© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (1-31-09) — In another, seemingly routine day at the office, El Capitan senior ASHLEY DUFFY continued her scoring prowess. The combo guard was nearly unstoppable by pouring home a game-best 38 in Friday's (Jan. 30) Grossmont North League victory over Santana, 60-41, at Foster Gymnasium.

Duffy, who is averaging nearly 24 points per outing, had that total beat by halftime. By connecting on 6-of-9 shots from 3-point range, she produced 26 of the Vaqueros' 32 points. And when a perfect pass by MARISSA PITMAN led to a layin by AMBER REL-SOLIA to open the second half, El Capitan mounted a 20-point lead.

"Tonight was definitely a team effort -- everyone stepped up big," said Duffy, defusing attention from her personal performance. “I couldn't do this by myself and I didn't do this by myself."

Following a slow start, Duffy finished the first period with 13 points, but on 12 shots from the floor. In the second period, 4-for-5 shooting plus a couple of foul shots gave her another 13 points. Many came off passes by TAYLOR AUTRY, who went scoreless on the night, yet contributed heavily with 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

"Our offense can be up-and-down sometimes with our ball movement, but on our defense, we were able to run help-side tonight -- we were talking and defending well inside," added Duffy. "This game was a good confidence boost for us and now we see how we can play when we play together."

Pitman finished with 8 points on 4-for-4 shooting, while DARIAN BORRAS registered 10 points – all in the fourth quarter – to stave off any comeback attempt by the Sultans.

"It was just catch-and-shoot, catch-and-shoot," noted Borras, a sophomore guard. "When I started to do it and make one, my confidence was there."

"I know that at the beginning of the game, I'm a little tense because I'm new to this, so I just have to go out there with confidence and, maybe, get hit in the face with the ball."

Borras took one shot from a loose ball in the face, then also hit her head on the floor on the same play. However, she soon returned and hit three straight outside shots, including a pair of triples to finish with a career scoring high.

Meanwhile, Santana's shaky first half could be attributed to the team going through its third head coach in as many contests. But the current skipper seems to be prepared to remain for the long run.

JEFF BICKFORD will serve as interim coach for the balance of the season following Monday's resignation by JIM MOTTERSHAW. In between, former Sultans coach WADE VICKERY took over for one game while the school administration quickly regrouped.

"It was a tough situation coming in with only one hour-and-a-half practice," added Bickford. "I don't know all of our offensive plays or our (player) rotation – that's my biggest challenge right now. So I will count on our senior leadership to help me."

"But we played a lot harder and made some adjustments and played very well in the second half."

Included was a nice shooting spree by center KAILA SMITH, who made her first four shots from the floor in the third quarter, scoring 12 of her 16 points over the final two quarters. Smith also grabbed 9 rebounds and blocked 3 shots.

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 38 (7 reb, 5 stl, 2 ast), Darian Borras 10, Marissa Pitman 8 (8 reb), Amber Rel-solia 4 (9 reb), Taylor Autry (7 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl), Chelsey Kyle (5 reb).

Santana scoring: Kaila Smith 16 (9 reb, 3 blk, 2 stl), Jamie Elias 10, Alyssa Padberg 6 (2 ast, 2 stl), Lauren Mueller 4, Kim Gross 3 (3 ast), Samantha White 2.

Valhalla remained in contention until late in the third quarter as MacKENZIE CARTMILL hit a 3-pointer to give the Norsemen a 27-26 lead with 1:40 remaining in the period.

Before the third period buzzer sounded, a bucket by SAMANTHA VERNON and a steal and layup by CHRISTINA WILLIAMS put the Cougars back on top 30-27.

In the opening seconds of the fourth quarter EMILY ROBERTS dropped in a pair of free throws for Valhalla to cut the Steele Canyon lead to a single point.

Although it appeared that Steele Canyon was on the verge of turning the game into a blowout, the Norsemen refused to buckle.

Cartmill hit her third 3-pointer to leave the Norsemen trailing only 37-34 with 3:30 to play.

After that, however, it was all about Steele Canyon as the Cougars scored 16 of the final 19 points. JANVIER BARBARIN led the way with 8 points.

Barbarin finished with a game-best 18 points, most of it coming from the free throw line where she converted 10 of 16 chances.

“In the first half it was obvious that we were not mentally prepared,” said senior point guard CHRISTINA WILLIAMS, who finished with 11 points, 3 rebounds, 5 blocks and 8 steals. “I think we underestimated them – thought we’d just go in and win easily. It wasn’t till the second half that we got it together.”

Perhaps the biggest turning point in the game was when Valhalla’s NICHOLE MILLER fouled out with Steele Canyon leading 35-31 and 4:10 remaining. The loss of the 5-foot-11 junior was obvious as she collected 14 rebounds, made 8 steals, dished 3 assists and blocked 3 shots to go along with 6 points.

“I know we were only behind by 4 when I fouled out, but I felt bad about that,” said Miller. “We played well in the first half but not so good in the second.”

Steele Canyon outscored Valhalla 38-18 over the final two periods.

“I know it’s our defense that turned the game around,” said Williams. “ Valhalla killed us with their trap in the first half, but then we got more patient and brought things back our way.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Janvier Barbarin 18 (9 reb, 3 stl, 4 blk), Christina Williams 11 (3 reb, 5 blk, 8 stl), Gabrielle Beasley 8 (2 reb, 4 stl), Janique Cofield 4 (4 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl), G’kia Myles 4 (5 reb, 3 stl), Michelle Beasley 4 (5 stl, 1 blk), Julianne Kolegraff 2 (3 reb), Samantha Vernon 2, Alana McClure (2 reb), Mace Alameri (1 blk).

Valhalla scoring: MacKenzie Cartmill 15, Nichole Miller 6, Kelsey Cartmill 5, Karissa Ferrell 4, Danielle Wilson 4, Emily Roberts 3.

The Granite Hills Eagles working hard at practice.

The Eagles (14-7), who have scored 131 points in their last two games, used a 23-8 scoring spread in the second quarter to run their league record 4-0. That leaves them tied with perennial power Mount Miguel. These two teams will collide Tuesday (Feb. 3) in the Eagles’ nest.

LAUREN BENDER, a 6-foot senior center, added 14 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks in one of her better games of the season. Bender, who was bothered by an ankle injury early in the season seems to be gaining firm footing, which is good news for the Eagles.

“It was a really good game for us,” said Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER. “I still think we can play better. We got good effort from Sabrina and Lauren and our bench played real well. We moved the ball well, we had good open shots and we played excellent defense.”

Helix senior SINOI LEASAU scored 11 of her team-best 21 points in the first quarter, but the Highlanders (11-11, 2-2 GSL) were still on the short end of a 16-13 score. What hurt the Highlanders even more was Leasau missed most of the second quarter because she was in foul trouble.

Leasau rebounded to hit four 3-pointers and 7 of 18 shots from the field overall.

MARIAH WALKER failed to contribute a point but led the Highlanders with 10 rebounds.

KIM SCOTT added 13 points and 3 steals for the Scotties.

“Sinoi is our leader and our only real catalyst – we’re a different team when she is on the floor,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. “Granite Hills came to play tonight. Lauren Bender was superb. She owned the post play tonight. I feel she played the best game I’ve ever seen her play. Sabrina Jimenez is an excellent point guard. She was a real quarterback out there tonight.”

The Highlanders, who have lost three of their last four, must now focus their attention on trying to grab a playoff spot.

Granite Hills scoring: Sabrina Jimenez 23 (5 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Lauren Bender 14 (12 reb, 6 blk), Lauren Koblischke 8 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Jessica Harris 8 (4 ast, 4 stl), Hailey Garner 7 (3 reb, 2 ast), Alyssa Canoff 3, Monique Ybarra 2 (3 reb), Keji Kubari (3 reb).

Helix scoring: Sinoi Leasau 21 (4 reb, 1 blk, 3 stl), Kim Scott 13 (3 stl), Kristina Scott 8 (2 stl), Jacqueline Smith 2 (9 reb), Iesha Murray 2, Mariah Walker (10 reb).

WEST HILLS 58, EL CAJON VALLEY 14 – West Hills turned in one of its finest defensive efforts in shutting down visiting El Cajon Valley in Friday’s (Jan. 30) Grossmont North League blowout.

The Wolf Pack (18-5, 3-0 GSL) sprinted to a 16-3 first quarter lead and then posted a shutout in the 4th quarter.

“We finally got off to a good start,” West Hills coach RYAN KINSER said. “We executed well throughout the whole game. We played real good defense tonight. I thought we took them away from what they wanted to do.”

Ten members of the Pack contributed to the scoring totals, led by KIMMIE CLARK’s 13 markers – the majority (3) of which came from 3-point range.

SHERIKA MILLER added 11 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals.

“I thought we might be more competitive tonight. They really prevented us from doing what we wanted to do. West Hills is a very fine team. Ryan has done a good job with his group. They are very deep and very talented.”

West Hills scoring: Kimmie Clark 13 (2 ast, 2 stl), Sherika Miller 11 (6 reb, 4 stl), Marilyn Naderhoff 6 (3 reb, 2 ast), Amber Darby 6 (4 reb, 3 stl), Corryn Kivett 6 (4 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk), Connie Hines 5 (5 reb, 4 ast), Shelby Russo 4 (2 blk, 7 stl), Brooke Spradlin 4, Mariah Bennett 2 (2 ast, 3 stl), Danielle Hays 1 (2 reb).

El Cajon Valley scoring: Kaylani Faten 3 (4 reb), Erin Robinson 3 (3 reb), Samantha Julien 3 (3 reb), Tericka Williams 2 (2 stl), Hazel Doe 2, Jeena Esho 1,

MOUNT MIGUEL 98, MONTE VISTA 18 – The hosting Matadors scored a season-high Friday night (Jan. 30) as they squashed Spring Valley rival and Grossmont South League foe Monte Vista.

Six Matadors (16-5, 4-0 GSL) reached double scoring digits, with DANESIA WILLIAMSON leading the way with 23 points, including three 3-pointers.

MYISHIA WATKINS added 19 points and 10 assists as the Matadors took a 76-16 lead after three quarters.

Junior SHATAERA ANDERSON enjoyed her finest offensive outing with a career-high 15 points and snared 7 rebounds while recording 4 steals.

NICOLE FOUNTAIN added 16 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals for the Matadors.

Monte Vista (7-14, 1-3 GSL) was shut out in the third period and scored only two in the last.

“If we will just settle down and not turn the ball over we’ll be all right,” Monte Vista coach MIKE SKIBBE said. “If you are going to lose you might as well lose learning how to play defense. I know what we need to work on and that’s what we’re going to do.”

The Monarchs did not go down without a fight as they defeated Mount Miguel ’s junior varsity team.

Mount Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 23 (4 reb, 7 ast, 7 stl), Myishia Watkins 19 (2 reb, 10 ast, 3 stl), Nicole Fountain 16 (7 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Shataera Anderson 15 (7 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Dechae Evans 12 (7 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl), Danielle Miller 11 (8 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 6 stl), Shay Young 2 (7 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl).

Monte Vista scoring: Alexandria Conwright 6, Kayla Pusey 4, Ruby Ross 4, Deanna Bembry 2 (13 reb, 3 stl, 2 ast, 2 blk), Alexandra Ross 2, LiAiesha Brandon 1.

MADISON 41, CHRISTIAN 27 – Although earlier in the week Christian picked up a forfeit win from Central League rival Clairemont, the Patriots couldn’t keep their winning ways going Friday night (Jan. 30) at Madison.

Christian fell behind Madison 19-12 in the first half but never challenged for the lead.

MONIQUE ELLIOTT accounted for almost half of the Patriots’ points as she finished with 13.

“We started off too slow – we played better after the first quarter and we were very steady the rest of the way,” said Christian coach SKIP GERLEK. “Mo Elliott played a special game tonight. They couldn’t stop her early. Later on they went to a 2-3 trap and they got the ball away from her. Our lack of free throw shooting hurt us, but I feel we are getting much better.”

Christian scoring: Monique Elliott 13, Ricki Gentry 4, Mia Johnson 4, Mary Grabowski 3, Ashley Floyd 3.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-28-09) — If the Wolf Pack of West Hills was expecting to run the table without breaking a sweat, it should have gotten the message from the Grossmont Foothillers that this was not going to happen.

Based on Tuesday’s (Jan. 27) Grossmont North League showdown between the two, the Foothillers made their point.

Actually, they came up one point short as West Hills escaped with a 52-51 victory. This was a battle to the wire, as the majority of the games in this league will be.

With 5 seconds remaining West Hills – trailing by 2 points – called a time out at midcourt. The play designed by West Hills coach RYAN KINSER called for the ball to go to junior guard MARILYN NADERHOFF, who banked in a 25-foot three-pointer from the left wing with one second remaining to give the Pack (17-5, 2-0 GNL) the thrilling victory.

It was a stinging defeat for Grossmont (14-6, 1-2 GNL).

HEATHER SPRINGE did all she could possibly do to give the Foothillers the win.

Her field goal with one minute left gave the Hillers a 49-47 lead.

West Hills answered back when KIMMIE CLARK hit a bucket to tie it at 49-all with 30 seconds remaining.

Once again Springe delivered for the Foothillers, hitting a shot in the lane and giving Grossmont a 51-49 lead with 10 seconds remaining.

But Grossmont had no answer for Naderhoff’s long range missile.

“We played the right defense on them,” said Hillers coach MEGAN LONG. “We put forth supreme effort. I couldn’t ask for much more from this team. I am very proud of my team tonight. It was a fun game to be involved in.”

Springe led all scorers with 26 points, hitting 5 of 8 from 3-point range.

TERRA MUSGROVE added 10 points and 8 rebounds for the Foothillers.

