Matadors need to Scurry for cover
Inglewood center overwhelms with 35 points

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SPRING VALLEY (3-14-10) — Mount Miguel got a taste of how the other side lives in Saturday’s (Mar. 13) Southern California Regional semifinal playoff loss to Inglewood.

The visiting Sentinels (30-5) shredded the Matadors defense, scoring more points than any other Mount Miguel foe while claiming an 85-60 victory.

“We gave up 48 points in the first half,” grumbled Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL. “But we were only down by 10.”

The third quarter was a disaster for Mount Miguel (31-3), as Inglewood rattled off a 27-3 scoring spree and turned the game into a rout snapping Mount Miguel’s 12-game winning streak.

“That was the worst defense we’ve ever played,” Sandoval said. “We were horrible – really stunk it up in the third quarter. We had little to no ‘help’ defense and let them dictate the tempo from the opening tip.”

One of Mount Miguel’s biggest problems was stopping Deajanae Scurry, Inglewood’s 6-foot-3 post player who racked up 35 points – 28 in the 1st half.

“She was averaging only like 8 points per game,” Sandoval stated. “We made her look like an All-American. She backed people down and then shot over them.”

On the positive side, DANIELLE MILLER played another strong game for Mount Miguel with 21 points and 5 rebounds.

“Miller plays an efficient game, doesn’t force up a bunch of bad shots,” Sandoval said. “She and NICOLE (FOUNTAIN) were our two best players on the floor tonight.”

Mount Miguel: Danielle Miller 21 (5 reb, 2 stl, 1 ast), Nicole Fountain 10 (5 reb, 2 ast), Yvonte Neal 10 (4 reb, 2 ast), Dechae Evans 7 (4 reb, 1 stl), Myishia Watkins 6 (3 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl), Shataera Anderson 4 (3 reb). Shay Young 2 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl).

Evans' triple-double powers
Matadors to state Great Eight

The 5-foot-9 Evans rolled off a triple-double with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 steals Thursday (Mar. 11), leading the Matadors to an easy 64-40 CIF Southern California Regional Division III quarterfinal victory over visiting Barstow (24-4).

While Evans was the cornerstone of the Matadors (31-2) who collected their 12th consecutive victory, it was senior guard YVONTE NEAL that provided the jump start. Neal scored 10 of her 12 points in the 1st quarter as Mount Miguel marched to a 25-8 lead.

NICOLE FOUNTAIN, a senior guard, attacked the basket rather than putting up the majority of her shots from long distance as she had done in the previous three games.

“Nicole had a good comeback game for us,” Sandoval acknowledged. Fountain also registered 8 assists, 7 rebounds and 4 steals.

Looking ahead, the Matadors will entertain the Inglewood Sentinels (29-5) in Saturday’s (Mar. 13) Division III semifinals at Mount Miguel .

The Sentinels advanced by eliminating Pasadena Muir 46-41 on Thursday. This was a big time battle as the Sentinels used a 15-10 fourth quarter scoring burst to advance.

In the other Division III semifinal, top-seeded Santa Margarita (25-6) hosts Bishop Amat (25-7) on Saturday.

“If we can beat Inglewood , I think we can win the Southern California championship,” Sandoval stated.

Mount Miguel: Nicole Fountain 12 (7 reb, 8 ast, 4 stl), Danielle Miller 12 (4 reb, 1 ast, 7 stl), Yvonte Neal 12 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Dechae Evans 11 (13 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk, 10 stl), Myishia Watkins 8 (1 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Shay Young 6 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Shataera Anderson 3 (2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl).

Matadors advance after nail-biter
West Hills falls to the Chargers in D-2 opener

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SPRING VALLEY (3-10-10) — Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL wasn’t afraid to admit it.

“We were fortunate to win,” said Sandoval after the Matadors escaped with a 47-46 victory over Orange Lutheran in Tuesday’s (Mar. 9) opening round of the Southern California Regional playoffs. “We didn’t play all that well, but we still found a way to win.”

By stretching their current winning streak to 11 games, the Matadors (30-2) will host Barstow (24-3) in Thursday’s (Mar. 12) regional semifinals at 7 p.m.

Although the Matadors shot a paltry 31 percent from the field (18-for-58), including 3 for 16 from above the arc, they used some clutch hustle and defense in the waning moments to deny the Lancers (24-7) the upset.

By no means did the Matadors pull off this victory in cruise control. In fact they had to survive three bona fide last minute challenges by Orange Lutheran, which missed two shots and the front end of a one-and-one with the Matadors clinging to a one-point advantage.

Junior DANIELLE MILLER paced the Matadors with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. YVONTE NEAL chipped in with 12 points, while SHAY YOUNG snagged 7 rebounds and recorded 3 steals.

Yet, the unsung hero in Mount Miguel ’s latest conquest was DECHAE EVANS. The 5-foot-9 senior, who was bogged down by early foul troubles, finished strong although her statistics may not indicate thus – 5 points and 8 rebounds.

Where Evans made her greatest impact was on the boards in the final four minutes.

“They were killing us on the glass,” Sandoval said.

Evans helped neutralize the Lancers’ rebounding advantage, protecting Mount Miguel ’s one-point advantage down the stretch. She could have iced the Matadors’ victory when she made a steal in the paint and dribbled the length of the floor with 12 seconds remaining. Instead of pulling up and running out the clock, Evans continued on to the basket where she missed a layup and one of her teammate’s fouled the Orange Lutheran rebounder with three seconds left.

“I didn’t know who was behind me or exactly how much time was left,” Evans said. “I knew if I made the basket and possibly got fouled, I could put the game away. All I could see was the basket. I came in straight-on when I should have come in from an angle. When I let go of the ball I saw it spin off the rim and heard the refs whistle.”

