole Fountain 13 (4 reb), Danielle Miller 10 (2 reb, 2 stl), Shataera Anderson 4 (5 reb, 2 stl), Shay Young 2 (6 reb).

MISSION BAY 35, VALHALLA 24 – Scoring only two points in the first quarter is never a good sign, and that was the case for the visiting Valhalla Norsemen in Friday’s (Dec. 5) Matador Classic contest at Mission Bay.

Valhalla (1-3) was forced to play catch-up the rest of the way and never did catch the Buccaneers.

It was a wicked day of shooting for Valhalla, which failed to make any of its 10 three-point attempts and shot less than 22 percent overall.

NICHOLE MILLER managed to net 6-of-12 free throws to lead Valhalla with 8 points and 10 rebounds.

DANIELLE WILSON collected 9 rebounds and made 4 steals but scored only 3 points.

“We weren’t all the way there tonight ­– we weren’t ready to play,” said BREE MARTIN, former Norsemen basketball player, a 2008 graduate and now an assistant coach at Valhalla. “It was a rough game for our first road contest. We lacked effort and we are not cohesive at all.”

Valhalla scoring: Nichole Miller 8 (10 reb, 1 blk), Torrey Rook 6 (4 reb), Danielle Wilson 3 (9 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Tenisha Lee 2 (8 reb, 1 blk, 3 stl), Kelsey Cartmill 2 (5 reb), MacKenzie Cartmill 1 (2 reb, 2 ast), Chelsea Hale 1 (2 reb), Ashlee Alfonso 1 (2 reb), Karissa Ferrell (2 stl).

© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (12-5-08) — Undefeated Santana fell behind 9-0 to 9th-ranked Mt. Carmel in the first five minutes of Thursday’s (Dec. 4) Vaquero Shootout contest.

“Somehow we just battled back a little bit,” said Santana coach JIM MOTTERSHAW.

And then some.

Santana (3-0) used a third quarter 23-11 spring board to put Mt. Carmel on its heels and continued on to post a 53-46 early-season upset.

Still, the victory didn’t come easy. Santana gave up the first seven points in the 3rd quarter.

The physical battle began in the first period when Santana senior floor leader LAUREN MUELLER took an elbow to the nose that drew blood. She missed the rest of the first half.

“She came out at halftime with cotton stuffed in her nose,” said Mottershaw. “She wanted to play, her parents said OK, and she played a great all-around game. She was definitely our leader.”

KIM GROSS was a stalwart for Santana with 14 points and 9 rebounds.

JAMIE ELIAS added 14 points, including a pair of treys, while ALYSSA PADBERG punched in 13 points, including 5-of-6 free throws.

Santana scoring: Kim Gross 14 (9 reb), Jamie Elias 14, Alyssa Padberg 13, Kaila Smith 8, Amanda Grable 2, Marjie Panknin 2, Lauren Mueller (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl).

WEST HILLS 49, MORSE 38 – Despite scoring only three points in the 3rd quarter, West Hills was able to post its third straight win Thursday night (Dec. 4), taming the Tigers by a comfortable margin in a Matador Classic game.

“We played a good first half, both offensively and defensively,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “We had foul trouble in the 3rd quarter and came out real flat. We let them back in the game.”

One of the reasons the Wolf Pack offense short circuited in the 3rd period was that junior MARILYN NADERHOFF picked up her fourth foul and had to sit for that quarter.

West Hills (3-0) led 31-13 at halftime and appeared to be on its way to a rout before Naderhoff encountered her foul problems.

Once Naderhoff returned to the lineup in the fourth quarter, West Hills regained its stride.

“Having Marilyn back helped stabilize us and we settled down and played solid basketball in the 4th quarter,” Kinser noted.

Despite missing much of the game Naderhoff managed to lead the team with 17 points and 5 assists.

KIMMIE CLARK landed 4 three-point shots to lead the Pack’s supporting cast with a dozen points.

AMBER DARBY turned in a solid performance with a game-high 10 rebounds and 8 points for the unbeaten Pack.

West Hills scoring: Marilyn Naderhoff 17 (4 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Kimmie Clark 12 (2 ast), Amber Darby 8 (10 reb), Corryn Kivett 6 (2 reb, 2 ast), Brooke Spradlin 4 (2 reb), Shelby Russo 2 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Danielle Hays (2 stl), Connie Hines (3 reb).

HELIX 59, SD-SOUTHWEST 27 – SINOI LEASAU’s scoring talents have been overshadowed by BRITTANY WILLIAMS for most of her career.

Williams has since graduated and moved on to play for the San Jose State Spartans.

Seems Leasau is primed to fill Williams’ shoes. A 5-foot-5 senior wing, Leasau scored a career high 31 points in Thursday’s (Dec. 4) Matador Classic romp over the Raiders of San Diego Southwest.

Leasau buried 13 of 26 shots from the field – including a trio of threes – and added a pair of free throws for her banner scoring night.

But Leasau’s career best night wasn’t all about scoring. She also grabbed 10 rebounds, pocketed 4 steals and handed out 3 scoring passes.

JACQUELINE SMITH shared game high rebounds with Leasau, while KIMBERLEY SCOTT added 9 points.

Helix scoring: Sinoi Leasau 31 (10 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Kim Scott 9 (2 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Mariah Walker 6 (3 reb, 2 stl), Jacqueline Smith 5 (10 reb), Chanelle McNutt 4, Kristina Scott 2 (2 stl), Iesha Murray 2.

HORIZON 55, GRANITE HILLS 54 — This one had to hurt.