Naderhoff and Clark shared the high-point honors for West Hills with 17 each.

“This must have been the best shooting performance by any opponent in my two years in San Diego ,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “We played terrible defense tonight. We gave them too many good looks, especially for a team that shot as much as they did.”

West Hills scoring: Marilyn Naderhoff 17 (3 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Kimmie Clark 17 (6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Sherika Miller 6 (4 reb, 2 stl), Amber Darby 6 (4 reb), Mariah Bennett 2 (2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Corryn Kivett 2 (2 reb), Shelby Russo 2.

Grossmont scoring: Heather Springe 26 (7 reb, 4 ast), Terra Musgrove 10 (8 reb, 2 blk, 3 stl), Frankie Treadwell 5 (2 reb, 2 stl), Chanel Putras 4 (2 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Carly Applegate 3 (3 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 55, STEELE CANYON 45 – This was as much a game of post-game patter as it was on-court play in Tuesday’s (Jan. 27) Grossmont South League encounter at Steele Canyon.

It’s been a long time since Mount Miguel (15-5, 3-0 GSL) held such a skimpy lead as it did against the Cougars – 22-21– when the teams broke for the halftime break. No doubt, the upstart Cougars (14-4, 0-3 GSL) gave Matadors coach ROB SANDOVAL something to talk about when he went into the locker room.

“My kids weren’t ready to play tonight – they weren’t even ready to go,” said Sandoval. We made Steele Canyon look good. That was the worst game we have played ever in the Grossmont South League against any team.”

“Our leaders and captain showed poor leadership and no emotion. I don’t have one single good thing to say about any of my team tonight. Whatever Steele Canyon did tonight did nothing to us that we haven’t seen before. If they feel they should have won the game that’s great – but we are 3-0 in league and they are 0-3.”

“I don’t know how you can be proud when you’re 0-3 to start league.”

DANIELLE MILLER led Mount Miguel with 18 points and 9 rebounds as senior DANESIA WILLIAMSON sat the whole first half and finished with 13 points.

It wasn’t like Mount Miguel was on the verge of getting beat as the Matadors led 50-38 with 4 minutes remaining.

“If we had made our free throws we would have tied them tonight,” said Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH. “We’ve got to start making our free throws. Actually, every game except Granite Hills we lost because of free throws.”

“Mount Miguel was up by 2, and if you take out the last 3 minutes of the fourth quarter, they win by 2. They did just enough to win the game.”

The Cougars’ GABRIELLE BEASLEY scored all 7 of her points in the fourth quarter.

JANVIER BARBARIN led Steele Canyon with 19 points and 17 rebounds.

“I am so proud of what we have accomplished,” Smith said. “Last year when we played Mount Miguel it was a blowout. Our girls strongly feel right now that they can beat Mount Miguel. Next time we will be ready.”

Mount Miguel scoring: Danielle Miller 18 (9 reb, 2 blk, 3 stl), Danesia Williamson 13 (5 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Nicole Fountain 10 (4 reb, 4 stl), Shay Young 6 (8 reb, 2 stl), Dechae Evans 4 (6 reb), Myisha Watkins 4 (2 reb).

Steele Canyon scoring: Janvier Barbarin 19 (17 reb), Christina Williams 8 (2 reb, 4 stl), Gabrielle Beasley 7 (2 reb), Jazmin Daigle 7 (4 reb, 2 stl), Julianne Kolegraff 3, Janique Cofield (3 reb, 2 stl).

HELIX 64, MONTE VISTA 22 – Shooting has not been a strength for the Helix Highlanders this year. But the Doppler must have been honed in during Tuesday’s (Jan. 27) Grossmont South League game at Monte Vista.

The Highlanders (11-10, 2-1 GSL) connected on 40 percent of their shots from the field (22 of 47) as they outscored the Monarchs in all four quarters.

SINOI LEASAU landed 6 of 10 shots from the field – 4 of them 3s. She was also 2 for 2 from the free throw line for a game-high 18 points. The Highlanders’ senior floor leader also made 6 of Helix’ 33 steals.

The sophomore SCOTT sisters – twins KIM SCOTT and KRISTINA – poured in 15 points apiece to the Highlanders’ scoring pot. Kim was the team’s top free throw shooter with 7 of 8 chances and also topped the team with 7 steals. Kristina contributed 6 thefts to the pilfering pool.

“We took a giant step backwards tonight,” said Monarchs coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “We are at a point where we need to focus on where we are as a team and not worry about our opponents. We were way too nervous tonight. We are going to go back to work tomorrow and Thursday and prepare for our next game.”

The 33 steals by Helix ranks among the all-time best among the Grossmont Conference although such a record is not kept.

The Highlanders led 37-14 at halftime and held the Monarchs to 8 points over the final 16 minutes.

“We talked about coming out with intensity and focus, and that is the way we played,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. “It was a treat to coach this team tonight. The players have really played hard in practice. They all deserved their playing time tonight.”

Helix scoring: Sinoi Leasau 18 (6 stl), Kim Scott 15 (5 reb, 7 stl), Kristina Scott 15 (2 reb, 6 stl), Iesha Murray 4 (2 ast, 1 blk), Chanelle McNutt 4 (2 ast), Brittany Hollie 2 (5 reb), Brittany Jenkins 2 (3 ast), Cierra Coleman 2, Callie Fairweather 2, Jacqueline Smith (7 reb, 2 blk, 3 ast), Mariah Walker (6 reb, 3 stl), Simone Corder (2 reb, 2 stl).

Monte Vista scoring: Deanna Bembry 8 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl), Opal Ross 4, Dionna Mercer 3, Ruby Ross 2, Christina Kooyman 2 (2 reb), Alexandria Conwright 2, Kayla Pusey 1 (3 reb), LiAiesha Brandon (3 reb), Alexandra Ross (3 ast), Nichelle Smith (2 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 66, VALHALLA 42 – SABRINA JIMENEZ scored 19 points and LAUREN BENDER added 18 more as host Granite Hills vanquished Valhalla in Tuesday’s (Jan. 27) Grossmont South League action.

Credit the visiting Norsemen for making a game of it in the first half as they trailed only 23-22.

The second half, however, was all Granite Hills (13-7, 3-0 GSL) as the Eagles scored 43 points while holding the Norsemen (6-14, 03 GSL) to 18 points.

“Defensively we really picked things up in the second half,” said Eagles coach JERRY PARKER. “We moved our feet and reacted well. It was great to get everybody into the game tonight. I’m glad every player scored.”

“The way our bench is playing right now I’m not afraid to play any player at any time of the game.”

The Eagles were deadly from the free throw line where they connected on 24 of 30 shots. Jimenez missed only 1 of 9 charity tosses. KEJI KUBARI was 4 for 4 from the foul line.

EMILY ROBERTS turned in a strong game for Valhalla , knocking down 14 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, making 5 steals and handing out 4 scoring passes.

Granite Hills scoring: Sabrina Jimenez 19, Lauren Bender 18, Hailey Garner 9, Maddy Sheeran 6, Lauren Koblischke 4, Keji Kubari 4, Jessica Harris 4, Alyssa Canoff 2.

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

The 2005-06 CIF champion Santana Sultans, guided by head coach Wade Vickery (far left) and assisted by Jim Mottershaw (far right). Mottershaw later took over the program, but suddenly resigned Monday, with Vickery asked to take over. It will be his third stint leading the girls basketball program. (East County Sports.com file photo)

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (01-27-09) — Without much warning Santana High’s WADE VICKERY finds himself back in the coaching arena for the third time in 30 years.

The 55-year-old Vickery, the winningest girls basketball coach in San Diego CIF history with a 609-119 record, 9 CIFSDS titles and 19 Grossmont League championships, replaces long-time friend and veteran coach JIM MOTTERSHAW at the helm of the Sultans’ girls squad, which is ticketed to play a Grossmont North League game Tuesday (Jan. 27) at El Cajon Valley at 6 p.m.

This is a tough assignment for Vickery, who takes over a 14-5 Santana team that is tied with crosstown rival West Hills for the Grossmont North League at 1-0.

Although he said he attempted to contact but failed to reach Mottershaw by telephone late Monday night, Vickery said “We’ll be winging it against El Cajon Valley. I didn’t even know they wanted me to take the team until about 2:30 yesterday afternoon.”

Earlier in the day, Mottershaw submitted his letter of resignation to Santana Principal TIM SCHWUCHOW, Vickery said.

“I had a hint that something was going on when I left school on Monday. When I got home I had a message on my answering message from Tim.”

Vickery, who said he’s seen about five or six games over the last three seasons since he handed the coaching reins over to his one-time assistant, met with Sultans’ players for about 10 minutes. He has not had time to conduct any practices. The veteran coach admits he is unfamiliar with this year’s team, but takes solace in that he knows Mottershaw’s coaching style.

“We’re not going to change much,” Vickery said. “Jim is a good coach who teaches fundamentals.”

Seven games remain in the regular season, and the playoffs are pretty much a sure thing for the Division III Sultans.

Mottershaw could not be reached for comment.

Vickery’s first two coaching tours – all at Santana – included 1979-1997 and 1999-2006.

© East County Sports.com
SANTA MARGARITA (01-25-09) — Sure, Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL was disappointed by the outcome of Saturday’s (Jan. 24) Orange County-San Diego Challenge contest against Santa Ana Foothill.

But he wasn’t upset by the effort the Matadors gave before falling 51-46 to Foothill (17-1). The Knights from Orange County are ranked No. 5 in the state and No. 16 nationally.

“Our kids showed some fight,” Sandoval said. “But Foothill hurt us with their size.”

Six-foot-3 Christina Marinacci, who has a scholarship to USC in hand, led the Knights with 22 points and 9 rebounds.

NICOLE FOUNTAIN topped Mount Miguel (14-5) with five 3-pointers on her way to a season-high 21 points. She also had 5 rebounds. DANESIA WILLIAMSON added 12 points.

Poor free throw shooting also led to the Matadors’ demise. Officially, Mount Miguel made only 6 of 18.

“We were worse than that because we missed the front end of three and-ones,” Sandoval said. “We also missed too many layups. And we had problems with foul trouble.”

Mount Miguel trailed only 26-23 at intermission before Foothill used an 18-8 third quarter run to open up a double-digit lead.

Mount Miguel scoring: Nicole Fountain 21 (5 reb), Danesia Williamson 12 (3 reb, 2 ast), Myishia Watkins 6 (2 ast), Dechae Evans 3 (4 reb), Danielle Miller 4 (4 reb), Shay Young (4 reb), Shataera Anderson (2 reb).

El Cajon Valley forward Erin Robinson (14, right) with the shot rejection on El Capitan's Emily Sutton. (Photo by Leslie Autry)

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (01-24-09) — Granite Hills senior LAUREN BENDER isn’t concerned about who the Eagles are playing on a particular night. Rather, she and her teammates are looking for positive results.

In a battle for a probable second-place finish in the Grossmont South League Friday night (Jan. 23), the hosting Granite Hills Eagles overcame an early deficit to down Steele Canyon, 50-41. The victory left the Eagles (12-7, 2-0 GSL) tied with perennial champion Mount Miguel for the top spot in the loop.

“We don’t care what the media says or who has what in stats,” Bender said. “We just try to play our hardest.”

Granite Hills was put to the test early on as the Cougars (14-3, 0-2 GSL) pounced on them for an 8-0 lead. Steele Canyon saw that lead shrink to 24-23 by intermission.

In the 3rd quarter, Steele Canyon wilted and the Eagles took flight for a 17-5 scoring spree. Granite Hills led 49-36 after JESSICA HARRIS canned a 3-pointer with 2:12 remaining. The Cougars kept clawing back, scoring five of the last six points. But it was far too little, far too late.

Guard SABRINA JIMENEZ led Granite Hills with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. He dropped in a pair of 3-pointers. Bender, who has been dogged by a nagging ankle injury, muscled in 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.

Harris added 11 points and a pair of treys for Granite Hills.

CHRISTINA WILLIAMS was the lone Steele Canyon player to finish in double scoring digits with 16 points.

“We were an undisciplined basketball team tonight,” Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH said. “We didn’t look to score, treated the game like a scrimmage. For some reason, we didn’t take the game seriously and it cost us.

“But put the loss on me. I couldn’t get the girls to focus and that’s my fault.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Christina Williams 16, Gabrielle Beasley 9, Janvier Barbarin 8, Julianne Kolegraff 4, Jazmin Daigle 2.

Granite Hills scoring: Sabrina Jimenez 15 (5 reb, 4 ast), Lauren Bender 14 (10 reb, 2 blk), Jessica Harris 11 (3 stl, 2 ast, 1 blk), Keji Kubari 3, Hailey Garner 2, Monique Ybarra 2, Alyssa Canoff 2 (3 ast), Maddy Sheeran 1 (3 ast, 3 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 62, HELIX 31 – Credit Helix for offering an early challenge to defending Grossmont South League champion Mount Miguel. The Highlanders scored the first 4 points in Friday night’s (Jan. 23) encounter in Spring Valley , but then had to duck as the Matadors blazed off 23 unanswered points to end the quarter 23-4.

It was Mount Miguel ’s 77th win in 78 league decisions over the last nine years.

“I think our pressure hurt them,” said Matadors coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL. “We did a good job of sharing the basketball tonight. We have been playing good, aggressive ball lately. That the way I want it to stay.”

Four Matadors reached double scoring digits led by junior NICOLE FOUNTAIN with 15. She also had 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists.

SHAY YOUNG tossed in 10 points, led the team with 11 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots.

Steady DANESIA WILLIAMSON squeezed out a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists to go along with 8 steals.

Not to be left out was MYISHIA WATKINS, who was 3 for 3 from the free throw line on her way to a 10-point finish.