Orange Lutheran missed the front end of one-and-one free throw opportunity and Evans grabbed the rebound to save the victory for Mount Miguel .

“When you get to the state tournament, it’s all about advancing,” Sandoval said.

Mount Miguel : Danielle Miller 16 (9 reb, 7 stl, 2 ast), Yvonte Neal 12 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Nicole Fountain 6 (2 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Dechae Evans 5 (8 reb, 1 stl), Shay Young 5 (7 reb, 3 stl, 1 ast), Myishia Watkins 2 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Shataera Anderson 1 (2 reb).

HUNTINGTON BEACH EDISON 71, WEST HILLS 52 – When four-year senior starter MARILYN NADERHOFF went down with an apparent knee injury five minutes into Tuesday’s (Mar. 9) Southern California Regional playoff game, West Hills coach RYAN KINSER knew his team was in trouble.

“I don’t know if we would have beaten them with Marilyn, because they were on fire shooting most of the game,” Kinser said. “But when you lose your best player against a team that plays a 2-1-2 (invert zone) like Edison does, you’re in trouble.”

And so the Wolf Pack was, as Edison built a 43-19 halftime lead.

“We haven’t given up that many points in a game in more than a month,” Kinser said.

West Hills (24-7) outscored the Chargers (23-5) by a 33-28 count in the second half, but it didn’t matter.

What did matter is the Wolf Pack had no answer for Edison ’s 6-foot-3 senior guard Bonnie Samuelson, who tossed in 31 points. Samuelson, who will attend Stanford University next season, also knocked down 5 three-pointers.

“She’s the real deal,” Kinser said. “We didn’t have anybody who could cover her.”

Another woe for West Hills was its off-the-mark shooting. Once regarded among the San Diego CIF’s elite three-point shooting teams, the Wolf Pack netted only 2 of 16 shots from above the arc.

“I can’t believe how poor our shooting has become in the past few weeks,” Kinser said. “It’s not like we don’t practice it because we do.”

The outcome aside, Kinser lamented the injury to Naderhoff.

“She played so hard and then to get hurt in her last game... it’s a shame,” he said. “But she had a great career here as did all my seniors who compiled a 74-20 record, won three league titles and two CIF championships during my three years here. I’m proud of these girls. I really am.”

West Hills: Sherika Miller 14, Danielle Hays 8, Emily Cole 7, Kim Clark 6, Jillian Brown 5, Taylor Aguirre 3, Mariah Bennett 3, Marilyn Naderhoff 2, Daniana Ghandour 2, Taylor Ingraham 2. No other statistics were available.

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ALCALA PARK (3-7-10) — The basketball court at Jenny Craig Pavilion could be considered a House of Horror to Mount Miguel High.

Twice in recent seasons, a top-seeded and heavily-favored Matadors ballclub have fallen at the collegiate setting, with Saturday's (Mar. 6) San Diego CIF Division III final pointed in a similar direction after Our Lady of Peace bounded to quarter leads of 13-11 and 21-18 in the first half.

So Cal State Fullerton bound guard YVONTE NEAL took control and carried Mount Miguel on her shoulders. The senior registered 16 of her game-high 19 points in the second half, powering the Matadors to their fifth San Diego Section crown over eight seasons after racing past the Pilots, 57-49.

The final score was altered some 20 minutes following the finale when an OLP buzzer-beater was changed from a 3-point basket to a regular 2-point goal, thus the result was accidentally mis-reported by several media outlets.

Neal posted 10 of her points in the third quarter to knot the contest, then she drained all four of her foul shots in the final seconds to stave one final OLP surge.

One For The Thumb

Mount Miguel guard Myishia Watkins (top) drives between a pair of Our Lady of Peace defenders, then dishes off to center Shay Young (24, bottom) for an easy, fourth-quarter layin to spark the Matadors' comeback to claim the CIF San Diego Section Division III crown. (Photos by Ed Piper)

"In the first half, I think we just had the jitters and played a little scared, but it was all business in the second half."

Mount Miguel changed its passing strategy to one where players drove the paint, then either looked to shoot or pass the ball to a low post player. And the Pilots never knew who would eventually work the ball inside, as six different Matadors registered assists in the second half to place extra pressure on every defender.

"We upped our intensity and jumped on them," noted DANIELLE MILLER, who matched teammate MYISHIA WATKINS with 11 points each. "Then we locked down and played strong defense, too."

Our Lady of Peace (22-9) saw guard Ashlee Guay register 19 points. But she was limited to 1-for-8 shooting in the fourth quarter before fouling out. No other member of the Pilots was able to pick up the slack.

"Coach (ROBBIE SANDOVAL) told us at halftime that we needed to play like we wanted to win bad," added Watkins. "We had to show something and we did."

"There were teams putting us down, but we showed something -- no one can put us down anymore."

Several section teams refused to play Mount Miguel this season, forcing the ballclub to find other options to become playoff-ready. With the test they received from OLP, the Matadors hope to excel when the CIF Southern California Regionals commence on Tuesday (Mar. 9), especially on the defensive side of the court.

"We were boxing-out more and talking on defense," explained SHAY YOUNG, who added 9 points and 7 boards. "Everyone on the team was working."

After Neal scored a layin off a length-of-the-court pass by Miller to tie the contest to close the third period, Mount Miguel 's scoring run extended to 11-0 with the first nine points of the fourth period.

Included was a weak-side roll to the basket by Miller, who accepted a sweet Watkins pass after she penetrated the paint and made the dish to her open teammate. Moments later, the same pair converted a similar maneuver for a 46-37 lead with 2:36 remaining.