Granite Hills built a 15-point lead and then lost 6-foot senior post LAUREN BENDER (15 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, 5 steals) to fouls. That’s when the game changed.

Horizon caught fire in the final eight minutes, hitting six 3-pointers on its way to a 28-point scoring spree – just enough to deny the Eagles a major victory.

The Panthers’ Monique Correia hit the game-winning field goal with 4 seconds remaining. Granite Hills’ SABRINA JIMENEZ (13 points, 7 assists) missed a half-court field goal at the buzzer.

“I told the girls after the game that we have to learn how to put a team away when we have a chance,” Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER. “We couldn’t do that tonight.”

Granite Hills scoring: Lauren Bender 15 (8 reb, 5 blk, 5 stl), Sabrina Jimenez 13 (4 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl), Jessica Harris 7 (5 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Hailey Garner 5 (3 reb), Maddy Sheeran 4, Alyssa Canoff 4, Cora Leonard 2 (4 reb), Lauren Koblischke 2 (13 reb, 3 stl), Keji Kubari 2 (4 reb, 2 blk).

CORONADO 30, EL CAJON VALLEY 27 (OT) – Coach RANDY ROBINSON’s El Cajon Valley Braves found themselves in a see-saw battle and then some as Thursday’s (Dec. 4) non-league encounter dragged into overtime before the Islanders escaped with the victory.

With 30 seconds left, El Cajon Valley’s JEENA ESHO hit a 3-point shot to tie the game at 27-27, sending the game into overtime.

Esho led the Braves with 10 points, the majority coming on two three-pointers.

But it was not a big shooting night for El Cajon Valley as a whole. The Braves put through just 14 of 61 shots from the floor and 3-of-10 free throws.

“Saturday is shooting practice day,” Robinson said. “I will say it was a very intense game. We play much better basketball than we have in years past. We are improving.”

There is plenty of room for improvement. But Robinson did note the Braves’ aggressive defensive play.

“Coronado had 40 turnovers, and we caused 25 of them,” he said. “We played very hard defensively, we just couldn’t finish. But for putting in a layup, we could have won tonight.”

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jeena Esho 10 (2 reb), Kaylani Faten 6 (8 reb), Erin Robinson 5 (4 reb, 3 stl), Hazel Doe 2 (5 reb, 5 stl), Tericka Williams 2 (9 reb, 4 stl), Samantha Julien 2 (3 reb).

OLYMPIAN df. CHRISTIAN – No report.

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (12-04-08) — Mount Miguel freshman SHAY YOUNG enjoyed another big night for the Matadors in Wednesday’s (Dec. 3) 63-48 Matador Classic victory over San Pasqual. The center poured in a career-high 22 points while plucking 11 caroms off the glass.

“Shay had a really nice game,” said Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL. “She’s just a freshman now, but she has a chance to be a good one. She outruns people and definitely outworks them.”

Young is also averaging just a tick less than 9 rebounds per outing.

MYISHIA WATKINS added 14 points, the majority coming on a trio of triples. The sophomore guard has nailed 11 three-pointers for the Matadors (4-0).

Senior DANESIA WILLIAMSON settled for 13 points, but kept up her pinpoint passing with 8 assists. The USD-bound guard was also a ballhawk on defense with 7 steals.

“San Pasqual is a good team, and they’re going to beat some people,” Sandoval said. “But they never got closer than 12 to us in the second half.”

Mount Miguel scoring: Shay Young 22(11 reb), Myishia Watkins 14 (3 reb), Danesia Williamson 13 (8 ast, 7 stl, 3 reb), Danielle Miller 7 (6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Shataera Anderson 4 (2 reb, 2 ast), Nicole Fountain 3 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl).

EL CAPITAN 51, SAN MARCOS 39 – For a coach who watched his team post its third win without a loss, El Capitan’s FRANK QUIONNES was not overly pleased by Wednesday’s (Dec. 3) Vaquero Shootout win over visiting San Marcos.

“I think we had the same problem La Costa Canyon had – they turned the ball over 30 times,” Quionnes said. “We did the same thing tonight. You’re always going to have an off night.”

No matter, though, ASHLEY DUFFEY coined a nifty triple double of 26 points, 14 rebounds and 13 steals. TAYLOR AUTRY added 12 rebounds and 9 rebounds,

“We got through by the skin of our chinny chin-chin,” Quionnes said. “Overall the girls are playing well. Tonight was an off night and we got lucky and pulled it out. Our bigs – sophomores Sutton, Drennen and Rel-Solia – are all still learning. Between the three of them they had 15 rebounds. Offensively our game is coming around.”

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 26 (14 reb, 4 ast, 13 stl), Taylor Autry 12 (9 reb, 7 ast, 1 blk, 5 stl), Megan Drennen 7 (3 reb, 2 blk), Marissa Pitman 3 (3 reb), Amber Rel-Solia 2 (5 reb), Emily Sutton 1 (7 reb).

SANTANA 54, VALLEY CENTER 33 – Santana’s Sultans made it two wins in as many starts in Wednesday’s (Dec. 3) Vaquero Shootout, but coach JIM MOTTERSHAW was somewhat less than elated.

“We didn’t shoot very well,” he said. “We made the game closer than it should have been. I was happy with our defensive effort. We did a good job of shutting down their offense.”

Santana generated enough offense in the second and fourth quarters, outscoring the Jaguars 37-18 over those 16 minutes.

Unlike in the season opener, where JAMIE ELIAS carried the ball almost exclusively, the Sultans tonight produced balance. KAILA SMITH, LAUREN MUELLER and Elias had 10 points apiece while DELIA FILES and ALYSSA PADBERG punched in 8 points apiece.