“Mount Miguel moved the ball well and created some good shot opportunities,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. “We started out real well then they went on a huge run and took control of the game. We didn’t handle their athleticism.”

Mount Miguel will have their hands full on Saturday (Jan. 24) when they take on once-beaten Foothill of Orange County at Santa Margarita in the Orange County-San Diego Challenge at 5 p.m.

Mount Miguel scoring: Nicole Fountain 15 (8 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Danesia Willliamson 12 (4 reb, 10 ast, 8 stl), Myishia Watkins 10 (2 ast, 3 stl), Shay Young 10 (11 reb, 3 blk), Danielle miller 8 (5 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Dechae Evans 4 (8 reb, 1 blk, 5 stl), Shataera Anderson 3 (4 reb, 2 ast).

Helix scoring: Jacqueline Smith 8, Sinoi Leasau 7, Kim Scott 7, Mariah Walker 4, Callie Fairweather 3. No other stats reported.

ASHLEY DUFFY led the flu-ridden Vaqueros with 19 points. 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 7 steals.

AMBER REL-SOLIA added 12 points and 6 boards for El Capitan. TAYLOR AUTRY had a bucket full of El Capitan goodies as well, notching 8 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

“Our main plan was to contain HAZEL DOE. We got four scouting reports that said we need to stop No. 3 (Doe). We held her to 2 points,” Quinones said.

“We are still under the weather with colds. Duffy didn’t go to school yesterday, only came to school today just so she could play tonight.”

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 19 (10 reb, 6 ast, 2 blk, 7 stl), Amber Rel-Solia 12 (6 reb), Taylor Autry 8 (7 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk), Chelsey Kyle 5 (4 reb), Marissa Pitman 3 (3 reb, 5 ast), Darian Borras 2 (3 reb), Emily Sutton 1 (2 stl).

El Cajon Valley scoring: Erin Robinson 11, Samantha Julien 8, Kaylani Faten 6, Hazel Doe 2.

SANTANA 48, GROSSMONT 45 – Even though it was a Grossmont North League opening victory Friday (Jan. 23) it wasn’t exactly what veteran Santana coach JIM MOTTERSHAW had in mind.

Although the Sultans took a 38-30 lead into the final quarter, Mottershaw was not happy how Santana handled the finish.

Neither was Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG.

“We missed our free throws and they made theirs,” Long said. “That is the story of tonight’s game.”

Santana had a 10-point lead, 46-36 early in the fourth quarter. Grossmont closed to within, 46-45 with one minute to play and had the ball.

“They got a stop; we got a stop; and they stopped us again,” Long said. “We had to foul and they made their free throws.”

Grossmont scoring: Heather Springe 12 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Chanel Putras 11 (3 ast), Danielle Balderas 8 (5 stl), Terra Musgrove 4 (3 reb), Jessie Edgil 6 (4 reb, 2 stl), Frankie Treadwell 4 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Carly Applegate (4 reb).

Santana scoring: Jamie Elias 19, Kaila Smith 8, Lauren Mueller 7, Kim Gross 6, Amanda Grable 4, Delia Files 4. No other stats reported.

Valhalla took the early lead in the first quarter, but the Monarchs fought back to lead 29-25 at halftime. A 19-9 scoring splurge by Monte Vista put the game away.

“We didn’t change very much but we quit making our little mistakes,” said Monarchs coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “I tell my team every game is a preparation for the next one. If you play your game – and not the other team’s – we’ll be all right. I don’t want to play somebody else’s game.”

LiAIESHA BRANDON had a break-out night, scoring a team-best and career high 18 points for Monte Vista (7-12, 1-1 GSL).

“OPAL ROSS did a lot of good things for us,” said Skibbe. “Her growth has been so much in the last 2-3 weeks that she has worked herself up to be a starter.”

MacKENZIE CARTMILL had 19 points, including 5 three-pointers to lead Valhalla (5-14, 0-2 GSL).

Monte Vista scoring: LiAiesha Brandon 18, Deanna Bembry 13 (18 reb, 10 ast, 6 stl), Alexandra Ross 8, Kayla Pusey 5, Christina Kooyman 2, Nichelle Smith 2, Opal Ross 2.

Valhalla scoring: MacKenzie Cartmill 19 (4 stl), Nichole Miller 7 (9 reb, 3 stl), Kelsey Cartmill 5 (3 stl), Karissa Ferrell 4, Danielle Wilson 2 (5 reb, 4 stl), Chelsea Hale 2, Emily Roberts 1 (4 ast, 7 reb, 5 stl), Alle Mims (5 reb).

KEARNY 52, CHRISTIAN 10 — The Komets remained undefeated in Central League play by topping the visiting Patriots in Linda Vista. Kearny (8-7 overall, 5-0 CL) temporarily moved a half-game in front of Coronado (7-6, 4-0), pending the Islanders' late game with Clairemont.

Ashleigh King, who has been held under 20 points only three times all season, paced the Komets with 21 points. Meanwhile, Kiana Lee added 12, including a foul shot with exactly one minute to play, ruining Christian's bid to avoid implementation of the 40-point (running clock) rule.

"Still, we're improving a lot and having fun," said point guard MONIQUE ELLIOTT. "Hopefully, we'll still get a win this season."

Christian scoring: Ricki Gentry 4, Joann Parks 2, Mia Johnson 2, Monique Elliott 2.

© East County Sports.com
LA JOLLA (1-23-09) — The Christian High School girls basketball came close to its first victory of the season, but a huge fourth-quarter rally fell just short in falling to Preuss-UCSD, 26-20, at RIMAC Arena.

After getting blanked in the third quarter, the Patriots scored 11 times in the fourth quarter to get close, with MONIQUE ELLIOTT scoring most of the points during the run.

Elliott, a sophomore, finished with a game- and season-high 14 points. Jasmine Braswell paced the Tritons (4-6) by equalling her season-best with 13 points in the non-league affair.

Christian scoring: Monique Elliott 14, Carrisa Johnson 4, Mia Johnson 2, Ricki Gentry 2.

© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (1-21-09) — Even though the Steele Canyon Cougars sport a 14-2 record, it seems like they can’t get any respect from any of the various pollsters. This is something Rodney Dangerfield could understand.

Naturally, that bothers second year head coach PENNY SMITH, but he doesn’t dwell of the subject.

The difference in this one was the play of the Cougars’ 5-foot-2 senior guard CHRISTINA WILLIAMS, who scored a game-high 20 points.

Williams nailed 4 three-pointers to lead Steele Canyon to a 41-29 victory over visiting Santana in Tuesday’s (Jan. 20) Grossmont Conference crossover contest. It was Steele Canyon ’s first win ever over Santana.

Williams connected on 8 of 18 shots from the field, grabbed 5 rebounds and dished 2 assists.

“She was the best player on the floor – by far,” said Santana coach JIM MOTTERSHAW. “She hit outside, was able to penetrate and hit her jump shots. We couldn’t guard her.”

The Cougars outscored the Sultans (12-5) in all four quarters.

“It was a good job rebounding back from the loss to Helix,” said Smith. “It was a job well done by our bench. I thought we played excellent defense tonight. We took Santana out of their comfort zone. We handled the ball well.”

Steele Canyon had only seven turnovers, while Santana had 11.

“It doesn’t matter how many turnovers you have if you can’t shoot,” said Mottershaw, who’s Sultans made only 12 of 50 (24 percent) of their shots. “What really hurts is when your top outside shooter (JAMIE ELIAS) goes 0-for-12.”

Mottershaw warned his girls in Monday’s practice that they were pretty sloppy and that if they carried that into Tuesday’s game they wouldn’t like the results.

Santana, which was unable to shoot over Steele Canyon ’s zone defense, produced only two assists. The Sultans’ post players were 6 of 16 inside the paint, while the perimeter shooters were a paltry 6 of 34.

“All I can say about our offense is we were horrendous,” Mottershaw said.

Defensively though, Santana did leave its mark, holding team leader JANVIER “JV” BARBARIN to 2 shots and 2 points (and 8 rebounds) as she was plagued by foul problems.

ALYSSA PADBERG led Santana with 13 points and 5 rebounds, while Steele Canyon ’s JANIQUE COFIELD led all rebounders with 10 boards.

Steele Canyon scoring: Christina Williams 20 (5 reb, 2 ast), Julianne Kolegraff 4 (3 reb), Michelle Beasley 4, Samantha Vernon 4 (3 reb), Gabrielle Beasley 3 (2 ast, 2 stl), Janvier Barbarin 2 (8 reb), Jessica Domby 2 (3 reb), Mace Alameri 2, Janique Cofield (10 reb, 3 stl), Jazmin Daigle (6 reb, 2 stl).

Santana scoring: Alyssa Padberg 13 (5 reb), Lauren Mueller 7 (7 reb), Kim Gross 7 (7 reb), Kaila Smith 4 (5 reb), Delia Files 2 (5 reb).

EL CAPITAN 65, MONTE VISTA 40 – Despite being bitten by the flu bug, El Capitan rebounded nicely from last week’s loss to West Hills on Tuesday (Jan. 20) as the visiting Vaqueros mowed down Monte Vista in a Grossmont Conference crossover game.

It was all about balanced offense for El Capitan, as MARISSA PITMAN broke out of a lengthy slump with a game-high 18 points – the majority coming on 4 treys.

“A lot of our team is fighting the flu bug,” said El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES. “And that includes ASHLEY DUFFY. So a lot of the credit goes to Pitman for stepping up, picking us up when we needed her most.”

In spite of feeling sub-par, Duffy managed another triple-double with 14 points, 13 assists, 13 steals and 2 blocks.

“That shows you what kind of player she is,” said Quinones, who is also suffering from the flu. “No matter what the obstacles are and how she’s feeling, Duffy proves that she’s the best player in the county.”

TAYLOR AUTRY turned in a strong game for El Capitan with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

“After watching the game film of our performance last week against West Hills, when we shot 19 percent, it was a good feeling to see us shoot as well as we did today,” Quinones noted.

El Capitan (18-2) nailed 25 of 62 shots from the floor for 40 percent.

For Monte Vista it was a tough night, as the Monachs (6-13) fell behind 21-12 after one quarter and were playing chase after that.

DEANNA BEMBRY paced Monte Vista with 10 points, 6 rebouns and 3 assists.

CHRISTINA KOOYMAN led the Monarchs with 7 rebounds to go along with 4 points. KAYLA PUSEY contributed 6 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals.

“We put together four good quarters,” said Monte Vista coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “This was the game we looked to play all season, and it’s the best game we’ve played here at Monte Vista. We got good open looks at our shots tonight. If we play the rest of the season the way we played tonight we’ll be a tough team to play.”

El Capitan scoring: Marissa Pitman 18 (5 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Taylor Autry 15 (4 reb, 3 ast), Ashley Duffy 14 (13 ast, 13 stl, 5 reb, 2 blk), Darian Borras 7, Emily Sutton 2 (4 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Chelsey Kyle 2 (4 reb), Amber Rel-Solia (1 blk).

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

WEST HILLS 53, HELIX 31 – After struggling to losses in two of its previous four games West Hills finally turned up the heat on its offense to send visiting Helix reeling in Tuesday’s (Jan. 20) Grossmont Conference crossover contest.

Despite allowing Helix’ SINOI LEASAU a powerful 22 points and 10 rebounds, the Wolf Pack used its overall balance and a strong second half to defeat the Highlanders.

West Hills (16-5) overpowered the Highlanders (10-9) by a 34-19 second half count.

SHERIKA MILLER led a West Hills with 13 points, while KIMMIE CLARK and MARILYN NADERHOFF added 11 points apiece for the Pack. All three included a trey in their totals. Naderhoff and Clark were also 2 for 2 from the line.

“They out-hustled us and out-worked us,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “We played poor basketball for the first 2 ½ quarters.”

It was one of Leasau’s better games of the season. Unfortunately she did not have a lot of help although MARIAH WALKER did grab 10 rebounds.

“We played defense well but our offense couldn’t find its momentum,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. “We didn’t shoot well at all. West Hills was able to get momentum when they wanted it.”

West Hills scoring: Sherika Miller 13 (3 reb, 3 ast), Marilyn Naderhoff 11 (2 ast Kimmie Clark 11 (2 reb), Mariah Bennett 6 (2 rec, 3 ast), Connie Hines 6 (6 reb), Amber Darby 4 (4 reb), Shelby Russo 2 (4 reb), Corryn Kivett (2 reb), Danielle Hays (2 stl).

Helix scoring: Sinoi Leasau 22 (10 reb, 2 stl), Kim Scott 5 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Kristina Scott 2 (2 reb, 3 stl), Jacqueline Smith 2 (3 reb), Mariah Walker (10 reb).

GROSSMONT 62, VALHALLA 22 – Sophomore CHLOE COOK scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Foothillers past host Valhalla in a Grossmont Conference crossover contest on Tuesday (Jan. 20).

Cook hit 7 of 10 from the field and 6 of 8 free throws.

CARLY APPLEGATE collected a career-high 11 rebounds for the Foothillers (14-4) to go with 4 steals and 2 assists.

Grossmont outscored the Norsemen (5-13) in every quarter.

DANIELLE BALDERAS chipped in 10 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals for Grossmont, which won three of its last four.

“We got great play from our bench,” said Foothillers coach MEGAN LONG. “That won the game for us. Both the career highs came from off the bench.”

MacKENZIE CARTMILL paced the Norsemen with 8 points, including a pair of treys. EMILY ROBERTS contributed 8 steals, and DANIELLE WILSON grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds.

“We were able to force turnovers, played well on defense and rebounded real well,” said Long. “We did not shoot the ball well on offense.