OLP has been a thorn for Mount Miguel which needed a come-from-behind effort to edge the Pilots 51-47 in the Matador Classic finals in December.

“We couldn’t get going offensively in the first half,” Sandoval said. “At the start of the second half we got a little flow going. The kids were resilient, even after we got down they continued to play. And we made our free throws down the stretch.”

Mount Miguel netted 12 of 15 shots from the charity stripe in the second half which helped them protect the lead.

MOUNT MIGUEL         FGS  3FG  FTS PTS REB AST STL T-O BLK
02 Watkins           4-5  0-1  3-5  11   4   2   2   6   0
13 Neal              6-16 2-6  5-6  19   6   1   1   2   1
22 Anderson          1-1  0-0  0-1   2   2   0   2   0   0
23 Evans             1-7  0-0  1-2   3  10   1   0   2   3
24 Young             3-8  0-2  3-4   9   7   2   0   2   1
32 Fountain          1-8  0-3  0-0   2   5   2   0   1   1
42 Miller            3-6  0-0  5-6  11   3   2   0   2   3
team                                     4
MATADORS           19-51 2-12 17-24 57  41  10   5  15   9
-
OUR LADY OF PEACE    FGS  3FG  FTS PTS REB AST STL T-O BLK
02 Anderson          1-2  0-0  0-0   2   2   2   2   2   0
03 Guay              7-16 0-1  5-7  19   9   5   1   4   0
11 Veleker           0-0  0-0  0-0   0   1   0   1   0   0
13 McRoskey          4-14 3-10 1-2  12   1   1   4   2   0
15 Vitha             1-5  0-0  0-2   2   6   0   1   2   0
24 Shayota           5-12 2-3  2-5  14   3   2   2   3   0
44 Catton            0-1  0-0  0-0   0   2   0   0   1   0
team                                     5           1
PILOTS             18-50 5-14 8-16  49  29  10  11  15   0

© East County Sports.com
ALCALA PARK (3-6-10) — For more than a decade, this main corps of players have achieved success on the basketball court. On Friday (Mar. 5), they may have garnered the best of their best.

After starting out together as a second grade youth team, the five seniors that comprise the hub of today’s West Hills High squad didn't just capture their second straight San Diego CIF Division II basketball championship, they did so in record-setting fashion.

Buoyed by a smothering defense, the Wolf Pack whacked Westview 40-25 in the San Diego CIF championship title game held at USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Pack took its path on the defense end, holding the Wolverines to the fewest points ever surrendered in a SDCIF Division II final.

The 25 points allowed broke the Division II mark established by Point Loma, one of the greatest girls basketball teams to ever play in San Diego County. The Pointers captured four consecutive CIF state titles (1984-87), establishing the previous defensive low-water mark of 34 points in 1990 against San Pasqual.

Of course, several championship games in Divisions III, IV and V have left losing teams with lower scoring totals. Most noteworthy was The Bishop’s conquest of Coronado, 48-20, in the 2000 Division IV title bout.

Similar to Wednesday's (Mar. 3) semifinal, when the Pack burst to an 18-0 lead over Patrick Henry in the first quarter, this was mightily similar. After eight minutes, the Wolverines were trailing, 16-4, with the margin continuing to grow throughout the one-sided affair.

Forward SHERIKA MILLER started the onslaught with six points during an 11-0 run to open the contest. Miller drove the lane for a layin to open the scoring, registered a steal for a breakaway layin, then scored on another break after a steal and pass by KIM CLARK.

By the time Naderhoff beat the Westview defense with her own drive to the basket, scoring while being fouled for a 3-point play, West Hills owned a 16-2 cushion – the engraver for the SDCIF championship plaque was already busy.

"It’s sad, kinda, because we’ve been playing with the same people for so long and now it’s coming to an end," said Miller. "But at least we’re ending it on a winning note. We’re leaving with a lot of good memories.”

Despite this emotional win over Westview, the Wolf Pack’s season remains alive as the Santee bunch is in line to host a Southern California Regional contest next week.

Meanwhile Westview utilized several different modes in an attempt to catch the Wolf Pack in the SDCIF final. Yet each one-on-one matchup would fail. Incredibly, the Wolverines saw nine different players score, but only one player would register more than a single bucket.

"We were tabbed the No. 1 seed (in Division II) and you like to come through on that, which we did,” West Hills coach RYAN KINSER said. “We didn’t play very well on offense tonight –couldn’t make many shots. But our defense was there.”

For the contest, Westview converted just 8-of-37 shots while committing 20 turnovers (12 in the first half). Single-handedly, Naderhoff was 7-for-11 from the floor.

"It’s always nice when you can win a championship of this magnitude back-to-back," Naderhoff said. “There was a lot more pressure doing this the second time because we could not sneak up on anyone. We had the target on our back.”

West Hills (24-6) advances to the CIF Southern California regional on Tuesday (Mar. 9), expecting to receive a first-round home game. Just who the Pack will play remains up in the air. Kinser believes West Hills will meet the No. 4 seed in Division II and figures his club will host either Irvine Woodbridge or Villa Park in the opening round. That will be determined in Sunday’s (Mar. 7) seeding meeting.