Files led Santana on the boards with 10 caroms, while Padberg handed out 6 scoring passes, giving her 15 assists in two games.

Santana scoring: Jamie Elias 10 (7 stl), Kaila Smith 10, Lauren Mueller 10, Delia Files 8 (10 reb), Alyssa Padberg 8 (6 ast), Samantha White 6, Kim Gross 2.

STEELE CANYON 71, HOOVER 15 – It was the fourth straight double-double for the varsity’s J.V. BARBARIN as she hit 10 of 13 shots from the floor for 23 points and hauled down 14 rebounds to ignite Steele Canyon ’s rout over visiting Hoover in Wednesday’s (Dec. 4) Lady Monarchs Invitational.

The 5-foot-8 Barbarin is averaging 18.5 points and 12 rebounds in her four starts for the undefeated Cougars (4-0).

Probably the most impressive part of her game is her shooting from the field where she’s connected on 29 of 40 shots (74 percent). Barbarin missed only two of nine shots from the field against the Cardinals.

Steele Canyon bolted to a 19-2 first quarter lead and extended that advantage to 45-7 by intermission.

“We wanted to make the game into a defensive game,” said Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH. “I was pleased with our defense. I’ve been trying to impress upon our girls how important defense is. I think they are finally getting to realize this.”

Steele Canyon scoring: J.V. Barbarin 23 (14 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Christina Williams 13 (3 reb, 8 ast, 5 stl), Julianne Kolegraff 8 (2 reb, 5 ast), G’kia Myles 6 (7 reb), Gabrielle Beasley 5 (4 reb, 3 stl), Samantha Vernon 4 (7 reb), Mace Alameri 4 (3 reb, 2 stl), Michelle Beasley 4 (3 reb), Janique Cofield 3 (5 reb), Jessica Domby 1 (2 reb), Yvette Phipps (3 reb).

WEST HILLS 61, HILLTOP 40 – Even though West Hills coach RYAN KINSER realized his squad was playing short-handed for a variety of reasons he had to be pleased that his mini crew came through for a second straight Matador Classic victory.

“We came out a little slow at the start. We didn’t shoot well early. We had a good 2nd and 3rd quarter – everything seemed to fall into place. I was pleased with the way we played defense tonight. We didn’t allow many second opportunities. It’s been tough playing shorthanded, but the players have adjusted well to it. I like the chemistry on this team.”

West Hills scoring: Corryn Kivett 15 (5), Shelby Russo 10 (4 reb, 2 stl), Amber Darby 10 (7 reb), Kimmie Clark 9 (4 reb), Marilyn Naderhoff 8 (3 reb, 3 ast), Danielle Hays 5, Connie Hines 4 (7 reb, 5 stl), Brooke Spradlin (3 reb).

SWEETWATER 81, VALHALLA 45 – The short-handed Norsemen were never in this Matador Classic game against visiting Sweetwater Wednesday (Dec. 4).

With only six players available to coach CARLOS MOSS’ squad – some of his players were ill and some were at a choir function – the Norsmen (1-2) managed to stay within striking distance, trailing by only five after one quarter.

Fatigue started to set in in the 2nd quarter as the Red Devils (1-1) blazed to a 28-14 scoring advantage during the 8-minute period. It was all downhill from there.

Senior point guard KELSEY CARTMILL led Valhalla with 13 points and 5 assists.

TENISHA LEE paced the Norsemen on the boards with a dozen rebounds.

“Sweetwater shot great – they were sharpshooters all night,” Moss said. “They broke the game open in the 2nd quarter. We had only six available players and we couldn’t move players around like I wanted to.”

Valhalla scoring: Kelsey Cartmill 13 (2 reb, 5 ast), Chelsea Hale 4 (3 reb, 1 blk, 3 stl), Tenisha Lee 8 (12 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Karissa Ferrell 8 (2 reb, 2 stl), Torrey Rook 6 (7 reb), Wilson 6 (6 reb, 1 blk).

© East County Sports.com
CARMEL VALLEY (12-3-08) — In an early season showdown between Top 10 teams, West Hills, rated No. 10, got the best of host Cathedral Catholic, which claimed the preseason rankings of No. 3 and No. 5 (See Chart, right).

So much for the pundits’ early guesses.

Rumor has it that Cathedral Catholic was playing without two of their “better players,” but West Hills wasn’t exactly at full strength either.

Bottom line: the Wolf Pack rolled to a 54-43 Matador Classic victory over the Dons on Tuesday (Dec. 2)

“We played without two of our experienced players – SHERIKA MILLER has a broken hand – and the other player is having problems with her academics,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “We hope to have both of them back by the first of the year.”

KIMMIE CLARK fueled the offensive fire for West Hills with a game-high 19 points, including 3 triples along with 4 assists. SHELBY RUSSO added 11 points.

The Wolf Pack gang-tackled the backboards as KIM DARBY and CONNIE HINES led the way with 7 rebounds apiece.

Trailing 8-6 after one period, West Hills outscored Cathedral 39-20 in the middle two quarters, and then held on for the win.

“We started out slow, very sluggish in the first quarter,” Kinser said. “It took us over one quarter to start playing the way we know we can play. We ran our offense well, played good defense and hit the boards hard. Because we are missing two key players, I impressed upon the girls that it was time for everyone to step up and play hard.”

“I was happy that we held Cathedral’s Victoria Lippert (who is headed for Harvard) to 18 points,” Kinser noted.