Grossmont scoring: Chloe Cook 20, Danielle Balderas 10 (7 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl), Heather Springe 9 (5 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Chanel Putras 3 (4 ast, 2 stl), Frankie Treadwell 9 (6 reb, 2 ast), Carly Applegate 5 (11 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Jessie Edgil 4, Christa Sawyers 2 (3 reb), Terra Musgrove (4 reb),

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

CRAWFORD 44, CHRISTIAN 17 – The winless Patriots’ woes continued in Tuesday’s (Jan. 20) Central League game at Crawford.

The game was still within reach until the Colts blanked the Patriots 14-0 in the final period.

“We didn’t do all that bad,” said Christian coach SKIP GERLEK. “They had one player hit four 3s in the first quarter, so we moved to a box-and-one defense and our defense kept us in the game. They didn’t pressure us very well at all. They owned the court on us in the fourth quarter. They ran the floor real well.”

Christian scoring: Ricki Gentry 7, Monique Elliott 5, Carrisa Johnson 2, Haley Baker 2, Mary Grabowski 1.

© East County Sports.com
CLAIREMONT (1-20-09) — Before DVDs and CDs, there were cassettes and 8-track tapes. Prior to them, vinyl records, which were available at three different speeds.

For West Hills, to be successful on the basketball coach, they simply need to find its comfort level. But when the Wolf Pack lost track of that zone, it allowed 6th-ranked Mater Dei to speed up Monday's (Jan. 19) Martin Luther King Challenge game to claim a 60-49 decision in a battle of Top 10 ballclubs at Horizon Christian School.

"Basically, we ran our offenses and were really successful," said Wolf Pack senior SHERIKA MILLER about her team taking a 26-20 halftime lead. "But in the second half, our tempo was too fast and we committed turnovers."

West Hills, rated 8th and 10th in the major media polls, picked apart the Crusaders' press, gaining a wide array of open shots. Miller led the way with 9 of her team-high 14 points in the first half.

Meanwhile, Mater Dei, forced into a half-court game, demonstrated its Achilles' heel by shooting a mere 24 percent (7-for-29) from the floor. So when Crusaders increased the pressure with a 2-3 press, Mater Dei went on a 12-6 run to tie the game, then turned it up another notch with a 19-4 stretch for a 51-36 lead

The beneficiary of the turnovers forced by the press was Mater Dei’s Ebony Henry, who scored 13 of her game-high 22 points in the third period. Included were 10 of Mater Dei's first 12 points of the second half to catch the Wolf Pack at 32-all, then 6-foot-3 center Soulijah Evans (a Mount Miguel tranfer) scored on a pair of layins, followed by a 3-point goal by Henry to take command.

"We had to break through their zone because we weren't shooting very well, but we finally broke through it in the second half," said Henry, who registered five second-half steals to fuel the transition game. "Our defense wasn't working -- it was very frustrating -- so we knew we had to pick it up in the second half."

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., giving his "I Have A Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington during the D.C. Civil Rights March on Aug. 28, 1963.

Thoughts on playing on Martin Luther King Day:

"He did so much for our country," said West Hills' SHERIKA MILLER, a senior of both Japanese and African-American descent. "It's good to play basketball on his day of remembrance. I get to do my favorite thing on this day, which wasn't always possible."

"I've studied about Dr. King forever, so yes, it's a really important day for me," noted Mater Dei senior Ebony Henry. "It feels good to come out and play well on this day."

Throw in a poor shooting night by West Hills' guards (a combined 6-for-29) plus 22 turnovers, the loss should again keep riding the line on remaining ranked. However, Miller sees a bright future as the Grossmont North League leading Wolf Pack returns to Grossmont Conference play for the remainder of the regular season.

"Mater Dei has more foot speed all around," noted Miller. "So we have to play all four quarters at our pace and do what we do best."

West Hills (15-5) is now 2-4 against Top 10 teams, including victories over Cathedral Catholic and El Capitan, and a narrow 8-point setback to top-ranked The Bishop's. The other losses were to La Costa Canyon and Mount Miguel.

"We're not going to lose anymore -- that's our goal," Miller added. "Just play all four quarters at our best and win here on out."

AMBER DARBY posted 8 points and 8 rebounds for West Hills, CONNIE HINES added 6 points and 7 boards off the bench.

“We executed the defensive game plan perfectly in the first half. In the second half we had too many turnovers and did not shoot well,” said Wolf Pack coach RYAN KINSER. “They got us involved in their up-tempo transition in the second half. That is not the way we like to play. Mater Dei is a top ranked team in San Diego County. To beat them you have to play better than we did tonight.”

West Hills scoring: Sherika Miller 14 (6 reb, 2 blk), Amber Darby 8 (8 reb), Kimmie Clark 7 (9 reb, 2 ast), Connie Hines 6 (7 reb, 2 ast), Mariah Bennett 6 (3 ast), Marilyn Naderhoff 4 (5 ast), Corryn Kivett 2 (2 reb, 3 stl), Shelby Russo 2.

LINFIELD CHRISTIAN 51, CHRISTIAN 13 – Linfield Christian defeated the Christian Patriots in a non-League contest in Temecula on Monday (Jan. 19). No details reported.

VALHALLA vs. HOOVER – No report was received for this 3rd annual MLK Challenge game at San Diego High.

© East County Sports.com
GOLDEN TRIANGLE (1-18-09) — A local high school basketball program looking to make an impact at the state level took care of business on Saturday (Jan. 17).

Unfortunately, that team was La Jolla Country Day, which rallied from a 9-point deficit to down Mount Miguel, 53-48, at the LJCD Elite Classic.

Like Country Day, the Matadors upgraded their schedule to battle many of the Southland's best to get ready for postseason play. Dropping out of the Grossmont North-South crossover event, Mount Miguel has played in several one-day invitationals to become tournament tested.

However, after playing opponents like Chino Hills-Ayala, L.A.-View Park, Moreno Valley-Canyon Springs and state No. 1 Santa Ana-Mater Dei — with 16-1 Santa Ana-Foothill still to come in next Saturday's Orange County-San Diego Challenge in Rancho Santa Margarita — the Matadors (13-4 overall) have only a single victory to show for it.

"They out-worked us — that was the difference in the game," said Matadors coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL. "Their effort was better than ours towards the end."

The Torreys turned one simple strategic alteration into a 20-point turnabout.

After Mount Miguel sophomore DANIELLE MILLER drove the lane for a layin and foul for a 3-point play to open the second half, LJCD trailed 29-20. So they switched from a man press to a zone press, causing havoc to the Matadors.

Keying the transition was Torreys forward Chemayne Shipley, who registered five steals in the third quarter, igniting a series of easy LJCD baskets to take a 46-35 lead.

"We've seen those presses before, but for some reason, we got sloppy with the ball," added Sandoval. "They made more plays than we did."

Mount Miguel moved back into position to steal the game late, moving to within 48-44. But when senior point guard DANESIA WILLIAMSON was called for a controversial 5th foul with 2:46 remaining, the rally fizzled even though LJCD point guard Ariana Elegado fouled out on the very next play.

"Mount Miguel was killing us with penetration on our defense," noted Elegado. "So even though we had three girls with four fouls, we just had to push the ball on the transition and took the momentum."

Elegado missed her first 12 shots from the floor. But aided by Shipley’s steals, Elegado then caught on fire, scoring all of her 10 points over the final 9 minutes. Shipley finished with a game-high 15 points, while 6-foot-4 center Gillian Howard added 11 points, 11 rebounds and 4 shot blocks.

The Matadors started slowly, as Williamson scored 8 of her 10 points in the opening period to stay close at 14-10. Then a big second period saw Mount Miguel's DECHAE EVANS tally all of her 8 points in the second period, while NICOLE FOUNTAIN added 6 of her 7 points during the same stretch for a 26-20 halftime lead.

Throw in massive foul trouble for the Torreys — three starters had three fouls early in the second half, then four each early in the final period — and Mount Miguel saw an opportunity for a blowout victory.

"They kept killing us by driving to the basket," noted Shipley. "But when we finally stopped that, we showed we can be the No. 1 team in San Diego. We have to keep up the tradition."

La Jolla Country Day hosts top-ranked The Bishop's in a league contest next Friday. They have won the past six meetings.

Mount Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 10, Danielle Miller 9, Shay Young 8 (6 reb, 3 charges, 2 stl), Dechae Evans 8 (9 reb), Nicole Fountain 7, Myishia Watkins 6, Shataera Anderson (7 reb).

© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (1-17-09) — The Helix Highlanders placed a definitive reminder that there are two phases to successfully win in basketball.

Utilizing what was arguably their finest defensive effort of the season, the Scotties held host Steele Canyon some 22 points below its scoring average Friday (Jan. 16), racing to a 44-35 triumph in the teams' Grossmont South League opener.

Helix held the Cougars to 11 points or less over all four quarters thanks to the top of its press, which featured the sister combination of guards KRISTINA and KIM SCOTT.

"The coaches told us to play hard, and our parents also told us to play hard," said Kim Scott, a sophomore. "Defense is why we won. We can compete with anyone – we look forward to it."

The Scotts finished with three steals each while forcing several other turnovers with their pressure.

Both ballclubs struggled to produce any offense in the early going, as a pair of 3-point goals by SINOI LEASAU moved Helix to within 18-17 at the half. But when the Scott sisters started connecting for a collective 11 points in the third period, when added to Leasau's 7 points, it pushed the Highlanders to a 35-24 lead entering the final quarter.

"We were cold (shooting) in the first half, but we came back and played with a lot of heart,' said Leasau, a senior, who paced the Scotties with 19 points. "We spread them out with our motion (offense), then looked for our options off our screens or back-door cuts."

Meanwhile, JANVIER "JV" BARBARIN tried to keep her Cougars close with 5 of the team's 6 points in the third, but when Steele Canyon ’s starters could only muster a single basket in the fourth quarter, even 9 points from the bench could not make a major dent to the Helix advantage.

"Even if they broke the press, we fell back into a 2-3 zone and didn't try to block any shots," added Leasau. "We just had to box out and try to own the boards and keep Barbarin off the boards."

A pair of late baskets by the Cougars' JAZMIN DAIGLE did make things interesting with 3:22 left, the latter coming on a nice feed from CHRISTINA WILLIAMS for a layin to cut the deficit to 40-35.

However, a feed by MARIAH WALKER led to a JACKIE SMITH layin in the final minute, set up on a steal by SIMONE CORDER. Kim Scott followed with a pair of foul shots, as Helix did not miss any second-half foul shots after going 0-for-4 in the first half.

The Scotties (10-8, 1-0 GSL) have captured 5 of their last 6 contests.

Barbarin finished with 11 points, while Williams added 9 for Steele Canyon (13-2, 0-1 GSL).

Helix scoring: Sinoi Leasau 19 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Kim Scott 10 (2 reb, 3 stl), Jacqueline Smith 6 (6 reb, 2 blk), Kristina Scott 5 (3 reb, 3 stl), Simone Corder (2 reb), Cierra Coleman 2 (3 reb), Brittany Hollie 2, Mariah Walker (7 reb).

Steele Canyon scoring: Janvier Barbarin 11, Christina Williams 9, Samantha Vernon 4, Julianne Kolegraff 4, Jazmin Daigle 4, G’kia Myles 2, Gabrielle Beasley 1.

WEST HILLS 52, EL CAPITAN 31 – Some might call this an upset since visiting El Capitan arrived at West Hills with all the high rankings and only one loss in its first 18 games.

Looking at the bottom line there was an upset… and that would be El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES and his band of Vaqueros, who were outscored in all four quarters by West Hills (15-4, 1-0 GNL).

“They’re a good team and there’s no disputing that,” Quinones said of the Wolf Pack. “But when we shoot like we did tonight we’re not going to beat a whole lot of teams.”

El Capitan netted only 23 percent of 48 shots from the floor and missed 9 of its 14 free throws. The Vaqueros scored only 3 points in the 2nd quarter, hitting just one of 13 shots from the field.

The Vaqueros, however, did limit West Hills to a mere 4 points in the opening 4 minutes. It didn’t seem to matter as the Lakesiders’ poor marksmanship helped West Hills take a 27-11 halftime lead.

“We got off to another slow start on offense,” Wolf Pack coach RYAN KINSER said. “Once we settled down offensively we played real well. We stuck pretty much to our game plan all night, both on offense and defense.”

ASHLEY DUFFY accounted for 20 of El Capitan ’s points. She nailed a trio of 3-pointers and 3 of 4 free throws. In addition, she reeled in a game-high 13 rebounds, blocked 2 shots and made 2 steals.

“We wanted to make all of Duffy’s shots real tough ones and then shut down the other players completely,” Kinser said. “And we did just that. I think we really frustrated El Capitan tonight. Duffy had 10 points through the first three quarters, then she scored 10 in the 4th quarter.”

West Hills got its usual offensive balance as eight players contributed to the scoring.

SHERIKA MILLER led the way with 12 points and 5 rebounds, while KIMMIE CLARK tossed in 10 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and made 2 steals.

AMBER DARBY had 12 rebounds and CONNIE HINES collected 9 caroms off the glass and posted 6 steals.

“We forced too many ill-advised shots, just played out of synch all night,” Quinones said. “But this is a tough league and I don’t think anybody can go undefeated.”

West Hills scoring: Sherika Miller 12 (5 reb), Kimmie Clark 10 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Marilyn Naderhoff 7 (4 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl), Connie Hines 6 (9 reb, 6 stl), Danielle Hays 6 (2 reb), Mariah Bennett 5 (4 reb, 6 ast), Amber Darby 4 (12 reb), Brooke Spradlin 2, Corryn Kivett (3 reb), Shelby Russo (2 reb).