Division II final: West Hills 40, Westview 25

Top: Emily Cole tipped the ball away for the steal, then saves the ball from sailing out of bounds to set-up a breakaway layin by Sherika Miller. Also pictured are Westview's Denise White (24) and Melissa Peng (23). Bottom: Taylor Ingraham (left) keeps the ball away from defender Caey Lee. (Photos by Philip Brents, www.sdprepsports.com) Click on photos for enlargements

WOLF PACK STATISTICS WEST HILLS FGS 3FG FTS PTS REB AST STL T-O BLK 04 Miller 3-12 0-3 2-2 8 6 0 2 3 1 10 Clark 0-4 0-1 4-4 4 5 2 1 2 0 12 Hays 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 4 0 0 0 0 14 Cole 1-3 1-1 2-2 5 1 1 1 1 0 22 Aguirre 0-5 0-2 0-0 0 3 0 0 0 0 23 Naderhoff 7-11 0-0 4-5 18 4 1 4 5 0 24 Forsberg 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 1 0 0 0 0 30 Ghandour 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 32 Brown 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 5 0 0 1 0 34 Bennett 2-8 0-1 0-0 4 4 1 2 0 0 44 Ingraham 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 3 0 0 2 0 team 3 WOLF PACK 13-47 1-10 13-17 40 39 5 10 15 1 WOLVERINES 8-35 0- 8 9-23 25 33 1 7 20 4

Eagles' best-ever season ends
by emotional Poway in semis

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POWAY (3-5-10) — Just getting there seemed to be satisfying enough for the Granite Hills Eagles, who ran into a buzzsaw in Thursday’s (Mar. 4) San Diego CIF Division I semifinal at Poway, falling 62-32.

Of course, these were uncharted waters for Granite Hills (25-7), which had never advanced beyond the quarterfinals in the history of the girls basketball program.

Poway (27-3), meanwhile, has been mourning the murder of 17-year-old senior classmate Chelsea King, whose body was found on Tuesday near Lake Hodges.

Poway led 11-0 before the Eagles found the scoreboard on a SAMANTHA SILVA bucket with 3:40 left in the 1st period.

A three-point basket by SABRINA JIMENEZ brought the Eagles to within 16-10 of the Titans with one minute left in the 1st period. Poway finished with a rush, scoring the final five points of the opening session which embarked the Titans on a 29-2 scoring spree that turned the game into a rout.

“We didn’t shoot the ball very well tonight and a lot of credit for that is due to Poway’s defense,” Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER said.

The Titans sealed off the passing and driving lanes which led to Granite Hills’ lowest scoring output of the season.

“They had some height that bothered our shots,” Parker admitted.

The Eagles never could take flight as they shot 20.3 percent from the field (13 for 64) compared to Poway’s 53.2 percent (25 of 47).

Junior Katie Kuklok, Poway ’s lone non-senior starter, drilled in five three-pointers in three quarters playing time.

Jimenez, Granite Hills’ only senior starter, paced the Eagles with 12 points.

“This isn’t the way we wanted to see it end, but overall I think we had a good season,” Parker said.

Granite Hills: Sabrina Jimenez 12 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Jessica Harris 7 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Skylar Williams 4 (4 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Samantha Silva 4 (2 reb, 1 ast), Hailey Garner 3 (2 reb), Keji Kubari 2 (7 reb, 1 stl), Cora Leonard (3 reb), Alyssa Canoff (1 reb, 2 stl).

Matadors earn shot at 5th CIF crown

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SPRING VALLEY (3-4-10) — Perhaps the Mount Miguel Matadors should include on their annual team schedule the date of the San Diego CIF finals. If they were to do so it could hardly be classified as being presumptuous.

During head coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL’s 10 seasons at the Matadors' helm, Mount Miguel has reached the title game nine times. Four times they’ve captured section championships.

Mount Miguel (28-2) has stayed on course this season even though much of their schedule – not by choice – was a bit softer than the Matadors might have liked. Sure, they played some blue chip competition as well, but rarely were they challenged, losing only to La Jolla Country Day and Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman.

In Wednesday’s (Mar. 3) SDCIF Division III semifinals against visiting Canyon Crest, the Matadors made it look easy as they cruised to an 81-39 romp over the Ravens (20-10).

Mount Miguel will meet Our Lady of Peace (22-8) for the SDCIF Division III championship on Saturday (Mar. 6) at USD’s Jenny Craig Pavilion at 1 p.m. OLP advanced after nipping Cathedral Catholic, 48-46.

No way could Mount Miguel be accused of looking ahead to a return joust with the Pilots, whom they edged 51-47 in the Matador Classic finale in December. That was evident after the first quarter when the top-seeded Matadors rolled to a 29-5 lead. The Matadors extended that advantage to 33-11 before closing the first half with a 20-0 scoring run.

“Our defense set the tone for the game,” Sandoval said. “We forced a lot of turnovers and got a lot of layups. I thought MYISHIA (WATKINS) gave us the spark with 8 points in the first quarter.”

Once again all five Mount Miguel starters finished in double scoring digits led by DANIELLE MILLER’s 16 points.

“We used the whole second half to get ready for our next few games,” Sandoval said. “Basically, it was just like a practice session for us.”

Mount Miguel: Danielle Miller 16 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 6 stl), Myishia Watkins 15 (3 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl), Yvonte Neal 14 (6 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Nicole Fountain 10 (4 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Dechae Evans 12 (5 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl), Shay Young 6 (6 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl), Shataera Anderson 6 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Charity Lyons 2 (7 reb).

DIVISION II SEMIFINALS

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SANTEE (3-3-10) — Odds are nobody at West Hills High is proclaiming coach RYAN KINSER’s girls basketball team as a perennial power.

Not yet anyway.

When the Wolf Pack marched to the SDCIF Division II championship a year ago there were those who claimed it to be a fluke. Perhaps that was due to the championship knockout coming at the expense of tradition rich Mount Miguel.