West Hills scoring: Kimmie Clark 19 (2 reb, 4 ast), Shelby Russo 11 (4 reb, 2 stl), Corryn Kivett 7 (4 reb, 2 ast), Amber Darby 7 (7 reb), Marilyn Naderhoff 4 (2 reb, 2 ast), Connie Hines 3 (7 reb, 3 stl), Danielle Hays 2 (4 ast), Brooke Spaldin 1.

SANTANA 54, CARLSBAD 45 – For a season opener, Santana’s veteran coach JIM MOTTERSHAW was pleased how well his Sultans performed in Tuesday’s (Dec. 2) Vaquero Shootout encounter in North County.

“Considering this was their third game and our first time out, I thought we did pretty well,” Mottershaw said.

The coach certainly couldn’t ask more from senior JAMIE ELIAS, who drilled in a game-high 24 points – half of them coming on 3-point shots.

The Sultans found themselves down 34-24 at intermission but came out firing in the 3rd quarter. Elias nailed 3 of her treys in the 3rd quarter as Santana forged in front 40-38.

“Defense was the key,” Mottershaw said. “I’ve been coaching for 42 years and I haven’t really changed my defensive style, so we’re probably not going to surprise anybody.”

KAILA SMITH led the Sultans with 5 steals, while ALYSSA PADBERG dished 9 assists.

“We play half-court man-to-man defense and it was very effective because we played it with passion and intensity in the 2nd half,” Mottershaw added. “We did a much better job of denying their cutters and their penetration. I liked our effort.”

Santana scoring: Jamie Elias 24 (5 reb), Kim Gross 10, Kaila Smith 9 (5 reb, 5 stl), Alyssa Padberg 5 (6 reb, 9 ast), Lauren Mueller 4 (3 ast), Samantha White 2.

MONTE VISTA 50, HOOVER 43 – It was only a small step but second-year coach MIKE SKIBBE will take it. The Monarchs, who finished 2-25 a year ago needed only three games this season to break into the win column as they whipped visiting Hoover in a Lady Monarchs Invitational game on Tuesday (Dec. 2).

Victory did not come easy, however, as Hoover led 15-10 after one quarter and by 3 points at halftime.

It was Monte Vista’s 14-4 scoring spread that swung momentum to their side in the 3rd quarter.

“We’re young and we’re playing hard and finishing,” said Skibbe. “In the 4th quarter when everyone was running up and down the floor we were there and maintained our game plan – made the other team run a little bit.”

ALEXANDRIA CONWRIGHT set the scoring pace for Monte Vista (1-2) with 15 points.

Sophomore DEANNA BEMBRY was a force inside, chipping in 13 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and dishing 5 assists for the Monarchs.

“I’m excited about this group,” Skibbe said. “We have two seniors, four juniors, five sophomores and two freshmen and everybody is touching the floor. Our strength is in our sophomore class. We want to get to the point where our freshmen can stay on the freshman team and not have to bring them up. That’s the mark of a quality program.”

Monte Vista scoring: Alexandria Conwright 15, Deanna Bembry 13 (15 reb, 5 ast),), LiAiesha Brandon 10, Kayla Pusey 6 (6 reb), Opal Ross 4, Stefanie Banks 2, Dionna Mercer (2 ast), Christina Kooyman (2 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 65, VISTA 29 – The visiting Matadors netted 8 three-pointers and turned up their defensive intensity in the 2nd half to blow out the Panthers in a Vaquero Shootout game in North County Tuesday (Dec. 2).

After a sluggish first game, DANESIA WILLIAMSON was back in stride, pouring in a game-high 23 points to spark the Matadors (3-0). She also had 7 steals and 5 assists.

MYISHIA WATKINS buried a trio of treys on her way to a 12-point outing. She now leads the Matadors with 8 three-pointers.

Williamson popped in three shots above the arc, giving her 6 treys on the season.

Despite the lop-sided score, this was a come-from-behind victory for the Matadors, who trailed 13-12 after one period. Mount Miguel managed a 24-19 advantage by the break but broke the game open with a 12-0 run to begin the 3rd quarter.

“We did a good job of sharing the ball,” Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL said. “You can tell that because we had 20 assists as a team. “

Mount Miguel’s pressure seemed to suffocate the Panthers in the 2nd half as the Matadors earned a 41-10 scoring edge.

“When we buckle down and play good defense we’re a pretty good team,” Sandoval added.

Mount Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 23 (4 reb, 5 ast, 7 stl), Myishia Watkins 12 (4 reb, 5 ast), Nicole Fountain 8 (2 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Danielle Miller 9 (6 reb, 2 blk), Shataera Anderson 7 (2 reb, 5 ast), Shay Young 4 (8 reb, 3 stl), Chantel Yell 2 (2 stl).

HILLTOP 65, VALHALLA 27 – Freshman ASHLEE ALFONSO scored 10 points – the majority coming on 2-for-5 shooting from above the arc – but it wasn’t enough for host Valhalla to hold off Hilltop in Tuesday’s (Dec. 2) Matador Classic.

KELSEY CARTMILL chipped in 9 points for Valhalla, as only four Norsemen scored in the contest.

TENISHA LEE paced Valhalla on the boards with 10 rebounds, blocked 3 shots and recorded 3 steals. DANIELLE WILSON also had 4 steals.

“This game tonight reminded me of that old song, “What a Difference a Day Makes,” said Valhalla assistant coach SIG CHABROWSKI, noting that the Norsemen won their season opener on Monday. “We have told the girls that they have to play hard every time out – tonight they didn’t.”

Hilltop broke the game open with a 24-7 scoring spree in the 3rd quarter.