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 20 (13 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Taylor Autry 6 (8 reb, 2 stl), Marissa Pitman 2, Chelsey Kyle 2, Amber Rel-Solia 1 (5 reb), Emily Sutton (2 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 61, MONTE VISTA 33 – Granite Hills pulled an inside-outside job on visiting Monte Vista in Friday’s (Jan. 16) Grossmont South League opener.

LAUREN BENDER controlled the paint for the Eagles (11-7, 1-0 GSL). The 6-foot senior scored 23 points and bagged 13 rebounds.

Meanwhile SABRINA JIMENEZ was patrolling the perimeter. The 5-foot-8 junior swished 22 points, dished 5 assists, plucked 5 rebounds and made 2 steals for the Eagles. Jimenez was also 7-for-7 from the rebound line.

Granite Hills, which has won 3 of its last 5, outscored the Monarchs (6-12, 0-1 GSL) in every quarter.

“Defensively and rebounding-wise I felt we could have done much better,” said Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER. “We gave up too many offensive rebounds and second chance points. Lauren and Sabrina played well together tonight.”

DEANNA BEMBRY led Monte Vista with a double-double of 15 rebounds and 10 points. She also had 3 assists and a pair of steals.

“Deanna Bembry played real well,” said Monte Vista coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “I think we saw in tonight’s game what we really need to work on for our next game.”

Granite Hills scoring: Lauren Bender 23 (13 reb), Sabrina Jimenez 22 (5 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Maddy Sheeran 6 (4 ast, 3 stl), Hailey Garner 4, Alyssa Canoff 3, Jessica Harris 2 (5 ast, 2 stl), Keji Kubari 1 (3 reb), Monique Ybarra (3 reb).

Monte Vista scoring: Deanna Bembry 10 (15 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Dionna Mercer 7 (6 reb), Alexandria Conwright 7, LiAiesha Brandon 6 (6 reb), Alexandra Ross 3 (4 reb, 2 stl), Kayla Pusey (4 reb, 2 stl).

MOUNT MIGUEL 73, VALHALLA 30 – Despite playing less than three quarters, Mount Miguel senior guard DANESIA WILLIAMSON delivered a triple-double as the visiting Matadors vanquished Valhalla in Friday night’s (Jan. 16) Grossmont South League opener.

Williamson tossed in 26 points, delivered 10 assists and made 10 steals for the Matadors (13-3, 1-0 GSL), who are 76-1 in their last nine years of league play.

The Matadors, who will play host La Jolla Country Day on Saturday (Jan. 17) in the Elite Classic at 5:30, pressed the Norsemen into virtual submission, taking a first quarter lead of 29-2.

“We stopped pressing after the first quarter because (Valhalla coach) CARLOS MOSS is a friend of mine,” said Matadors coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL.

Valhalla, led by NICHOLE MILLER’s 10 points, committed 42 turnovers.

Mount Miguel scoring: Danesia Williamson 26 (2 reb, 10 ast, 10 stl), Myishia Watkins 13 (2 reb), Dechae Evans 9 (5 reb, 7 stl, 1 blk), Shay Young 8 (6 reb, 3 stl), Shataera Anderson 6 (5 reb, 2 ast), Danielle Miller 6 (2 reb, 2 blk, 3 stl), Nicole Fountain 5 (7 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl).

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

CORONADO 37, CHRISTIAN 21 – It was more tough sledding for the Christian High Patriots, who fell behind host Coronado in Friday’s (Jan. 16) Central League faceoff and never recovered.

The Islanders (6-6, 3-0 CTL) pounced on the Patriots (0-9, 0-3 CTL) for a 25-7 halftime cushion and were never seriously threatened thereafter.

Even in defeat, though, Christian coach SKIP GERLAK found something positive in his team’s latest outing.

“We played well tonight,” Gerlak said. “We took some huge steps forward. I am pleased with our offense tonight. We ran our plays well and had good looks at open shots. Coronado is a good team. They are much bigger than we are.”

Christian scoring: Ricki Gentry 8, Mia Johnson 5, Monique Elliott 4, Joann Park 4.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-16-09) — Tabbed to finish in the cellar of the Grossmont North League race, El Cajon Valley opened the circuit campaign Thursday (Jan. 15) by putting a scare into the defending-champion Foothillers at Grossmont.

Twice in the final quarter the Braves trailed Grossmont by two points. The Foothillers (13-4) finally snubbed El Cajon Valley’s upset bid with some clutch free throw shooting in the final 90 seconds to claim a 40-34 victory.

With Grossmont clinging to a 34-32 edge, the Foothillers senior CHANEL PUTRAS missed a 3-point shot but drew a foul. Putras hit all three free throws to put Grossmont over the top.

“We got into early foul trouble, but that doesn’t diminish their effort,” Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG said of the Braves. “They’re going to knock somebody off in our league. They’ve made major improvement, so there are no longer any automatic wins or nights off in this league anymore. Come ready to play or prepare to lose.”

TERRA MUSGROVE paced Grossmont with a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds. HEATHER SPRINGE chipped in with 11 points and five boards.

“Springe tweaked an ankle midway through the 3rd quarter and didn’t play the rest of the game,” said Long. “She originally hurt the ankle earlier in the year.”

HAZEL DOE led El Cajon Valley (10-8) with 11 points and 4 steals.

“We just don’t know how to win yet,” said El Cajon Valley coach RANDY ROBINSON.

Four of the Braves losses have come by six points or less.

“We’re probably a year away from where I’d like us to be,” Robinson said. “We’ve come a long, long way and I’m very pleased with how far we’ve come. My goal when I took back over was to make this team competitive and reestablish pride in the program. I want kids to be proud of El Cajon Valley basketball.”

Grossmont scoring: Heather Springe 11 (5 reb, 3 ast), Terra Musgrove 10 (12 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Chanel Putras 6 (3 reb, 4 stl), Frankie Treadwell 6 (5 reb, 2 stl), Danielle Balderas 2 (3 reb, 5 ast), Carly Applegate 2 (2 reb), Chloe Cook 3.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Hazel Doe 11 (5 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Tericka Williams 8 (8 reb), Kaylani Faten 7 (2 reb), Erin Robinson 5 (4 reb, 4 stl), Jeena Esho 2 (3 stl), Samantha Julien 1 (4 reb, 2 stl).

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (1-15-09) — The 2009-10 basketball season could be a record-tying campaign for the Mount Miguel Matadors. (And no, that’s not a typo.)

Owners of eight consecutive Grossmont South League titles, the Matadors are just two crowns away from the East County record of 10 titles, held by WADE VICKERY's Santana Sultans (1987-95). And No. 9 for the Matadors should be no problem, as the second-ranked team in the CIF-San Diego Section will find few challengers this winter.

Conversely, the Grossmont North League may be the most competitive ever.

All five schools possess winning records, including double-digit victory totals, posting a remarkable composite 66-20 (.767) record.

GROSSMONT SOUTH
1. MOUNT MIGUEL (12-3; Last year: 1st) — During the Matadors' current 8-year string of GSL crowns, they have lost just a single league contest in 76 outings (.987) under coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL. And another 10-0 slate is expected with an influx of young talent joining senior DANESIA WILLIAMSON, East County's second-leading scorer at 19.7 points per game.

Williamson, a first-team All-San Diego Section guard ticketed for USD, leads the team with her swift ball-handling and ball-hawking defense.

Throw in top underclassmen NICOLE FOUNTAIN, DECHAE EVANS, MYISHIA WATKINS, DANIELLE MILLER, and freshman center SHAY YOUNG, and Mount Miguel could not only break Santana's record, it could well snap the section mark of 14 consecutive league titles set by Eastlake.

2. GRANITE HILLS (10-7; Last year: 2nd) — Young yet experienced is the reason the Eagles were selected over Steele Canyon to repeat in a runner-up finish behind Mount Miguel.

With the return of center LAUREN BENDER from injury, junior point guard SABRINA JIMENEZ will be allowed to operate the offense both as scorer (16.0 avg.) and facilitator.

Throw in a tougher schedule than the one played by Steele Canyon -- the Eagles nipped Santana, 43-42, and lost to once-beaten El Capitan – twice, 55-50 and 61-52 – Granite Hills seems better prepared to go farther.

However, you need to start from somewhere in order to rebuild the program, so head coach PENNY SMITH, unsure where the program was at when he inked the schedule, must be pleased by his team's quick advancement.

Powering the Cougars is JANVIER “JV” BARBARIN, a 5-foot-9 junior who posts double-double figures in both scoring and rebounding practically every night. However, if Granite Hills can double-team her successfully, it will be up to JULIANNE KOLEGRAFF, SAMANTHA VERNON and CHRISTINA WILLIAMS to pick up the slack.

4. HELIX (9-8; Last year: tie 3rd) — The Highlanders were pounded by top-ranked The Bishop's School, 75-33, back on Dec. 9. But, my, how the Scotties have grown ever since, with a victory over Patrick Henry and a revenge triumph over Grossmont.

Keeping Helix down is its lack of ability to play a full, 32-minute game, despite the leadership of senior guard SINOI LEASAU (15.8 points/game). The Scotties can control the boards thanks to post players JACQUELINE SMITH and MARIAH WALKER, but the pair must also score more for Helix to gain a first-division finish.

5. MONTE VISTA (6-10; Last year: 5th) — Following a 2-24 campaign, the Monarchs' rebuilding plan already shows a tripling of their victory total with 40 percent of the schedule remaining.

Monte Vista looks to DEANNA BEMBRY, LiAIESHA BRANDON and ALEXANDRIA CONWRIGHT for continued growth.

6. VALHALLA (5-10; Last year: 6th) — The Norsemen also went 2-24 a year ago, mirroring Monte Vista in several aspects. But to escape the cellar, it is the Monarchs whom they must defeat.

EMILY ROBERTS, MacKENZIE CARTMILL and TENISHA LEE lead the Norsemen.

GROSSMONT NORTH
1. WEST HILLS (14-4; Last year: 1st) — The Wolf Pack may be the North League's top defensive ballclub, and possess just enough scoring to repeat as champions in a photo finish victory for the league crown.

SHERIKA MILLER and MARIAH BENNETT power the defense, while point guard MARILYN NADERHOFF manages an offense which can run or operate in the half court. The team also features 3-point sharpshooter KIMMIE CLARK.

This ballclub has been together for several years, including several seasons on club teams, making West Hills the pick to become the first GNL team to repeat as titlists in several years.

2. EL CAPITAN (17-1; Last year: 2nd) — San Diego State-bound senior ASHLEY DUFFY, the East County scoring leader at 23.8 per contest, will challenge Mount Miguel's Williamson for player of the year laurels.

Her ability to shoot the jumper or drive the lane make her a double-threat, as she still holds an outside shot to join her older sister, ALLISON, to become the first sister combination in CIFSDS history to each score 2,000 points. However, the younger Duffy expects to face a boat-load of multiple defenses, traps and double-teams to slow her progress

Fortunately, the Vaqueros own a little bit of everything. Scoring balance from senior TAYLOR AUTRY, rebounding and percentage shooting from sophomore AMBER REL-SOLIA, and defense from a host of others, so don't be surprised if El Capitan steps up to earn its fourth GNL title in six seasons.

3. GROSSMONT (12-4; Last year: 4th) — First-year head coach MEGAN LONG was an assistant to then-head coach TIM JOLLETT when the Foothillers ran the table to capture the Grossmont North League championship in 2007. Long would like to perform similar magic this year.

Forward HEATHER SPRINGE (18.7 points) and center TERRA MUSGROVE (11.8 points) -- both seniors -- may be the best 1-2 punch inside in the league. But consistency from the guards to handle opponents' pressure will determine the Hillers' long-term fate.

Springe is also a top 3-point shooter, along with teammate DANIELLE BALDERAS.

4. SANTANA (13-4; Last year: 3rd) — It's hard to believe that it's been six seasons since the Sultans last reigned as GNL champions, but they could still sneak into the mix thanks to a veteran squad featuring five seniors.

Topping the list is guard JAMIE ELIAS, the team's leading scorer. (15.2) Generally speaking, when she scores in double figures, the Sultans win (0-3 when she doesn't). So it will be up to her teammates to overcome strong defenses by West Hills and El Capitan to make a run for the title.

This could occur thanks to steady play by KAILA SMITH and ALYSSA PADBERG, but at least one will need a breakthrough performance -- i.e., score 20 or more -- to upset any of the teams listed above them.

5. EL CAJON VALLEY (10-7; Last year: 5th) — Already owning more victories than any other Braves ballclub this decade, El Cajon Valley still might be hard-pressed to add to its total in what might be the toughest league -- fully top-to-bottom -- in the entire San Diego Section.

Veteran East County coach RANDY ROBINSON has taken great strides in developing ERIN ROBINSON, KAYLANI FATEN, SAMANTHA JULIEN and HAZEL DOE. But taking on teams featuring players with club-ball experience will make it difficult when facing various styles of defense or overcoming the press.

The Braves have not won a league contest this decade (0-64).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-14-09) — El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES is a pretty cool customer. But even he has a little case of the jitters as Friday’s (Jan. 16) Grossmont North League opener at West Hills looms.

“Maybe we don’t deserve to be there,” said Quinones of his Vaqueros’ (17-1) No. 3 ranking in the North County Times and a No. 4 ranking in the San Diego Union-Tribune poll. “But that doesn’t matter now. The target is on us because people expect us to play at that level all the time. And I sure hope we do.”

Senior guard ASHLEY DUFFY, arguably the best player in East County basketball, scored 20 of her 38 game-high points in the 1st quarter as the visiting Vaqueros knocked off Granite Hills 61-52 in Tuesday’s (Jan. 13) final game of Grossmont Conference crossover action.

More impressive than her scoring output – which has covered 79 points in her last two games – Duffy survived three 1st-quarter fouls against the Eagles (10-7). Duffy picked up a 4th foul but did not foul out.