As it was, it took a last-second basket by senior SHERIKA MILLER to give the Wolf Pack a 46-44 nod over the favored Matadors in the 2009 SDCIF finals.

West Hills (Division II) and Mount Miguel (Division III) are no longer in the same division this year. As a matter of fact, they didn’t even play each other this season.

Both teams are vying for SDCIF section crowns this season.

The Wolf Pack eliminated Patrick Henry, 57-36, in Wednesday’s (Mar. 3) Division II semifinals in Santee.

This really wasn’t much of a contest, as the top-seeded Wolf Pack (23-6) stormed to an 18-0 lead in the first quarter.

No. 4 seed Patrick Henry (22-8) never got closer than 10 points as the Pack maintained an average lead of 13-15 points throughout the second half.

It was the 7th straight win for West Hills which has lost only one of its last 18 starts. The Pack hopes to continue its winning ways when they faceoff against Westview (26-4) in Friday’s (Mar. 5) Division II championship at USD’s Jenny Craig Pavilion. Tipoff is at 6:05 p.m.

Asked if he thought it was harder to repeat as champions, Kinser said, “There’s more pressure on us this year because we were expected to get there (to the section finals).”

“Now that we’ve done that it feels good, but to tell you the truth it’s more of a relief. It’s a lot different than last year, when we were the underdogs and nobody expected anything. People were elated that we just got to the finals.”

Senior KIM CLARK was the spearhead in West Hills’ romp with 18 points. She nailed a trio of 3-point buckets and was 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Twelve of her points came in the final quarter as the Wolf Pack denied any comeback hopes the Patriots might have entertained.

“We definitely had an advantage because we have five starting seniors which gives us a lot of experience and leadership,” said Clark of the Wolf Pack, which will be making its second appearance at Jenny Craig Pavilion. “We’ve been together so long we know how to work together. But we have a lot of underclassmen on our bench and they have been very supportive. We’re not just a five-player team.”

Known for its 3-point shooting this season, West Hills has struggled of late. The Wolf Pack has connected on only 9 of 40 shots from above the arc over the last four games. That’s not a good omen, considering high school teams tend to have difficulty connecting on 3-pointers in venues such as USD’s vast arena.

West Hills has proven that it can take opponents off the dribble and drive the paint. Nobody does that better than senior guards MARILYN NADERHOFF (11 points) and MARIAH BENNETT (9 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals).

“We’re excited about going back to Jenny Craig,” Miller said. “I know we had to work harder to get there this time because we couldn’t sneak up on anybody. The main thing is we got there, and we’re going down there to win.”

Win or lose on Saturday, the Wolf Pack is guaranteed a berth in the Southern California playoffs. By winning, the Pack would play at home; should they lose they would more than likely be obligated to play on the road.

“It’s been a great season but we’re not finished,” Kinser said. “We want more.”

West Hills: Kim Clark 18 (6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Marilyn Naderhoff 11 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Mariah Bennett 9 (6 reb, 1 ast, 5 stl), Sherika Miller 6 (7 reb, 2 stl), Taylor Aguirre 4 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jillian Brown 4 (2 reb), Emily Cole 3 (1 reb, 1 stl), Taylor Ingraham 2 (5 reb, 1 stl), Danielle Hays (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Haley Forsberg (2 reb), Alexa Evans (1 reb).

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EL CAJON (2-28-10) – For some reason the Granite Hills Eagles can’t stand doing anything the easy way. Such has been the case in the Eagles’ first two San Diego CIF Division I playoff games.

After swapping double digit scoring runs with the visiting Falcons, Granite Hills hung on to win 59-56 in Saturday’s (Feb. 27) SDCIF quarterfinal. This is the first time that a Granite Hills girls basketball team has advanced this far in the playoffs.

The Eagles will travel to North County to face top-seeded Poway (25-3) on Wednesday (Mar. 3rd) for a semifinal game at 7 p.m. The Titans, who eliminated San Pasqual 55-31 in the quarterfinals, have suffered two of their three losses to teams outside of the section.

The No. 4 seed Eagles (25-6) used a 12-0 run to close the second quarter to lead 34-25 over visiting Torrey Pines (18-10).

Granite Hills continued its surge by garnering an 8-2 scoring edge in the 3rd quarter to lead 42-27. At that point it might have appeared the game was over. But remember, these are playoff games and there are no guarantees.

Case in point is Torrey Pines embarked on a 16-0 scoring run to take a 43-42 lead on a bucket by Megan McClurg with 6:26 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

The Falcons hardly had time to celebrate as Granite Hills kingpin SABRINA JIMENEZ netted a pair of free throws to return the lead to the Eagles.

Jimenez followed with a 3-pointer, extending the Eagles’ advantage to 47-43 with 5:50 remaining.

The struggle continued to the wire as Jimenez tallied 13 of her team high 21 points during the final eight minutes.

“We’ve never been to the semifinals before and it’s just a great feeling to be the first (Granite Hills) team to do it,” said Jimenez. “In my four years here we’ve never made it past the quarterfinals and this is just such a great feeling.”

Jimenez, who was exuberantly hugging everybody in sight after the game, acknowledged teammate KEJI KUBARI for her defensive work against Torrey Pines’ superstar Heather Serven.

“Keji did such a great job,” Jimenez said.

And that was definitely a challenge, considering Serven finished with a game high 25 points. The 5-foot-9 Falcons senior proved that she is one of the best players in the San Diego Section by connecting on 10 of 18 shots from the field, including four 3-pointers.

Serven was deadly in the 4th quarter as she converted 4 of 5 shots for 10 points.