Valhalla scoring: Ashlee Alfonso 10 (2 stl), Kelsey Cartmill 9 (2 reb), Tenisha Lee 7 (10 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk, 4 stl), Daniel Wilson 1 (5 reb, 4 stl), Karissa Ferrell (3 reb), Torrey Rook (4 reb, 1 blk).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 44, CHRISTIAN 27 – No additional information provided for this non-league contest.

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (12-2-08) — Just a few days into the 2008-09 season and you can already see the Mount Miguel Matadors approaching midseason form. Shooting more than 50 percent from the floor and committing a mere 9 turnovers, the Matadors ran their record to 2-0 after pulling away for an easy 83-51 triumph over Carlsbad.

"We're just trying to get to another league championship and another CIF championship – that's our goal," said Mount Miguel senior DANESIA WILLIAMSON, the East County's second-leading scorer (20.4 average) last season). "As far as me going to college, that doesn't matter. I still have to buckle down – Mount Miguel is my No. 1 focus right now."

Williamson, the lone senior on the Matadors, welcomes a strong crop of underclassmen that are quickly bonding together.

"We're not behind, but we need to pick it up, too," added Williamson, who is headed for the University of San Diego next season. "We're very small, but our new kids put in a lot of effort."

Williamson noted the addition of SHAY YOUNG, the team's tallest player at 5-foot-11, even though she is only a freshman.

"From Danesia, I'm learning how to become a team leader and how to stay focused – be emotional, but not too emotional," noted Young, who helped stop Carlsbad inside with three blocked shots, taking a charge to force a turnover, and pacing both ballclubs with eight rebounds. "I need to box out more and get more rebounds, but I like to crash the boards."

"I like to keep my standards high so I have something to work for."

The mix could result in the 9th consecutive Grossmont South League title for head coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL.

"Shay's a freshman who is doing good things, and we have some good, young kids in NICOLE FOUNTAIN, DANIELLE MILLER and MYISHIA WATKINS," noted Sandoval. "We, as a team, need to do better job defensively – giving up 51 points is not acceptable."

Such are the expectations from a coach who has won 74 of his last 75 GSL ballgames during his league championship run.

Fountain matched Williamson for scoring honors with 20 points, hitting 7-of-11 shots from the floor. The junior also registered three steals in the first half, turning a close 18-16 contest into a comfortable 43-25 lead for the Matadors at the intermission.

"My role is play good defense, hit those good shots and – as co-captain – motivate the team," said Fountain, whose older brother, BRANDON FOUNTAIN, was once a starter for the Helix basketball team. "Playing with Danesia is great. I've been with her since our little team, the Lady Bulls, back in 5th grade, so she's basically like my sister."

Fountain and many of her teammates add a speed element which counters Mount Miguel's lack of size.

"Even though our team is small, eventually, we'll reach our potential," Fountain added.

Watkins added 16 points and six steals in the rout of Carlsbad, who played without head coach Randy Bull, who missed his Lancers debut due to a family emergency (his daughter ran the team). Meanwhile, Miller scored 11 of her 15 points in the second quarter when the Matadors extended their lead.

Still, the focus comes back to Williamson, a first-team, All-San Diego Section performer last season who was both the East County and GSL player of the year.

"I've been coaching Danesia since she was in the 6th or 7th grade," Sandoval recalled. "She just does such a good job distributing the ball, making extra passes, knocking down shots when she needs to, and being a leader."

"We talk about making the extra pass and being unselfish. They're doing it on the offensive end, now we need to do it on the defensive end, too. If we can do that, we're going to be a tough team.”

Mount Miguel opened the season ranked among the top ten schools in the county by the region's two major media polls (third in one preseason rankings, fourth in the other).

Mount Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 20 (8 ast, 6 stl), Nicole Fountain 20 (5 reb), Myishia Watkins 16 (5 stl, 4 ast), Danielle Miller 15 (4 stl, 3 ast, 3 blk), Shay Young 9 (8 reb, 3 blk), Shataera Anderson 3 (6 reb, 2 stl).

VALHALLA 54, SAN DIEGO-SOUTHWEST 26 – After a sluggish first half, the Norsemen used a 24-7 third-quarter blitz to send the visiting Raiders packing in Monday’s (Dec. 1) Matador Classic opener at Valhalla.

“It’s nice to be back in East County again,” said Valhalla coach CARLOS MOSS, who has previously coached at Monte Vista, West Hills, Cuyamaca College and last year at Crawford.

“I thought we came out a little nervous but we played a real good game on defense. The effort was there the whole game. Offensively the girls are still adjusting to what we want them to do. I told the girls after the game that they’ll get better each game they play.”

ASHLEY ALFONSO and MacKENZIE CARTMILL paced the Norsemen’s scoring attack with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

TENISHA LEE chipped in with 9 points, 11 rebounds and 5 steals.

Moss realizes he has a young team with only two seniors, including KELSEY CARTMILL and EMILY ROBERTS, who is injured but is expected to return next week.

Said Kelsey Cartmill, “It felt great to get the season going tonight. Coach Moss is a real good coach. He’s very intense. The players have adjusted well to what he is trying to teach us. We’re a very young team. Coach Moss is looking to the experienced players to provide leadership. As a senior, I like being team captain, both on and off the floor.”

Valhalla scoring: Ashlee Alfonso 11 (2 stl), MacKenzie Cartmill 10 (5 ast, 6 stl), Tenisha Lee 9 (11 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 5 stl), Nichole Miller 8 (6 reb., 3 blk, 3 stl), Kelsey Cartmill 6 (4 reb, 2 stl), Chelsea Hale 4 (5 ast, 2 stl), Torrey Rook 4 (6 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl), Karissa Ferrell 2 (2 ast, 2 stl).

