Fifth-ranked Matadors have numbers

By Ramon Scott
Updated: April 24, 2021

2021 EAST COUNTY PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL

EastCountySports.com staff report

SPRING VALLEY – The Mount Miguel High girls varsity basketball team started the season with just enough players to take the court.

In a few of the first games, the Matadors didn’t have a sub available.

However, head coach Robbie Sandoval knew that some relief was on the way with the addition of a pair of players with a ton of high-level varsity experience.

One of those players, senior Arantxa Fonseca, scored a game-high 21 points on Saturday as Mount Miguel fought off the Torrey Pines Falcons in the second half to take a 40-point home win in a non-league contest, 70-37, on Saturday.

The fifth-ranked Matadors found themselves tied 14-all after one quarter but were able to extend the lead to 31-24 by halftime.

Matador sophomore Ixchel Rojo added 15 points, including a three-pointer, to go along with 11 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals.

“We were a little off early in the game,” Fonseca said. “Ixchel is an amazing passer, she is so smart with the ball.”

Sophomore Jennifer Moreno finished with 12 points, including a pair of triples, and also added six assists and four steals.

Danay Williams-Pope finished with nine points and seven rebounds for Las Matadoras.

And thanks to the addition of Fonseca and fellow senior Nataly Bravo, the duo who transferred to Mount Miguel from Foothills Christian, the Matadors have a much-needed, somewhat deeper rotation.

The former Knights are no strangers to winning, helping Foothills Christian to back-to-back league championships over the last two seasons, a part of teams that combined to go 51-13 over those years.

Those are Matador-like win numbers.

For now, Las Matadoras are 10-2 on the season, with games against Helix, Cathedral Catholic, and Christian this week.

The Matadors and Patriots will meet on Saturday at noon at The Matadome in a game between two of East County’s top clubs.

EL CAPITAN 45, SERRA 35 – The ninth-ranked Lady Vaqueros got 18 points from senior Mackenzie Curtis, 14 points from sophomore Kaylee Cole, and 12 points from senior Emma Driskill in the win over Serra High.

Curtis made a pair of three-pointers and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds while dishing out six assists, recording four steals, and blocking two shots.

Driskill had seven boards and Cole had four assists.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 37, MONTGOMERY 18 – The Knights had a strong second half to put away the host Aztecs and pick up their second win of the season.

FCHS led just 13-10 at halftime but outscored Montgomery, 12-6, in the third quarter, then limited the Aztecs to just two points in the fourth quarter.

Christie Sarkis led the Knights with 12 points. She also had four steals.

Freshman Jadyn Patton added eight points for FCHS.

Both high scorers made two three-pointers.

Senior Caroline Burke grabbed 15 rebounds, handed out seven assists, and made nine steals for the Lady Knights, while senior teammate Sonja Fortier grabbed 10 caroms.

LINCOLN 32, SANTANA 10 – The Hornets really shut down the Sultans in this one, as Santana fell to 2-4.

RAMONA 47, EL CAJON VALLEY 36 – The Bulldogs led 25-11 at halftime, as the Braves fell to 3-6.