Probably her biggest shot of the game was with 5 seocnds left in the 4th quarter when she landed a 35-foot off-balance shot to chop a Granite Hills 6-point lead in half.

One of the distinctive advantages Granite Hills held over Torrey Pines is its bench claimed a 14-4 scoring edge. The bulk of that advantage came from the shooting of SAMANTHA SILVA, who was 4 for 8 from the floor, including 3 treys and a free throw for 12 points.

Bottom line is the game came down to the final seconds.

Torrey Pines fouled the Eagles in hopes the Granite Hills shooters would miss the mark.

Eagles sophomore HAILEY GARNER, who shared game high rebounding honors with Kubari with 10 apiece, landed both ends of a one-and-one free throw situation with 1:09 remaining, extending Granite Hills’ advantage to 56-49.

“All I know is I needed to make ‘em,” said Garner. “I didn’t think about being scared or having to make them. I just focused on the net.”

Even after Garner connected, Torrey Pines kept firing back. But a pair of free throws by Jimenez gave Granite Hills a 59-53 lead with 11.2 seconds left.

However, all Jimenez wanted to talk about after the game was how she failed to connect on two charity shots with 2.2 seconds remaining and the Eagles leading by three.

“Even though I choked and my free throws were so bad, I’ve never felt so happy as I feel right now,” said Jimenez who was actually 8 for 12 from the foul line.

Those misfires didn’t matter as Torrey Pines was unable to get off a challenging desperation shot.

Nine of Granite Hills’ games have been decided by three points or less, with the Eagles winning eight of them. Two of the games were overtime and Granite Hills won both times.

Granite Hills: Sabrina Jimenez 21 (5 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Samantha Silva 12 (3 reb, 1 stl), Skylar Williams 10 (8 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jessica Harris 5 (2 reb, 3 ast), Keji Kubari 5 (10 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl), Hailey Garner 4 (10 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Cora Leonard 2.

CIF Division II Quarterfinals — Top: Grossmont's Danielle Dahle (left) looks to pass around Westview's Taylor Suggs; Left: The dribble-drive by the Foothillers' Danielle Balderas, sailing past Michelle Yong of the Wolverines; Right: Grossmont head coach Megan Long performs the latest dance moves or is directing a player how to protect after grabbing a rebound. Westview advanced to the semifinals, 43-33. (Photos by Ed Piper)

WEST HILLS 57, MORSE 42 – In its quest for a second straight SDCIF Division II championship the Wolf Pack took another step toward meeting that goal Saturday (Feb. 27) when they tamed the visiting Morse Tigers in a quarterfinal contest in Santee.

The Pack ravaged the Tigers by taking a 23-4 lead in the opening quarter and never looked back.

Senior point guard MARILYN NADERHOFF led the charge, finishing with a team best 17 points. The veteran floor leader had a nice shooting touch on the evening, connecting on 9 of 10 free throws and 4 of 9 attempts from the field.

Ten members of the Pack contributed to the scoring totals as West Hills won for the 15th time in 16 starts, including 6 straight.

The Wolf Pack was able to stave off the Tigers (14-14) with relative ease. They did some nifty shooting from the free throw line where they converted 23 of 29 (79.3 percent).

From the field however the Pack shot an unimpressive 34 percent (16 of 47). This is a time that lives and dies by the 3-point shot, yet the Pack has been unable to make consistent connections in their two playoff games, where they have made only 3 of 30 attempts from above the arc.

“No question, we’re having a problem with our 3-point shooting,” West Hills coach RYAN KINSER said. “We have to correct that if we want to keep on playing.”

On the flip side Kinser hailed his team’s defensive effort.

“We’ve been playing pretty well on that end, and it’s a good thing,” he said.

West Hills: Marilyn Naderhoff 17 (4 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Sherika Miller 9 (1 reb, 1 stl), Mariah Bennett 8 (3 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), Kimberly Clark 7 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Danielle Hays 4 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Jillian Brown 4 (3 reb, 1 stl), Taylor Ingraham 4 (2 reb), Taylor Aguirre 2 (1 reb, 1 ast), Emily Cole 1 (1 stl), Daniana Ghandour 1, Alexa Evans (1 reb), Haley Forsberg (1 reb).

MT. CARMEL 46, STEELE CANYON 45 – The deck was stacked against visiting Steele Canyon (13-15), a team many felt shouldn’t even still be involved in the SDCIF Division II quarterfinals.

Yet coach PENNY SMITH and his hungry Cougars came within inches of eliminating No. 3 seed Mt. Carmel Saturday (Feb. 27) in North County.

Senior JANVIER BARBARIN, the Cougars’ heart and soul, fouled out with 5 minutes to play and the Cougars trailing by 11 points. Those who follow Steele Canyon probably thought the season was over right then and there.

Evidently the BEASLEY twins – GABRIELLE and MICHELLE, along with sophomore ALI MERLINO didn’t believe it for a minute.

Gabrielle Beasley scored a team high 16 points, including a halfcourt shot that ended the 1st half, leaving the Cougars down 25-19.

Merlino pitched in 10 points and 4 rebounds, while Michelle Beasley added 8 markers.

With 10 seconds remaining the Cougars had closed the deficit to one point. But Mt. Carmel (21-8) had possession of the ball.

Out of desperation Steele Canyon fouled, sending the Sundevil shooter to the line in double bonus. Both shots failed to hit the mark and Merlino gobbled up the rebound. She delivered an outlet pass to Michelle Beasley, who was double-teamed at the halfcourt line.

Somehow Beasley eluded the Sundevils’ defenders and dribbled inside the paint where she was met with another double-team. When Beasley released the shot it was blocked, but she was also knocked to the floor with 3 seconds remaining. Mt. Carmel grabbed the ball and the game was over.