STEELE CANYON 64, KEARNY 32 – Second-year head coach PENNY SMITH has to be pleased by the Cougars’ fast start this season.

Sure, the Cougars (3-0) haven’t faced the toughest teams in town, but they haven’t had trouble winning either.

Had Steele Canyon done a better job at the free throw line, they might have beaten Kearny by 50. As it was, the Cougars were only 11-of-29 from the free throw stripe in Monday’s (Dec. 1) Lady Monarch Invitational game held at Mater Dei.

On the flip side Steele Canyon hit better than 47 percent of their 55 shots from the floor.

CHRISTINA WILLIAMS, a 5-foot-2 senior, nailed 7-of-10 shots from the field and tacked on two free throws to finish with a game-high 16 points. She also had 7 rebounds and 5 steals.

J.V. BARBARIN added 10 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals for Steele Canyon, which also received 13 rebounds from G’KIA MYLES and 11 points from GABRIELLE BEASLEY.

Of Kearny ’s 32 points, 6 were field goals and 20 came from the free throw line.

“Our defense was OK but we still have to get better,” said Smith. “We had a rough time on offense in the first half. My halftime talk must have been special because we came out fired up in the 3rd quarter.”

Steele Canyon outscored the Komets 24-9 in the third period to lead 49-22.

Steele Canyon scoring: Christina Williams 16 (7 reb, 5 stl), Gabrielle Beasley 11 (3 reb, 2 stl), J.V. Barbarin 10 (12 reb, 3 stl), Samantha Vernon 8 (9 reb), Julianne Kolegraff 5 (3 reb, 4 stl), Michelle Beasley 5 (2 stl), G’kia Myles 5 (13 reb), Mace Alameri 4 (3 reb, 3 stl), Janique Cofield (6 reb, 3 stl), Yvette Phipps (3 reb).

HOOVER 52, CHRISTIAN 16 – MONIQUE ELLIOTT scored half of Christian’s points in Monday’s (Dec. 1) non-league opener at Hoover.

“It was good to get the season started,” said Christian coach SKIP GERLEK. “I was really pleased with the girls’ efforts. (Hoover) was bigger and more physical than we were. They really beat us in the paint. Some of our girls have never played varsity basketball before, but we are more athletic than we were last year.”

Christian scoring: Monique Elliott 8, Makala Bailey 4, Ricki Gentry 4.

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (11-30-08) — El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES can’t help but be pleased by the fast start ASHLEY DUFFY is having in her senior season.

Duffy, a 5-foot-10 guard, executed a quadruple-double in El Capitan’s 73-45 victory over Valley Center in Saturday’s (Nov. 29) second round of the Vaquero Shootout. She scored 24 points, dished 13 assists, made 11 steals and grabbed 12 rebounds as El Capitan rolled its record to 2-0.

In her two games Duffy is averaging 33 points, 12.5 steals, 10.5 rebounds and 8 assists. On top of that she has missed only one of 18 free throws and popped in four 3-pointers.

While Duffy’s numbers speak for themselves, Quinones is elated by some of the intangibles in her game.

“I have to give Ashley credit,” Quinones said. “There were numerous times she could have scored more tonight, but she was unselfish and dished off so her teammates could score. That’s awesome – it’s a coach’s dream to have a player like her and have her not be selfish.”

Case in point is MARISSA PITMAN, who scored a career-high 19 points.

“Valley Center was double-teaming Ashley, and Marissa stepped up and had 14 of her points in the first half,” Quinones said. “In the second half they had to stop double-teaming Duffy so they could cover Pitman.

“Marissa has some big shoes to fill (taking up where her older sister LIANA PITMAN, who is attending Whittier College, left off) and she’s doing a good job.”

Valley Center took an 8-2 lead in the first quarter before the Vaqueros went on a 36-17 run to take command of the game by halftime.

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 24 (2 blk), Marissa Pitman 19 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Taylor Autry 10, Erica Arie 5 (4 reb), Emily Sutton 6 (5 reb), Megan Dreenen 5 (3 reb), Amber Rel-Solia 2 (2 reb), Chelsey Kyle 2 (2 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 85, SERRA 40 – Sophomore MYISHIA WATKINS scored 14 of her game-high 24 points in the first quarter of Saturday’s (Nov. 29) Matador Classic as visiting Mount Miguel streaked to a 35-16 first quarter lead and then continued to roll over the Conquistadors.

Watkins nailed four 3-pointers in her varsity debut, while doling out 7 assists and recording 5 steals.

Returning sophomore DANIELLE MILLER added an additional 17 points, while point guard DANESIA WILLIAMSON, who was plagued by foul trouble, still managed to contribute 16 points, 8 assists, 8 steals and 5 rebounds.

Freshman SHAY YOUNG chipped in with 13 points and 8 rebounds.

“We shot the ball real well in the first half,” said Matadors coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL. “But our defense needs to improve. This is a good start – a nice way to get our feet wet.”

Unlike the past couple of years where Mount Miguel had a big front line, this year’s group is smaller and quicker. The Matadors’ tallest player is 5-foot-10 Young.

“Yeah, we’re a bunch of midgets again, but I think we’ll do alright,” Sandoval said.

Mount Miguel scoring: Myishia Watkins 24, Danielle Miller 17 (2 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Danesia Williamson 16, Shay Young 13 (2 ast), Nicole Fountain 8 (4 reb, 4 stl), Shataera Anderson 7 (3 reb, 5 ast).

HELIX 74, MISSION BAY 31 – The Helix Highlanders opened up with a balanced attack in Saturday’s (Nov. 29) Matador Classic as four players finished in double scoring digits, led by sophomore KIM SCOTT’s 18 points.