“That’s the kind of player she is,” said Quinones. “She knows what she means to our team so she knows when she needs to be careful. She’s just a complete player.”

Duffy clicked on 12 of 25 shots from the field, including 4 treys. She also converted 10 of 14 free throws.

Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER noted the loss of senior LAUREN KOBLISHCHKE, the Eagles’ best defensive player.

“Not having Lauren available allowed Duffy to do just about anything she wanted,” Parker said. “Our goal was to try to limit her touches, but we weren’t able to do that. She took our girls off the dribble, shot over our heads and obviously controlled the game.”

Quinones wanted to put in a few words about his defensive unit – a somewhat unheralded bunch.

“These are the girls you don’t see in the scoring leaders or in the statistics,” he said, noting the play of sophomores CHELSEY KYLE, DARIAN BORRAS and EMILY SUTTON. “These girls are my defensive specialists. I move them in and out of the lineup and they don’t complain. To them it’s not about scoring a lot of points. It’s about winning games.”

El Capitan ’s defense did its best work against 6-foot senior LAUREN BENDER, limiting her to 4 points. Bender scored 13 points the first time these teams met in a game won by the Vaqueros 55-50.

“That’s a pretty key switch right there,” Quinones noted.

Sophomore AMBER REL-SOLIA added 12 points and 5 rebounds for the Vaqueros, who also got 8 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists from senior TAYLOR AUTRY. MARISSA PITMAN didn’t score but did collect 7 rebounds and made 3 steals.

Granite Hills’ SABRINA JIMENEZ punched in 20 points to lead the Eagles. Her totals included 3 three-pointers and 5 of 6 free throw shooting. JESSICA HARRIS also hit a trio of 3-balls on her way to a 14-point finish for the Eagles.

“We did some things right, but we missed way too many easy putbacks,” said Parker. “And that hurt us.”

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 38 (5 reb, 2 ast, 5 reb), Amber Rel-Solia 12 (5 reb), Taylor Autry 8 (8 reb, 5 ast), Chelsey Kyle 2 (1 blk), Emily Sutton 1 (5 reb), Marissa Pitman (7 reb, 3 stl).

Granite Hills scoring: Sabrina Jimenez 20, Jessica Harris 14, Maddy Sheeran 5, Hailey Garner 4, Lauren Bender 4, Alyssa Canoff 3, Keji Kubari 2.

SANTANA 46, HELIX 40 – In a Grossmont Conference crossover battle between two teams with playoff aspirations, Santana survived 26 turnovers by shooting 50 percent (20 of 40) from the field to hold off the Highlanders on Tuesday (Jan. 13) in La Mesa.

Although the Sultans (13-4) led 29-19 at the half, they found themselves scrambling to hold onto the victory late in the 4th quarter.

Helix (8-9) cut the deficit to 41-39 but saw its chances for a complete comeback fade when Santana’s JAMIE ELIAS nailed a 3-pointer in the final minute.

Elias finished with 15 points to pace the Sultans, while ALYSSA PADBERG pitched in 13 points and 5 assists.

“We really shot the ball well,” Santana coach JIM MOTTERSHAW said. “But we denied ourselves the opportunity to get very many shots because of all the turnovers. We committed too many unforced turnovers in the 2nd half. We can be a good team down the road if we can quit being our own hindrance.”

SINOI LEASAU twirled a double-double for Helix with 20 points and 10 rebounds. The senior guard hit a trio of 3-pointers and 9 of 12 free throws for the Highlanders.

“We really didn’t do a good job of defending her,” Mottershaw noted. “We fouled her way too much.”

Santana’s defense was playing with one wing down as LAUREN MUELLER, the Sultans’ defensive specialist, is out indefinitely with a sprained ankle suffered in the game against Monte Vista last Friday (Jan. 9).

“We were down by 10 at halftime,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN. “We got back in the game with our full-court press. We missed too many layups and close in shots, and Santana was able to take advantage of it.”

Santana scoring: Jamie Elias 15 (4 reb), Alyssa Padberg 13 (5 ast), Delia Files 7 (7 reb), Kaila Smith 7 (3 reb), Kim Gross 4, Marjie Panknin (2 ast).

Helix scoring: Sinoi Leasau 20 (10 reb, 3 stl), Kim Scott 5 (2 reb, 2 stl), Kristina Scott 4 (3 reb, 3 stl), Jacqueline Smith 4 (4 reb), Mariah Walker 4 (7 reb, 3 stl), Lexi Audley 3 (2 stl).

WEST HILLS 60, MONTE VISTA 32 – West Hills, which has eyes for winning the Grossmont North League championship, did not look like a prize-winning team in the 1st half of Tuesday’s (Jan. 13) Grossmont Conference crossover finale as the Wolf Pack led Monte Vista only 21-18 at halftime.

“The 1st half was fun,” said Monte Vista coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “We couldn’t match our 1st half intensity in the 2nd half. We hung with West Hills in the 1st half, but they showed how good a team they are in the 2nd half.”

Indeed the Wolf Pack did, outscoring the Monarchs 39-14 over the final 16 minutes.

“We didn’t run our offense well in the 1st half at all,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “This was our worst 1st half of basketball since I’ve been with West Hills. Fortunately the girls finally decided they wanted to play in the 2nd half.”

SHERIKA MILLER led the charge with a game high 13 points for the Wolf Pack (14-4). Miller also had 4 steals, part of a package of 21 thefts ribboned by West Hills.

KIMMIE CLARK and CONNIE HINES pilfered 5 passes apiece for the Pack.

AMBER DARBY led West Hills on the boards with 10 rebounds, one more than Hines.

West Hills also converted 10 of 12 free throws compared to just 2 of 10 for Monte Vista.

ALEXANDRIA CONWRIGHT’s 11 points led Monte Vista, while DEANNA BEMBRY had 8 points and 5 rebounds.

ALEXANDRA ROSS tossed in 2 triples for the Monarchs (6-10).

West Hills scoring: Sherika Miller 13 (3 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Corryn Kivett 8 (2 reb), Connie Hines 8 (9 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Amber Darby 6 (10 reb), Marilyn Naderhoff 6 (2 reb, 3 stl), Kimmie Clark 6 (2 ast, 5 stl), Danielle Hays 2, Alyssa Evjen 2, Shelby Russo (6 reb).

Monte Vista scoring: Alexandria Conwright 11 (2 ast), Deanna Bembry 8 (5 reb), Alexandra Ross 6 (2 ast), Dionna Mercer 4, LiAiesha Brandon 2 (3 reb), Opal Ross (2 reb, 2 stl), Kayla Pusey 1 (3 reb, 3 stl).

STEELE CANYON 58, EL CAJON VALLEY 29 – CHRISTINA WILLIAMS hit 8 of 9 shots from the field en route to a career high 19 points, sparking Steele Canyon to a lop-sided victory over host El Cajon Valley in Tuesday’s (Jan. 13) final day of the Grossmont Conference crossover tournament.

A 5-foot-2 senior guard, Williams also made 9 steals and dished 6 scoring passes.

The Cougars (12-1) pounced on the Braves 16-4 in the opening quarter and continued to add to their lead.

JANVIER “JV” BARBARIN contributed 13 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals and 2 blocks to the Steele Canyon totals.

“After we suffered that loss to Grossmont on Friday, the demeanor of our girls changed,” said Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH. “They were upset about losing and that’s why we were all back in the gym at 7 a.m. on Saturday.”

Steele Canyon forced 33 El Cajon Valley turnovers.

“We were really hungry for a win,” Smith said. “We were money on offense and our defense was on point.”

Nobody reached double figures for the Braves (10-7).

“Steele Canyon played very, very hard and was very aggressive,” said El Cajon Valley coach RANDY ROBINSON. “They took us completely out of our game.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Christina Williams 19 (2 reb, 6 ast, 9 stl), JV Barbarin 13 (6 reb, 3 ast, 6 stl, 2 blk), Mace Alameri 8 (2 ast), Michelle Beasley 6, Julianne Kolegraff 4 (4 reb, 2 stl),Gabrielle Beasley 2 (3 reb, 3 stl, 1 blk), Samantha Vernon 2 (6 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), G’kia Myles 2 (8 reb, 3 stl, 4 blk), Janique Cofield 2 (2 reb, 3 stl), Jessica Domby (2 reb, 2 stl), Jazmin Daigle (2 ast).

El Cajon Valley scoring: Erin Robinson 9 (2 reb), Kaylani Faten 9 (2 reb, 2 ast), Tericka Williams 4 (5 reb), Joanna Gonzales 3, Jeena Esho 2 (5 reb), Sophia Yeargain 2, Desiree Garcia (4 reb).

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (1-11-09) — Hoping to rebound from a loss to Mount Miguel earlier in the week, West Hills was a matter of only seconds away from knocking off Ontario-Colony before falling 51-50 in Saturday’s (Jan. 10) LBA Elite Classic at Mount Miguel High.

The Wolf Pack led 50-49 with 35 seconds remaining, but Colony (15-2) retrieved the lead with a bucket with 17 seconds left. West Hills would get one last clean shot at a victory, but KIMMIE CLARK missed a jumper at the buzzer.

“Even though we lost, games like this are much better for us in our preparation for the start of (Grossmont North) League play,” West Hills coach RYAN KINSER said. “Sure we could have won the game. We were playing well offensively until we had a few breakdowns in the 4th quarter.”

Colony outscored West Hills (13-4) by a 14-10 count in the final period.

“Their two post players hurt us inside, accounting for 36 points between them,” Kinser said. “We couldn’t stop them. And we did not rebound very well.”

MARILYN NADERHOFF paced the Pack with 13 points and 4 assists. Clark finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds, while AMBER DARBY tallied 8 points and commandeered 10 rebounds.

West Hills scoring: Marilyn Naderhoff 13 (2 reb, 4 ast), Kimmie Clark 11 (5 reb), Sherika Miller 9 (4 reb), Mariah Bennett 9 (4 reb), Amber Darby 8 (10 reb), Connie Hines (5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Corryn Kivett (3 reb).

CHINO HILLS-AYALA 57, MOUNT MIGUEL 40 – The No. 2-ranked Matadors (12-3) had another poor shooting night in Saturday’s (Jan. 10) LBA Elite Classic against visiting Ayala. No other details were reported.

© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (1-10-09) — Steele Canyon had a half-dozen chances in the final 24 seconds to keep its record unblemished during Friday’s (Jan. 9) Grossmont Conference crossover action.

The Cougars missed three free throws and two shots that could easily have wiped out visiting Grossmont’s 49-46 lead. But nothing the Cougars threw up connected.

“Even though we were the last undefeated team in the county, our girls were extremely upset,” Cougars coach PENNY SMITH said after the Foothillers claimed a 50-46 victory. “Yeah, that one hurt. But we’re going to move forward, beginning with Saturday’s 7 a.m. practice. Our next opponent (El Cajon Valley on Tuesday, Jan. 13) had better be ready.”

“Our girls did not like losing and don’t plan to do it again soon.”

DANIELLE BALDERAS scored a team-high 20 points to propel the Foothillers (12-4) to the victory.

HEATHER SPRINGE nailed 8 of 16 shots from the floor, including one 3, for 19 points. She also pulled down 8 rebounds, dished 5 assists and made 4 steals.

Considering that Grossmont is the first team to beat Steele Canyon, one would think that would be the greatest achievement on Friday.

“It was mostly revenge from them beating us in the finals of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic,” said Springe. “And also the loss we had to Helix (43-41) on Wednesday – we definitely wanted to come back and get our game back together.”

Against Steele Canyon Grossmont traded 10-point leads with the Cougars before the issue was decided in the final minute.

“We got a little nervous at the end there, but we came out finishing strong,” Springe added.

Springe said the Grossmont girls weren’t even aware that Steele Canyon was undefeated before they arrived at the Cougars gym.

“Nobody was really paying attention to that because they beat us before and we wanted to beat them this time,” she said. “Once we realized they were undefeated, of course we wanted to be the first to beat them.”

JANVIER “JV” BARBARIN led Steele Canyon with 20 points, 14 rebounds and 2 steals.

CHRISTINA WILLIAMS added a dozen points, 8 steals and 2 assists.

“The thing about Steele Canyon is they have those three tall girls that just kill us on rebounds,” said Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG. “So what we did was we started doubling down on the post instead of trying to front her. We put pressure on their corner and then we sent our top guard down to double so we were able to get a lot of steals. It’s hard rebounding against Steele Canyon.”

Grossmont scoring: Danielle Balderas 20 (3 ast, 2 stl), Heather Springe 19 (8 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Frankie Treadwell 8 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Terra Musgrove 2 (7 reb, 1 blk), Chanel Putras 1 (3 reb, 3 stl), Carly Applegate (2 reb).

Steele Canyon scoring: JV Barbarin 20 (14 reb, 2 stl), Christina Williams 12 (8 stl, 2 ast), Gabrielle Beasley 6, G’kia Myles 6 (6 reb), Julianne Kolegraff 2 (3 ast), Samantha Vernon (5 reb, 2 stl), Mace Alameri (3 reb).

HELIX 44, EL CAJON VALLEY 41 – For three quarters it appeared that the Helix Highlanders were going to skate past El Cajon Valley in Friday’s (Jan. 9) Grossmont Conference crossover encounter.

But the Braves (10-6) refused to go away, outscoring the Highlanders 15-10 over the final 8 minutes. The fact is, El Cajon Valley had a chance to spring an upset.

With 6.5 seconds left and Helix clinging to a 2-point lead, El Cajon Valley was going for the game-winning shot and turned the ball over. Then the Braves had to foul.

Helix’ MARIAH WALKER went to the line and missed the first shot but made the second to put the game on ice.