The “no-call” did not set well with Steele Canyon.

“That was a questionable call by one of the refs,” Smith said. “( Longtime North County coach) Tracy Stowe told me if this was her team, she’d want a foul called. In her eyes it was definitely a foul, just like I thought it was.”

But it’s hard to beat the favorite on its home court when the call is up on the air.

Thus Mt. Carmel advances to the SDCIF semifinals and Steele Canyon goes home.

“I thought we had a good scheme – both offensively and defensively – going into the game,” Smith said. “I can’t say enough good things about our girls. They finished strong.”

Steele Canyon: Gabrielle Beasley 16 (2 reb, 1 ast), Janvier Barbarin 10 (6 reb), Alexis Merlino 10 (4 reb), Michelle Beasley 8 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Monique Van 1 (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Janique Cofield (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl).

MOUNT MIGUEL 72, SANTANA 29 – Five Matadors finished in double scoring digits as top-seeded Mount Miguel (27-2) sailed past visiting Santana in Saturday’s (Feb. 27) SDCIF Division III quarterfinals. The Matadors have beaten their Grossmont Valley League rivals three times this season.

Junior point guard MYISHIA WATKINS paced the Matadors with 17 points, 5 assists and 6 steals. More than half her points came from rolling three triples. Watkins raised her East County leading 3-point count to 51.

Mount Miguel pressed Santana (10-19) in the 1st half to take a 50-19 lead.

For the game, the Sultans committed 35 turnovers. It didn’t help that they were playing without senior point guard ALYSSA PADBERG, who suffered a leg injury in the first-round win over Kearny.

“It was a coach’s decision not to play her,” Santana coach MARK TIPTON said.

Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL could see why Tipton decided not to play “his best player.”

“You could see that she was limping around,” Sandoval said, “so she probably couldn’t have helped them anyway. If she had played it could have made her injury worse. No doubt she will play in college someplace, so why take the risk.”

At the same time Sandoval praised the work of junior KIM GROSS who took over the point for Santana.

“Gross did a good job of bringing the ball up against our pressure and made good decisions,” he said. “She was put in a difficult situation and handled it very well.”

Mount Miguel: Myishia Watkins 17 (1 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 6 stl), Yvonte Neal 13 (6 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Danielle Miller 12 (5 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 5 stl), Nicole Fountain 10 (5 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Shay Young 10 (5 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl), Dechae Evans 8 (5 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl), Shataera Anderson 2 (3 reb, 3 ast).

Santana: Kim Gross 8 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Margie Panknin 6 (1 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Sarah Kvederis 4 (2 reb, 1 ast), Delia Files 4 (9 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Haley Burton 3 (6 reb, 1 blk), Amanda Grable 3, Sammy White 1 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk).

Trailing by 21 points at halftime, the Monarchs made up precious seconds with a snowball effort in the second half, moving to within six points with 3:21 remaining.

However, Cathedral Catholic guard Christina Kime went 10-for-10 from the foul line after Monte Vista was finally forced to foul, helping the Lady Dons stave off Monte Vista's comeback to secure an 80-62 decision during Saturday's (Feb. 27) SDCIF Division III quarterfinals.

Kime, who went 20-for-21 at the foul line, including 19 straight to close the contest, finished with a career-high 36 points. Cathedral Catholic advances to Wednesday's (Mar. 3) semifinals against Our Lady of Peace, while the Monarchs capped the season with a 16-12 mark, their best since the 2000-01 season (17-10).

Unlike recent Monte Vista teams, this one refused to fold following a slow start marked with poor shooting and foul difficulties among its standout players.

"We actually started out fine, then they went on a 9-point run to close the first quarter," said Monarchs co-captain DEANNA BEMBRY, who scored a team-high 15 points. "Then they went on another run in the second quarter while me and TASHA (BROWN) were in foul trouble."

Monte Vista performed like a completely different ballclub in the second half.

Instead of standing around, the Monarchs took the ball to the basket and tried to force the action, similar to Kime's first-half performance when she poured home 16 points to mount a 39-18 advantage.

The comeback began when SHAMONIQUE BOYD, who was blanked in the first two periods, tossed in nine quick points. The Monarchs followed with a 14-4 run to start the fourth quarter.

STEFANIE BANKS opened the siege with a putback bucket, then converted another layin off a pass by Bembry, who then scored on the putback after slipping inside to grab an offensive rebound.

ALEX ROSS drained a 3-point shot from the wing, then Bembry scored four more points from the paint. And when Brown hit a free throw on a play when a Cathedral player fouled out, the Lady Dons seemed poised for a historic collapse.

However, Kime took control of the ball and slowed down the contest.

The junior point guard helped Cathedral use all of the shot clock on the next possession, hitting a driving layin just before the time expired. Kime then attempted to dribble out as much clock as possible, forcing Monte Vista to foul, but she went on her long string of foul-shot conversions to ice the victory.

"No, I've never scored like that before," noted Kime. "We just tried to stay wide, which helped with our fast break in the first half, then they were forced to chase us in the second half."

"It helped because we all rebounded, too."

Cathedral held a 42-37 advantage on the boards, including 11 by Emily Kearney. She also blocked three shots and heavily influenced several other misses.

Conversely, the Monarchs lack of luck at the foul stripe placed them in an early hole, going just 3-for-14 through three periods. Still, the team takes pride in the school's best campaign in a decade.

"It's a great feeling to know what we accomplished," said senior KAYLA PUSEY, who recorded a team-best nine rebounds. "We turned around our mistakes and made it a game -- we worked hard to do that."