JACQUELINE SMITH and LEXI AUDLEY added 13 points apiece for the Highlanders, who also received 11 from SINOI LEASAU.

“The girls came out and played aggressive defense,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. “We forced a lot of turnovers and hit the boards real hard. We’re not as big a team as we’ve been the last few years. We are much quicker than we’ve been. I thin the girls were a little apprehensive at the start. We overcame that and played well after we settled down.

“KIMBERLY SCOTT, our new point guard, ran the show, kept us going and really handled the ball well.”

Helix scoring: Kim Scott 18 (3 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Lexi Audley 13 (4 ast, 2 reb), Jacqueline Smith 13 (3 reb, 2 stl), Sinoi Leasau 11 (3 reb, 2 stl), Kristina Scott 7 (2 ast, 2 stl), Brittnay Hollie 5 (4 reb), Simone Corder 2, Chanelle McNutt 2 (3 ast), Ieasha Murray 2 (3 reb), Mariah Walker 1 (7 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl).

GROSSMONT 74, OTAY RANCH 13 – The Grossmont Foothillers are making it look easy.

Coach MEGAN LONG’s crew built a 34-5 lead in the opening quarter and never looked back in Saturday’s (Nov. 29) second round of the Grossmont Thanksgiving Classic.

TERRA MUSGROVE hit 7 of 12 shots from the field and half of her 8 free throws to pace the Foothillers with 18 points.

DANIELLE BALDERAS was 5 for 6 on shots above the arc to finish with 17 points.

HEATHER SPRINGE also tallied 17 points along with 7 rebound, 5 steals and 4 assists.

“We limited Otay Ranch to one-shot opportunities all night,” said Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG. “We hit the boards real hard. The girls looked a lot more comfortable with our game plan tonight. They are making the adjustments we need to make each trip down the floor.”

Grossmont scoring: Terra Musgrove 18 (2 ast), Heather Springe 17, Danielle Balderas 17 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Christa Sawyers 9 (6 reb, 2 stl), Frankie Treadwell 4 (3 reb, 4 ast), Chloe Cook 4 (3 reb, 2 stl), Chanel Putras 3 (4 stl), Jessie Edgil 2 (4 reb), Carly Applegate (4 reb).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (11-29-08) — Senior TERRA MUSGROVE scored a career-high 26 points, bagged 8 rebounds, blocked 2 shots and dished 2 assists to lead Grossmont to Friday’s (Nov. 28) season-opening 61-34 victory over El Centro-Central Union in the first round of the Grossmont Thanksgiving Classic.

It was a nice debut for Foothillers first-year head coach MEGAN LONG.

“It felt good to get the season started, we had only five practices and the players had to get to learn a whole new set of plays and defenses,” Long said. “We showed a lot of balance tonight. I told the players to take good shots when they were open. We moved the ball real well and we were very aggressive on the defensive end.”

You might say the Foothillers cornered the Spartans with a 19-3 first-quarter lead and a 16-4 finish.

Grossmont scoring: Terra Musgrove 26 (8 reb, 2 blk), Chanel Putras 12 (4 ast, 6 stl), Heather Springe 10 (6 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk), Carly Applegate 6 (9 reb), Danielle Balderas 5 (5 reb, 4 stl), Frankie Treadwell 2, Jessie Edgil (3 ast).

EL CAPITAN 68, MISSION HILLS 50 – Senior guard ASHLEY DUFFY scored a career-high 42 points as the Vaqueros outscored the Grizzlies in all four quarters of Friday’s (Nov. 28) opening round of the Vaquero Shootout.

Duffy, who has committed to San Diego State University, buried 15 baskets – two of them 3-pointers – and was 10-for-10 from the free throw line. She also recorded 14 steals, snagged 9 rebounds, dished 3 assists and blocked 3 shots.

“ASHLEY DUFFY carried us,” said El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES. “She was 100 percent from the free throw line. Overall I’m very pleased with our team – we have two seniors and rest are sophomores. ( TAYLOR ) AUTRY and Duffy are the only seniors. I give them credit for their leadership.”

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 42 (9 reb, 3 ast, 14 stl, 3 blk), Marissa Pitman 7 (7 reb, 1 blk, 3 stl), Taylor Autry 5 (3 reb, 5 ast), Emily Sutton 5, Amber Rel-Solia 5 (4 reb), Erica Arie 2 (1 blk), Megan Dreenan 2 (6 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 63, VALLEY CENTER 42 – Host Granite Hills sprinted to a 10-1 first quarter lead over the visiting Jaguars and then breezed to an easy opening game victory in Friday’s (Nov. 28) opening round of the Vaquero Shootout.

SABRINA JIMINEZ set the scoring pace for the Eagles with 20 points, including 8 of 10 free throws and 5 assists. LAUREN BENDER added 13 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. LAUREN KOBLISCHKE also had 10 rebounds for the Eagles.

“I was pretty pleased with the way we played tonight,” said Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER. “We had four freshmen who played significant minutes for us. I feel we showed good balance. I like the way we attacked Valley Center on both ends of the floor.”

Granite Hills scoring: Sabrina Jiminez 20 (5 ast), Lauren Bender 13 (11 reb, 2 blk), Alyssa Canoff 7, Haley Garner 6, Jessica Harris 6 (4 reb), Maddy Sheeran 4, Morrie Ybarra 4, Lauren Koblischke 2 (10 reb), Cora Leonard 1, Keji Kunami (3 reb, 2 blk).

