Mendoza leads Griffs to second win

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: January 17, 2019

2019 COMMUNITY COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

By Nick Pellegrino
East County Sports staff writer

PALM DESERT (1-17-2019) – Grossmont College guard Drew Mendoza must not have been very happy. So she did something about it.

After being a part of the starting unit all season, Griffins head coach Brionna Baker decided to sit her sophomore, allowing some freshmen to begin the transition in becoming starters since the Griffins season has failed to meet expectations.

But when it came to crunch time, Baker called on one of her team leaders.

And Mendoza responded.

On Wednesday (Jan. 16), Mendoza responded with 13 of her 16 points in the fourth period, allowing Grossmont to expand a 6-point lead into double figures, allowing the Griffins to down host College of the Desert, 80-63, in the final contest before conference play begins for both programs.

Mendoza, a product of Mira Mesa, did more than hit 4-of-7 shots from the field. She also contributed at assists and two steals down the stretch to allow the G-House to secure control for their second victory of the season.

Sophomore center Satori Roberson (La Jolla) help get Grossmont (2-12) going, tallying 9 of her team-best 21 points in the second period, taking a 39-36 halftime lead. The 21 were her second-highest production of the season.

However, winless yet pesky Roadrunners (0-15) still were in the game through three periods before Mendoza went off.

In addition, the Ramona connection were key factors, as Chiara Mattern poured home 20 points (13 in the first half), while Devann Horton registered a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

College of the Desert guard Zuri Outlaw led all scorers with 23 points, matching Mattern with 5 triples. Included were 8 points in the third to keep CD close, but the Grossmont defense limited her to just a single basket in the fourth.

MiraCosta 92, San Diego City 62: In another Pacific Coast Athletic Conference North-South Challenge contest, the visiting Spartans were on a 100-pointy pace most of the night, settling with 92 points to equal a season-high to vanquish the Knights at Harry West Gym.

Uneque Fradiue led rising MiraCosta (11-4) with 18 points, while Chynna Cochran added 17, but the Spartans defense took control in the second half.
Included with holding San Diego City to consecutive backcourt (10-second) violations early in the second half, then Victoria Wilson converted a traditional 3-point play (a layin while bring fouled) to mount a 69-38 lead with 3:17 remaining in the third period– a potential scoring rate of 102 points.

The Spartans also got a little lucky, too, when Fradiue banked in a straightaway 3-point shot to end City’s hopes of mounting a comeback.
n addition, Julia Iman added 13 points, as all 10 MiraCosta players scored at least 4 points in a balance effort, consistency beating City’s man defense off the dribble with drives to the basket.

For SDCC (8-9), Alissa Wolfblack and Mariah Wonders each scored 13 points and 10 rebounds for double-doubles, while Elliott Nixon and Kiley Pope each chipped in 11 points.

Imperial Valley 55, San Bernardino Valley 28: Name the best team entering conference play in the PCAC South. The Lady Arabs made their case with a near record-breaking defensive performance to subdue the Wolverines.

With the triumph, IVC (9-9) matches San Diego City for the second-best record among the five divisional clubs, with Southwestern just a half-game better at 8-8 overall. SBVC fell to 4-10.

The one-two scoring punch of Keren Hogue (19 points) and Destiny Salgado (18) alone was enough to out-score the hosts. Salgado also grabbed 18 rebounds, including 8 offensive boards.

Official records were not immediately available, but the 28 points allowed is believed to be the lowest since IVC were members of the old Desert Conference in the 1970s.

Mt. San Jacinto 69, San Diego Mesa 37: The state-ranked and defending state champion Eagles raced past the host Olympians in another PCAC North-South Challenge match, again captured by the North.

MSJC tallied 22 points in the first two quarters to mount a comfortable 44-17 halftime lead. But Mesa showed some pride by pouring in 20 third-period points, the Eagles demonstrated why they are one of the favorites for the conference crown by shutting out Mesa in the fourth quarter, blanking them over a span of 10:38.

For Mt. San Jacinto (13-6), Haylei Janssens led the Eagles with 11 points and 10 rebounds, but the leading scorer was Sharonda Edwards, who came off the bench to post 13 points.

For Mesa (4-10), center Yusra Gharram led with 14 points and 9 boards, while Aaliyah Williams added 10 points.

Palomar 94, Southwestern 61: Courtesy, Palomar College media relations…

Julie Saele pumped in 23 points, 21 of them on 3-point bombs, as the host Comets drew away late to bury Southwestern in the teams’ Pacific Coast Athletic Conference cross-division game on Wednesday at Palomar Dome.

The Comets (14-5), ranked No. 11 in the California Community College Sports Information Association poll, jumped in front 26-18 after one quarter, let the Jaguars climb back in the game to take the lead twice in the third quarter, then blitzed the visitors 26-12 in the final quarter to turn it into a blow-out victory.

Saelee, a freshman guard, led the way with 7 three-pointers (6 of them in the second half) and 4 rebounds has Palomar knocked in 18 shots from behind the arc.

Sara Ahmadpour contributed 11 points, including 2 threes, while Imari Cooley had 9 points and 13 rebounds for the Comets.

Maya Robinson, a 5-8 freshman forward, led the Jaguars from the PCAC South Division (8-8) with 19 points.

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