GIRLS: Vaqueros finally beat Matadors

By Ramon Scott
Updated: January 18, 2020

Grossmont warms up for its game against Helix on Friday night.

El Capitan at the line against Mount Miguel. / photo by Dave Dickens

2020 EAST COUNTY PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL

EastCountySpors.com staff report

LAKESIDE – El Capitan junior Mackenzie Curtis scored 35 points and the Vaqueros defeated the Mount Miguel Miguel Matadors for the first time in 19 years on Friday night with a 63-52 Grossmont Hills League victory over the 19-time consecutive league champions.

Mount Miguel with the ball against El Capitan. / photo by Dave Dickens

The game was tied 16-all after the first quarter but El Capitan took a 31-26 into halftime.

Curtis scored 15 points in the first quarter and 24 in the first half.

The Vaqueros outscored the Matadors, 15-10, in the fourth quarter.

Emma Driskill scored 10 points in the contest for the Vaqueros.

Jennifer Moreno, a freshman, scored 16 points for the Matadors.

JoPonica Melvin led Mount Miguel in the first quarter with six points, finishing with 10 total points in the contest.

Jacquee Brown had three three-pointers for Mount Miguel.

Ixchel Rojo, of Mount Miguel, had 12 points in the ballgame.

El Capitan improved to 12-8 overall on the season. The Vaqueros are currently the only 2-0 team in the Grossmont Hills League.

Mount Miguel fell to 11-6. It was just the fourth loss for the Matadors in league play since 2001.

SANTANA 53, MONTE VISTA 33 – The Sultans are alone in first place in the Grossmont Valley League after just two games.

Santana junior Bella Terry scored 16 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out four assists, and had 11 steals as the Sultans defeated the Monarchs in a Grossmont Valley League contest.

The Sultans’ Taylinn Warren had four points, 11 rebounds, and three assists.

“Our defense this game was really working for us,” Warren said. “We started in man-to-man but then moved into a zone and the zone worked really well for us. We had a good two practices leading up to this game and it definitely showed on the court.”

Brianna Jerig had 12 points for Santana.

“We had a solid win on Monday followed by two great days of practice and it showed tonight,” Santana head coach Jordan Franey said. “We started out strong and worked through some struggles in our press break and ultimately we played our basketball.

“Our defensive intensity and attention to detail were so important for us tonight. We followed our scouting report and executed it.

“This was an exciting win for us as a program and it was fun to see my kids on the same page and playing for the name on the front of the jersey. We have a lot of pride at Santana and I wouldn’t want to go into battle with any other team.”

The Monarchs will have to be a pursuer in the Grossmont Valley League race to the lone leader so far.

“This loss was really disappointing to everyone on our team,” Monte Vista’s Maya Garcia said. “I personally feel that our main issue today was just not trusting each other enough with the ball. I also believe that we either blame our mistakes on other teammates or we end up being too hard on ourselves.

“But I won’t say that everything was bad because we had our good moments, as well. I believe that the next time we play Santana, we will focus on our strong points and stay positive. The more we work as a team and trust ourselves, I believe will be the key to being victorious through the league.”

Monte Vista still is in contention, of course, along with the other clubs.

“(Monte Vista’s) Heidy (Romero) is a player who hardly gets credit because I believe she always goes up strong when she gets the chance,” Garcia said. “And Lina (De Leon) hustles and goes up to the basket every chance she gets.”

CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 66, CHRISTIAN 52 – The third-ranked Patriots led 16-8 after one quarter but couldn’t hold on in the huge Western League contest against the fourth-ranked Dons.

In fact, a dry run in the second half saw the Dons pull away from the Patriots, particularly in the second half.

Allie Carreon had 18 points, while Kristin Williams and Simone James both had 14 points for CHS.

Williams had back-to-back three-pointers in the second quarter to give Christian a 23-11 lead.

Cathedral Catholic improved to 3-0 in the Western League and 10-9 overall.

Christian fell to 2-1 in the Western League and 14-5 overall.

GROSSMONT 43, HELIX 40 (OT) – Shyann VanKirk had 17 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots to lead the Foothillers in the Grossmont Hills League win.

Mckenzee Purnell added 10 points for the Foothillers, who are 1-0 in league play.

Anyssa Chargualaf added six points for the Hillers.

The score was tied at 12-all after the first quarter, but the Foothillers led 22-16 at halftime.

Grossmont extended its lead to 34-22 at the end of three quarters before Helix staged a rally.

The Highlanders came storming back in the fourth quarter to force overtime but a late basket gave the Hillers the win.

Helix got 10 points each from Ariy’Ana Duke and Selena Soloman. Samonah Betts added eight points for the Lady Highlanders.

Duke had 23 rebounds, four assists, and eight steals. Betts grabbed six boards.

STEELE CANYON 53, EL CAJON VALLEY 32 – Steele Canyon won its first game of the season and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

The Cougars led 16-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Then, the Cougars led 33-19 at halftime.

Silvia Aboud led El Cajon Valley with nine points.

Freshman Ruth Taulanga had seven points. ane 11 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.

The Braves are 11-6 overall and 1-1 in the Grossmont Valley League

GRANITE HILLS 39, VALHALLA 33 – The visiting Eagles improved to 1-1 in the Grossmont Valley League with the win over the Lady Norsemen.

Granite Hills improved to 6-12, while Valhalla fell to 0-12 overall.

LIBERTY CHARTER 42, CLASSICAL ACADEMY 40 – Liberty Charter rallied from a 16-9 first-quarter deficit to win the non-league contest on Friday.

Liberty outscored Classical, 10-4, in the second quarter.

Tatiana Taylor had 14 points, while teammate Jessica Salvador added 11 for the Lions.

MOUNTAIN EMPIRE 51, WARNER 28 – The RedHawks picked up their first league win and improved to 5-7 overall by defeating winless Warner on the road.

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