STEELE CANYON 61, OCEANSIDE 42 – J.V. BARBARIN hit 7 of 8 shots from the field and half of her 12 free throws to lead Steele Canyon to a come-from-behind victory over Oceanside Friday (Nov. 28) in the opening round of the Lady Monarchs Invitational.

The pivotal point in the Cougars comeback was a 25-11 spread in the second quarter.

“The girls came out nervous in the first quarter,” said Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH. “It took us awhile to settle down. We were able to dictate the pace throughout most of the game. J.V. BARBARIN played an outstanding game.”

Steele Canyon scoring: J.V. Barbarin 20, Gabrielle Beasley 11, Samantha Vernon 9, G’kia Myles 5, Julianne Kolegraff 5, Christina Williams 5, Michelle Beasley 4, Mace Alameri 2.

STEELE CANYON 69, MONTE VISTA 42 – The Cougars took a more aggressive approach in game 2 as they outscored the Monarchs in all four quarters to post their second win in Friday’s (Nov. 28) continuation of the Lady Monarchs Invitational.

J.V. BARBARIN enjoyed another big shooting game, missing only 2 of 9 shots from the field en route to a game-high 21 points. She also garnered 11 rebounds.

GABRIELLE BEASLEY punched in 13 points – 2 more than she had in the earlier game. JULIANNE KOLEGRAFF scored 11 points in the Cougars’ victory. ALEXANDRIA CONWRIGHT paced Monte Vista with 14 buckets.

“It’s rather unusual to play a team from our own league this early in the season,” said Cougars coach PENNY SMITH. “We have to learn from our mistakes and especially how to finish games. Our seniors have learned how to take charge out on the floor.”

Steele Canyon scoring: J.V. Barbarin 21 (11 reb.), Julianne Kolegraff 11, Gabrielle Beasley 13, Mace Alameri 8, Michelle Beasley 6, Samantha Vernon 4 (6 reb), Alana Mickler 3, G’kia Myles 3 (8 reb), Christina Williams (4 reb, 5 stl).

Monte Vista scoring: Alexandria Conwright 14, Deanna Bembry 9, LiAiesha Brandon 7, Kayla Pusey 4, Shantee Woods 2, Randi Houser 2, Opal Ross 2, Stefanie Banks 2.

OCEANSIDE 68, MONTE VISTA 45 – The Monarchs were playing catch-up from the get-go as the Pirates paraded to a 40-19 halftime lead in Friday’s (Nov. 28) opening round of the Lady Monarchs Invitational.

“Both teams played aggressive ball,” said Monte Vista coach MICHAEL SKIBBE, noting there were 32 fouls called in the first half and 12 in the second. “We kept on getting to the rim, we just couldn’t finish. I’m excited about this team. I’m happy with how we are at this time of the year. We’re going to be fine.”

Monte Vista scoring: Opal Ross 8, Shantee Woods 7, Kayla Pusey 6, Nichelle Smith 5, Donna Mercer 5, Alexandria Conwright 4, Deanna Bembry 2, Randi Houser 2, Christina Kooyman 2, LiAiesha Brandon 2, Jessica Garcia 2.

Matadors’ Williamson picks USD © East County Sports.com SPRING VALLEY (10-23-08) — Mount Miguel High's DANESIA WILLIAMSON, arguably one of the top point guards in the CIF San Diego Section, has accepted a basketball scholarship to the University of San Diego. Williamson’s first season with the Toreros will be 2010. Heavily recruited throughout her four-year high school career, the 5-foot-6 Williamson whittled a list of dozens of college choices down to USD, St. Mary’s, Providence, Albany (N.Y.) and Pepperdine. Among the reasons why Williamson selected USD above the rest was the school’s proximity to her Spring Valley home. “Why should I go away when everything I want in a school is right here,” Williamson said. The Toreros uptempo playing style also attracted the attention of Williamson, who a fast-break artist extraordinaire. A balanced player, scoring remains one of Williamson’s strengths. She averaged 20.4 as a junior and 15.2 points as a sophomore. “I love a game that requires getting up and down the court fast,” said Williamson, who has averaged 4.8 assists and 4.0 steals over her last two seasons. Another plus for selecting USD is the school offers Williamson’s major – sociology.

El Capitan's Ashley Duffy signs her NCAA National Letter of Intent with SDSU. (Susan Cooper Photography) Duffy to re-unite with older sister at SDSU © East County Sports.com LAKESIDE (10-28-08) – El Capitan High girls basketball standout ASHLEY DUFFY will join older sister ALLISON DUFFY to play collegiately for the San Diego State Aztecs in the 2010 season. The younger Duffy, now a senior guard for the Vaqueros, said she welcomes another opportunity to play basketball with Allison, who will be a redshirt sophomore for the Aztecs this season. The siblings will have two seasons to play together for the Aztecs. “The chance to play ball with my sister again was a factor in my choosing to go to San Diego State,” Ashley said. “But it wasn’t the only reason. I like coach (SDSU’s Beth) Burns and her staff. I was more comfortable there than I was at USD and some of the other schools. I don’t know exactly why, it was just a feeling I had.” Soon to become a four-year starter, Ashley Duffy averaged 15.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5 assists and 6.7 steals for El Capitan as a junior. “At State they see me as a 2-guard rather than playing the point (like she does at El Capitan ),” she said. “They can also see me playing three. It doesn’t matter. I just want to play.” When she was a sophomore, the younger Duffy thought about leaving the area to attend college. Although schools such as New Mexico, UNLV, Utah, Nevada and UCLA expressed interest in helping her do that, Ashley changed her mind following last season. “I want my family and friends to have a chance to watch me play,” Ashley said. “Anyway, it will sort of be like I went away to school. I’ll be living on campus.”