“I was really pleased with our comeback,” said Braves coach RANDY ROBINSON. “We played real hard down the stretch. We need to learn to be a little more consistent with our effort throughout the game.”

KIM SCOTT scored 13 points and JACQUELINE SMITH added 11 points and 7 rebounds to guide the Highlanders (9-7) to the victory.

“Kim Scott and Jackie Smith played well on both ends of the floor for us. They were our leaders tonight,” said Helix coach TRINA HANSEN.

“El Cajon Valley played hard and set some great screens tonight,” Hansen added. “I’m happy to pick up a win against that team. We weren’t really prepared to play them tonight.”

KAYLANI FATEN scored 10 of her 16 game-high points for El Cajon Valley points in the 1st quarter.

Helix was up 26-17 at the half.

“We started the 2nd half real well,” said Robinson.

Helix scoring: Kim Scott 13 (2 reb), Jacqueline Smith 11 (7 reb), Sinoi Leasau 7, Kristina Scott 6, Mariah Walker 5 (4 reb, 2 ast), Cierra Coleman 2.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Kaylani Faten 16 (3 reb, 2 ast), Erin Robinson 8 (3 reb, 2 ast), Jeena Esho 6 (5 reb, 3 stl), Samantha Julien 4 (10 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Tericka Williams 4 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Hazel Doe 3 (5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl).

WEST HILLS 41, GRANITE HILLS 31 – With their two main weapons (and the head coach) slowed with symptoms of the flu, the Eagles offense never got into gear in a home-court setback to the Wolf Pack in Grossmont North-South crossover play Friday (Jan. 9).

The most ill of the Eagles was point guard SABRINA JIMENEZ (7 points), who failed to score until the fourth period, leaving center LAUREN BENDER to face double- and triple-team collapses by West Hills at the low post.

Leading the Wolf Pack defensive effort was SHERIKA MILLER and MARILYN NADERHOFF, especially in the second quarter, limiting the stagnant Eagles to just a single basket to surge to a 19-10 halftime lead.

Granite Hills did well on the defensive side, limiting West Hills to just 34 percent shooting, as the Pack gained just two trips to the foul line all night (2-for-4) until the Eagles were forced to foul in the final minutes.

Down by 14 points following three periods, Jimenez' scoring cut the deficit to 33-26 with 2:07 remaining, but a swift pass by CORRYN KIVETT allowed SHELBY RUSSO to score on a layin, then the Pack closed the contest by going 6-for-6 at the foul line.

Included were four makes by KIMMIE CLARK, who paced both sides with 12 points, allowing the Pack (13-3) to jump back into the win column after seeing a 4-game winning streak snapped in their previous outing, despite the second-lowest point output of the season.

Conversely, West Hills held the Eagles to their lowest offensive total of the season, as Granite Hills (10-6) lost for just the second time in seven starts.

West Hills scoring: Kimmie Clark 12 (4 reb, 2 stl), Sherika Miller 9 (9 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Corryn Kivett 7 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Connie Hines 6 (6 reb), Mariah Bennett 2 (3 stl), Marilyn Naderhoff 2 (4 reb), Shelby Russo 2 (3 reb), Amber Darby 1 (4 reb).

Granite Hills scoring: Jessica Harris 10, Sabrina Jimenez 7, Lauren Koblischke 4, Alyssa Canoff 3, Hailey Garner 3, Maddy Sheeran 2, Lauren Bender 2.

EL CAPITAN 76, VALHALLA 44 – El Capitan scored a season high in Friday’s (Jan. 9) Grossmont Conference crossover blowout of Valhalla.

“We can’t take any team lightly,” said El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES. “I feel like we have a target on our back since the paper (San Diego Union-Tribune) put us so high (No. 4 in the rankings).”

So far, so good.

The Vaqueros (16-1) streaked to a 27-7 first-quarter lead and then coasted to their 11th straight win.

“We came out strong in the 1st quarter tonight, kinda backed off in the 2nd then came out strong again in the 3rd quarter,” said Quinones. “We’re preparing for league play.”

Steady senior ASHLEY DUFFY coined yet another triple-double with 41 points, 11 rebounds, 11 steals, 7 assists and 2 blocks. Duffy’s scoring total was one shy of her season high.

“People might say we are running up the score but we are getting ready for league,” Quinones pointed out. “We are working on several things defensively and offensively. Since we got back from Arizona we haven’t been playing very aggressively. It was nice to see that tonight.”

MARISSA PITMAN added 11 points and 6 rebounds for the Vaqueros, while AMBER REL-SOLIA tacked on 9 points and 3 rebounds before fouling out.

Host Valhalla (5-10) did not have a single player reach double figures although four girls contributed 9 points apiece.

EMILY ROBERTS also had 6 rebounds in addition to her 9 points, of which 7 came from the free throw line.

NICHOLE MILLER hit 4 of 7 shots from the field en route to her 9-point finish and also grabbed 4 rebounds.

“We are only playing with seven girls. I can’t think that anyone in our league is going to go undefeated. Everyone is playing good ball right now.”

“Miller really stepped up her game – she was a force in the post,” said Valhalla coach CARLOS MOSS. “MacKENZIE CARTMILL shot well from long distance.”

Cartmill got all of her 9 points from above the arc.

“El Capitan finally put Duffy on her to stop her,” said Moss.

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 41 (11 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk, 11 stl), Marissa Pitman 11 (6 reb), Amber Rel-Solia 9 (3 reb, 1 blk), Chelsey Kyle 5 (5 reb, 2 ast), Taylor Autry 4 (5 reb, 6 ast), Emily Sutton 4 (8 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Darian Borras 2 (3 reb).

Valhalla scoring: Emily Roberts 9 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Danielle Wilson 9, Nichole Miller 9 (4 reb), MacKenzie Cartmill 9, Chelsea Hale 4 (3 reb), Karissa Ferrell 4, Kelsey Cartmill (3 reb, 4 ast).

SANTANA 59, MONTE VISTA 31 – JAMIE ELIAS matcher her career-high of 26 points and also dished 7 assists as the Sultans (12-4) mauled the visiting Monarchs in Friday’s (Jan. 9) Grossmont Conference crossover contest.

The game was actually closer than the final score, as the Sultans led only 36-25 after three periods.

A 23-6 fourth-quarter finish turned the game into a blowout.

Elias hit 9 of 21 shots from the field, including a pair of 3-balls. She also netted 6 of 10 free throws.

“Jamie Elias played a very consistent game tonight,” said Sultans coach JIM MOTTERSHAW. “She actually had more assists than turnovers.”

DELIA FILES pitched in 7 points and a game-high 7 rebounds for Santana.

ALEXANDRIA CONWRIGHT led Monte Vista (6-9) with 8 points.

“We made some little mistakes tonight and they hurt us,” said Monarchs coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “We played our best game effort-wise. OPAL ROSS started for the first time tonight and gave us some quality minutes. We did a lot of positive things tonight. I don’t think there is anybody stopping us right now but ourselves.”

Santana scoring: Jamie Elias 26 (7 ast), Alyssa Padberg 8 (3 ast), Kim Gross 5, Delia Files 6 (7 reb), Amanda Grable 5, Lauren Mueller 4, Marjie Panknin 2 (3 ast), Tawnya Proctor 2, Kaila Smith 1 (6 reb).

Monte Vista scoring: Alexandria Conwright 8, Alexandra Ross 6, Opal Ross 5 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), LiAiesha Brandon 4 (6 reb), Deanna Bembry 2 (6 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Dionna Mercer 2, Jessica Garcia 2 (6 reb), Kayla Pusey 2.

MADISON 49, CHRISTIAN 17 — MONIQUE ELLIOTT scored 11 points but the Patriots (0-2, 0-8) could generate little else as they dropped Friday’s (Jan. 9) Central League game to visiting Madison (1-1, 2-7) at the Ryan Athletic Center.

“We started to get aggressive offensively,” Christian coach SKIP GERLAK said. “But the one negative from tonight’s game was our inability to make free throws.”

Christian clicked on only one of 13 free throws. Elliott accounted for the only make and five of the Patriots’s eight field goals.

“We couldn’t stop Bonnie Baniak (20 points),” Gerlak said. “She is bigger than anybody we have, and she was very aggressive in the post.”

Christian scoring: Monique Elliott 11, Mary Grabowski 4, Kara Cartwright 2.

The Usual Suspects

And the crowd goes wild... Supporters of the Lady Vaqueros enjoy another victory as El Capitan tipped visiting Patrick Henry, 48-45, in Wednesday's non-league game. (Photo by Leslie Autry; complete slideshow below)

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (1-8-09) — Despite losing their previous two games after an 11-0 start, the Mount Miguel Matadors actually moved up to No. 2 in the latest rankings by both the San Diego Union-Tribune and the North County Times.

The Matadors proved they were worthy of the jump as they held off a talented West Hills challenger 51-40 in Wednesday’s (Jan. 7) Grossmont Conference crossover contest.

Now, nobody would rate the Matadors’ conquest of the Wolf Pack (12-3) as a thing of beauty. But they would have to believe that Mount Miguel is without question
the kingpin of East County girls basketball.

“Here at Mount Miguel we realize that putting good pressure defense on the ball will lead to a lot of offensive breakaways,” said junior DECHAE EVANS. “I’m not a big scorer myself. My responsibility is to go in and get rebounds.”

The 5-foot-10 Evans did exactly that, collecting a game-high 11 caroms to go with 6 points, 2 assists, 3 steals and one block.

“Beating West Hills is important because I think they thought they were going to come here and beat us,” Evans said of the Grossmont North League favorites.

Of course, despite being in different leagues, these teams could meet again in the San Diego CIF Division II playoffs.

“If we do face this team again it’ll probably be in the Division II finals,” said Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL. “I’m sure they’ll give us a bigger challenge than they did in this game if that should happen.”

Mount Miguel shot 38 percent from the field, landing 22-of-58 shots.

NICOLE FOUNTAIN had the hot hand as she netted 6-of-14 shots for a game-high 13 points.

However, the Matadors’ game had plenty of flaws. They committed 22 fouls, which sent West Hills to the free throw line 24 times where the Wolf Pack connected for 16 points.

KIMMIE CLARK was 7-for-7 from the free throw stripe, while MARILYN NADERHOFF was 5-for-6 from the foul line.

The Wolf Pack fell out of contention early on thanks to a series of missed layups. A five minute scoreless streak in the 3rd quarter helped Mount Miguel break the game open at 39-19.

“I’m very disappointed,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “We were never able to execute our offense, and defensively we did not take any of the people we wanted to out of Mount Miguel ’s offense.”

Kinser may have been a bit harsh on his Wolf Pack as Mount Miguel senior guard DANESIA WILLIAMSON finished with only 6 points on 2-of-11 shooting from the floor.

On the flip side Mount Miguel ’s Sandoval credited Williamson for shutting down Clark, who made only one basket outside of her free throw shooting for a 9-point finish.

This is a game that definitely deserves a rematch and hopefully will come to fruition in the playoffs.

Mount Miguel scoring: Nicole Fountain 13 (6 reb), Shay Young 9 (6 reb), Myishia Watkins 8 (3 reb, 3 ast), Danesia Williamson 6 (5 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Dechae Evans 6 (11 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Danielle Miller 5 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Shataera Anderson 4 (2 reb, 2 ast).

West Hills scoring: Marilyn Naderhoff 11 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Kimmie Clark 9 (3 reb), Sherika Miller 6 (2 reb), Mariah Bennett 8 (3 ast, 2 stl), Amber Darby (4 reb), Connie Hines 4 (6 reb), Danielle Hays 1, Shelby Russo 1 (3 reb).

But it was Walker who scored one of Helix’s biggest baskets of the season in Wednesday’s (Jan. 7) Grossmont Conference Crossover victory over host Grossmont.

With 1:26 minutes on the clock Helix was down 41-36.

SINOI LEASAU hit a 3-pointer from the left baseline while double-teamed to make it 41-39. Helix went into a full-court press and stole the ball, and KIM SCOTT hit a layup to tie it at 41-all.

Helix called timeout.

Grossmont missed a field goal and Leasau gobbled up the rebound. She pushed the ball up the court, drove the baseline and missed a jump shot, but that’s where Walker comes in. A 5-foot-7 senior, Walker tipped in what proved to be the winning basket with 1.2 seconds to play.

“It was an exciting game,” Helix coach TRINA HANSEN said. “I’m proud of the way we stormed back.”

Leasau scored a game high 19 points to go along with 8 rebounds.

HEATHER SPRINGE paced a balanced Grossmont attack with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

“It was a pretty even game – both teams played really hard the whole game,” Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG said. “This game was ours to lose – we had control of the game and could not maintain our hold on it.”

Helix scoring: Sinoi Leasau 19 (8 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Kim Scott 9 (2 reb, 2 stl), Mariah Walker 6 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Jacqueline Smith 4 (8 reb), Kristina Scott 3 (3 reb), Lexi Audley 2 (3 reb), Simone Corder (2 reb).

Grossmont scoring: Heather Springe 11 (6 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Danielle Balderas 9 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl),Terra Musgrove 8 (9 reb, 3 stl), Chanel Putras 8 (1 blk, 2 stl), Frankie Treadwell 5 (3 ast, 8 stl).

GRANITE HILLS 43, SANTANA 42 – LAUREN BENDER hit two free throws in the final seconds to give visiting Granite Hills a narrow escape at Santana in Wednesday’s (Jan. 7) Grossmont Conference crossover game.

The Sultans (11-4) led the majority of the game before Granite Hills (10-5) put together a burst in the final couple of minutes to steal the victory.

Bender, a 6-foot senior, put together one of the best games of her career with 20 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and one block.

Junior SABRINA JIMENEZ led Granite Hills’ supporting cast with 15 points, the majority coming on a trio of 3s. Jimenez also had a team-best 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals.

“We were stagnant on offense in the 1st half,” said Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER, noting that Santana led 21-18 at intermission. “It took us awhile to get going. We were more aggressive on defense the whole game. It was our defense that kept us in the game.”

JAMIE ELIAS was Santana’s scoring leader with 15 points and ALYSSA PADBERG added 10.

“I don’t think a coach could have been any prouder of his team than I was tonight,” said Sultans coach JIM MOTTERSHAW. “We really did not play well on offense, but we are very effective with our defense.”

Granite Hills scoring: Lauren Bender 20 (8 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Sabrina Jimenez 15 (4 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), Lauren Koblischke 5 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jessica Harris 3 (2 ast), Hailey Garner (3 reb), Maddy Sheeran (2 reb).

Santana scoring: Jamie Elias 15 (2 ast), Alyssa Padberg 10 (3 ast), Kaila Smith 7 (6 reb, 2 ast), Lauren Mueller 6 (2 ast), Delia Files 4 (4 reb), Kim Gross (3 reb, 2 ast).

“To say I was stunned would be an understatement,” he said. “I didn’t know whether to take it as a compliment or what. We have the best player in the county (ASHLEY DUFFY), but realistically we’re not even a Top 10 team.”

Yes, but Coach Quinones, your Vaqueros are 15-1… Nobody else in the section has won that many games.

“It kinda makes it tough when I talk to my players and I tell my girls we want to be playing below the radar,” Quinones said.

Looks like the Vaqueros can’t hide anything now, if they ever could.

Quinones was quick to note that his Vaqueros were hardly at the top of their game when they hosted Patrick Henry on Wednesday (Jan. 7) in a non-league contest.

What allowed the Vaqueros to escape with a victory was their ability to convert 23 of 24 free throw shots.

“That’s was won us the game,” Quinones said. “We practice free throws when we are tired. If it wasn’t for that, Patrick Henry might have pulled one out on us.”

From the field, however, El Capitan shot a rusty 19.6 percent (12-of-61) inside the 3-point line.

“We just couldn’t buy a bucket in the 3rd period,” said Coach Q, noting that the Patriots used a 14-7 scoring edge to cut the Vaqueros advantage to 32-31.

But as the visiting Patriots found out, beating El Capitan on its own court is no small task.

“We try to take care of business on our own court,” Quinones said. “We are 18-2 on our court over the last two years. We like to play at home.”

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 22 (16 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl), Taylor Autry 10 (4 reb, 2 stl), Emily Sutton 8 (9 reb), Chelsey Kyle 6 (4 reb), Amber Rel-Solia 2 (11 reb, 2 stl), Marissa Pitman (3 reb, 2 ast).

EL CAJON VALLEY 50, MONTE VISTA 38 – Pushing around El Cajon Valley has been the exception, not the rule, so far this season.

In their latest outing the Braves, who won 8 of 28 games last year, ran their record to 10-5 by mowing down host Monte Vista in Wednesday’s (Jan. 7) Grossmont Conference crossover game.

JEENA ESHO scored a career-high 17 points to lead the Braves past the Monarchs (6-8). Included in her totals was one 3-pointer and a trio of steals.

Although it would appear that the Braves won easily they made it hard on themselves by converting only 8 of 22 free throws.

“I’m very happy that we have 10 wins,” said Braves coach RANDY ROBINSON. “It’s been a long time since El Cajon Valley has won 10 games, especially this late in the year.”

The Braves zoomed out to a 17-8 first-quarter lead and extended that advantage to 41-28 by the close of the 3rd quarter.

“We played with better intensity than we did last game against Granite Hills, especially on defense,” Robinson added. “The girls are taking a lot of pride in their performance.”

The Braves are excelling in a valuable statistic that most teams don’t bother keeping – deflections.

ERIN ROBINSON had 9 deflections to go with 7 points. SAMANTHA JULIEN had 7 deflections along with 6 steals and 4 assists.

Monte Vista made a brief run at the Braves in the 3rd quarter, cutting the deficit to 6 points. El Cajon Valley turned things around in rapid fashion with a 7-0 run and then skated to the finish line.

“El Cajon jumped on us early,” said Monarchs coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “We didn’t play good team basketball at all. We are a little too selfish.”

DEANNA BEMBRY led the Monarchs with 14 points, 9 rebounds, a block and 5 steals. DIONNA MERCER scored a season-best 10 points to go with 3 rebounds.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jeena Esho 17 (3 stl), Tericka Williams 8 (3 reb), Hazel Doe 8 (7 reb, 2 ast, 7 stl), Erin Robinson 7 (2 reb), Kaylani Faten 7 (6 reb, 4 ast), Samantha Julien 3 (4 reb, 4 ast, 6 stl).

Monte Vista scoring: Deanna Bembry 14 (9 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 5 stl), Dionna Mercer 10 (3 reb), LiAiesha Brandon 4 (3 reb), Alexandria Conwright 4, Kayla Pusey 3 (3 reb), Christian Kooyman 2, Nichelle Smith 1.

© East County Sports.com
MIRA MESA (1-7-09) — JANVIER “JV” BARBARIN powered in her ninth double-double of the season Tuesday (Jan. 6) to carry undefeated Steele Canyon to its 11th straight victory – a 58-36 non-league romp over host Mira Mesa.

Barbarin, a 5-foot-9 junior, totaled 16 points and hauled down a dozen rebounds.

The Cougars, who shot a blistering 69 percent from the floor – all from two-point range – took a 33-15 halftime lead and cruised to the finish line.

SAMANTHA VERNON chipped in with 13 points, while sophomore guard JULIANNE KOLEGRAFF added 11 points and 4 rebounds for Steele Canyon.

“This was one of those games where you don’t know how the players are going to perform,” Cougars coach PENNY SMITH said. “I think they played great. I was a little apprehensive coming into the game because Mira Mesa is a Division I team who has played a lot of the better teams thus far this season, and I didn’t know how we’d react.”

Mira Mesa fell to 5-10.

“I was surprised at how ready we were to play tonight,” said Smith. “It will be nice to get back in the gym for a couple days of practice before our next game (Friday, Jan. 9 when the Cougars host Grossmont).”

Steele Canyon scoring: JV Barbarin 16 (12 reb), Julianne Kolegraff 11 (4 reb, 3 stl), Samantha Vernon 13 (3 stl), Christina Williams 6 (7 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 5 stl), Gabrielle Beasley 4, G’kia Myles 4 (4 reb), Michelle Beasley 2, Janique Cofield 2.

POINT LOMA 52, CHRISTIAN 19 – If there is a lucky charm available someplace in East County, Christian High’s girls would like to barrow it. So far this season, it’s been a series of downhill sledding.

The Patriots’ (0-7, 0-1 CNL) freshman post player MAKALA BAILEY is out for the season with a leg fracture suffered while kicking a football over the holidays.

“Losing Bailey really hurts us,” said Christian coach SKIP GERLEK. “She was our one real presence down low. You still have to play good games, however. Our offense is still a work in progress.”

Point Loma led 40-9 after three quarters.

Christian scoring: Monique Elliott 8, Ricki Gentry 5, Mia Johnson 5, Mary Grabowski 1.

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (1-6-09) — Even though the Grossmont Foothillers are sporting an 11-3 record, first-year head coach MEGAN LONG is hardly satisfied.

The Foothillers used a 15-4 second-quarter scoring spread to wipe out an early deficit and continue on to a 53-36 victory over host Monte Vista. It was Grossmont’s 5th win in its last six games.

That’s hardly a slump, yet Long was less than enthralled when the visiting Monarchs (6-7) overcame a 9-0 Foothillers lead to take a 12-11 edge after one quarter of Monday’s (Jan. 5) Grossmont Conference crossover game.

“I’m getting frustrated with our lack of effort in the 1st half,” Long said. “We don’t seem to have any purpose and not much direction. We started out the season strong in the 1st half, now we’ve become a strong 2nd half team.”

Long realizes that more often than not the Foothillers won’t get away with slow starts and fast finishes when it comes to league play.

The Grossmont coach heaped praise on DANIELLE BALDERAS, who chipped in with 9 points and 9 steals.

HEATHER SPRINGE (13 points, 6 rebounds) and TERRA MUSGROVE (12 points) and FRANKIE TREADWELL (10 points) turned in a respectable effort.

Monte Vista continued to show improvement as LiAIESHA BRANDON rolled a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.

“Our history is still haunting us,” said Monte Vista coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “We battled hard the whole game. We made a run on them but ran out of gas. We did what we wanted to do but didn’t quite finish the job. We had a ton of unforced turnovers. When ALEXANDRIA CONWRIGHT comes to play there’s not a better guard in the county.”

Grossmont scoring: Heather Springe 13 (6 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Terra Musgrove 12 (4 reb, 1 blk), Frankie Treadwell 10 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Danielle Balderas 9 (2 reb, 4 ast, 9 stl), Chanel Putras 6 (1 blk, 5 stl), Carly Applegate 3 (2 reb, 3 ast).

Monte Vista scoring: LiAiesha Brandon 12 (11 reb), Kayla Pusey 8 (8 reb), Deanna Bembry 6 (12 reb, 2 blk), Alexandria Conwright 6 (2 stl), Opal Ross 2 (4 reb, 2 stl), Alexandra Ross 2 (6 reb, 3 stl).

Well, Madison Avenue rivals Granite Hills and El Cajon Valley did just that in Monday’s (Jan. 5) Grossmont Conference crossover game. The hosting Eagles (9-5) got the nod, perhaps because they had eight players scoring compared to just five for the Braves (9-5).

Granite Hills took a 26-10 first half lead and never looked back.

“The girls look forward to playing El Cajon Valley all year because it’s a friendly rivalry for bragging rights,” said Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER. “El Cajon Valley is getting better, so it’s even more fun. I’m glad to see that they’re getting better. The girls see each other so much, and know each other so well. I was happy with the outcome and the girls enjoyed the game.”

That was a matter of Parker’s opinion.

El Cajon Valley coach RANDY ROBINSON did not view the game as a funfest.

“Granite Hills changed their defenses quite a bit,” Robinson said. “They played with enthusiasm and I thought we reverted back to our old style – went backwards today. We didn’t play with intensity. But it’s a learning experience. We have to know that we have to come out with intensity for every game.”

Granite Hills scoring: Hailey Garner 8 (2 reb, 3 ast), Sabrina Jimenez 8 (9 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl), Maddy Sheeran 7 (4 ast), Jessica Harris 6 (2 reb, 3 ast), Lauren Bender 5 (2 reb), Cora Leonard 3, Lauren Koblischke 2 (3 reb), Keji Kubari 2 (3 reb), Monique Ybarra (2 reb).

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

While Duffy was drilling in a game-high 29 points during Monday’s (Jan. 5) non-league game in El Centro, AMBER REL-SOLIA scored a season-high 16 points and TAYLOR AUTRY added 14 as the Vaqueros (14-1) downed the Spartans.

“It’s been a pleasure having Ashley Duffy play because she plays team basketball,” Quinones said. “As a coach I can’t explain how good it is to have a player like that. How many coaches get to coach a girl with that kind of talent?

“She makes everybody better. If she wanted to she could score 40 points all the time. I think she is the top player in the county. There were many opportunities that she could have shot the ball but she passed it instead.”

Duffy had 7 assists to go along with 8 steals and 10 rebounds. Autry also corralled 10 caroms and dished 4 assists.

“I’m kinda glad we played this game because we got to practice some things,” Quinones said.

El Capitan scoring: Ashley Duffy 29 (10 reb, 7 ast, 8 stl), Amber Rel-Solia 16 (7 reb), Taylor Autry 14 (10 reb, 4 ast), Emily Sutton 4 (2 reb), Chelsey Kyle 3 (4 reb), Marissa Pitman 2 (4 reb, 2 ast), Darian Borras 2 (2 reb).

SANTANA 62, VALHALLA 26 – Defense was the theme for Santana as the host Sultans blanked Valhalla for the first 10 minutes of Monday’s (Jan. 5) Grossmont Conference crossover game.

The Sultans (11-3) led 15-0 after the first quarter and 31-8 by halftime.

KAILA SMITH set the pace for Santana with 19 points and 8 rebounds. DELIA FILES led the Sultans with 9 rebounds. JAMIE ELIAS and SAMANTHA WHITE scored 13 points apiece.

“We played good defense throughout the whole game,” said Santana coach JIM MOTTERSHAW.

The Sultans shot only 34 percent from the field and failed to make a free throw.

“Our shooting woes continue,” said Valhalla assistant coach SIG CHABROWSKI. “We haven’t found a way to straighten that out yet.”

Santana scoring: Kaila Smith 19 (8 reb), Jamie Elias 13 (5 reb, 4 ast), Samantha White 13, Lauren Mueller 5, Alyssa Padberg 4 (5 ast), Delia Files 4 (9 reb), Marjie Panknin 2, Tawnya Proctor 2.

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

STEELE CANYON 54, FALLBROOK 15 – The visiting Cougars slapped the clamps on the Fallbrook Warriors in Monday’s (Jan. 12) non-league rout in North County.

Steele Canyon (10-0) stormed to an 18-2 first-quarter lead as the Warriors (4-6) dropped their 3rd straight.

JV BARBARIN’s 17 points led the Cougars who set a school record for fewest points allowed in a game.

“Our second squad took over after the 1st quarter and played well,” said Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH. “It was nice to get our extra players some quality playing time.”

Ten Cougars contributed to the scoring.

Steele Canyon scoring: JV Barbarin 17, G’kia Myles 7, Gabrielle Beasley 6, Samantha Vernon 6, Mace Alameri 4, Julianne Kolegraff 3, Janique Cofield 4, Christina Williams 3, Yvette Phipps 2, Alana McClure 2.