On defense, the coaching staff made a halftime switch and placed DIONNA MERCER on Kime in the second half, limiting her to just two buckets when defending her over a majority of the second half.

Monte Vista: Deanna Bembry 15 (6 reb, 6 ast), Shamonique Boyd 9 (8 reb), Alex Ross 6 (2 ast), Stefanie Banks 6, Shantee Woods 6, Tasha Brown 4 (9 reb), Dionna Mercer 3 (4 reb, 2 ast), Jessica Garcia 2, Kayla Pusey 1 (5 reb).

“I was really proud of my girls,” Long said. “I know it looks like we have a veteran roster but we were young in terms of experience. To have the kind of year we had – finishing third in the Grossmont Hills League at 6-4 and winning 13 games against a pretty tough schedule, I think they played above my expectations.”

Grossmont played shutdown defense in the 1st half against Westview but could muster only 10 points in the opening 16 minutes.

Both teams picked up the offensive pace in the third quarter, but it was Westview (25-4) that pulled away to a 38-27 lead.

“We hung with them but could never get closer than 6,” Long said. “We had a stagnant 1st half and that hurt. Westview played great perimeter pressure in the 1st half, had us scouted very well.”

The Foothillers launched only 33 shots, connecting on 12 (36 percent). They were 3 for 3 from above the arc, with senior DANIELLE BALDERAS connecting for two treys and finishing with a team best 15 points.

“We made some adjustments in the 2nd half,” Long said. “We moved the ball around better and attacked the basket more. But Westview is an awfully good team. We worked hard on defense but their point guard Melissa Peng is a solid ball handler and did a great job of directing their offense.”

Peng had 13 points, including two threes.

“Westview is a patient basketball team that doesn’t take bad shots,” Long added. “It seems like they extended the shot clock every time down the floor.”

Grossmont: Danielle Balderas 15 (3 reb, 3 stl, 2 ast), Frankie Treadwell 9 (2 reb, 1 ast), Danielle Dahle 5 (4 reb, 1 ast), Jessie Edgil 4 (3 reb), Teyshonnia Bealer-West (6 reb, 1 ast), Carley Applegate (1 reb, 1 ast), Chloe Cook (1 stl), Ashley Hargrove (1 reb).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-25-10) — East County teams were the big winners in Wednesday’s (Feb. 24) opening round of the San Diego CIF girls basketball playoffs. Seven of the nine Inland teams finished on top and qualified for Saturday’s (Feb. 27) quarterfinals.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the 1st round was Steele Canyon's 42-39 road win over Mission Hills in North County.

Another impressive win recorded by the East County girls was Santana’s 66-45 conquest over Central League champion Kearny.

Not to be overshadowed was Monte Vista, which eliminated University City, 65-60.

East County’s seeded teams all took care of business as well although Granite Hills (24-6) had to scramble to sideline pesky Escondido 60-57.

GRANITE HILLS 60, ESCONDIDO 57 – Among her goals for her final high school season, Granite Hills senior guard SABRINA JIMENEZ wants to make it at least as far as the San Diego CIF Division I semifinals.

“We’ve never made it past the second round in my four years here at Granite Hills, so it’s a big goal to make it past the quarterfinals,” Jimenez said.

That means the No. 4 seeded Eagles (24-6) must topple Torrey Pines (18-9) in Saturday night’s (Feb. 27) quarterfinals at home.

“That would be so nice,” Jimenez mused.

However the Eagles almost got caught looking ahead as they may have chalked up visiting Escondido as an automatic win in Wednesday’s (Feb. 24) first round. It’s true the Eagles did open the season with a 46-37 victory over the Cougars, but that didn’t serve as any help in the rematch.

Granite Hills built a 30-15 lead with three minutes to go in the 1st half. At that point it looked as though the Eagles were going to win in a breeze. It didn’t turn out that way.

Escondido (7-22) began the 3rd quarter with a 16-2 run to turn a 32-22 halftime deficit into a 38-34 lead. Given the Cougars’ momentum at that point, the Eagles could easily have folded.

“It’s been like that all year,” said Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER. “The girls have played through some rough times this year but I trust their decisions out there on the floor.”

JESSICA HARRIS launched Granite Hills’ comeback, scoring 11 of her 18 points in the 2nd half.

Not to be lost in the hectic final seconds were a pair of key 3-point buckets by SAMANTHA SILVA. Her first connection gave Granite Hills a 50-49 edge with 2:44 remaining.

Ten seconds later Escondido’s Chandra Williams countered with a trey, returning the advantage to the Cougars, 52-50.

Harris kept the 3-point parade going as she gave the Eagles a 53-52 edge with 2:22 left. Then Silva connected again from above the arc, giving Granite Hills a four point edge. A driving layup by Harris made it 58-52 for Granite Hills.

Nonetheless, Escondido refused to go away as Jyll Gamboa landed a 3-pointer, cutting Granite Hills’s 6-point advantage in half with 10 seconds to play.

Forced to foul, the Cougars sent Jimenez to the free throw line with 5 seconds left. That proved to be a fatal move as she made both ends of a one-and-one to clinch the victory for Granite Hills.

“We’ve been in a lot of close games and our girls figure out a way to pull out most of them,” said Parker.

Jimenez led Granite Hills with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 7 steals and 5 assists.

“We went into a little slump allowing them to get back into the game,” she said. “But gosh, we had so many people contribute to our comeback.”

Nobody contributed any more than Silva. The Cougars seemed to ignore her defensively in the waning minutes but Jimenez was quick to pick that up. Twice she delivered assists to Silva, who converted from long distance after missing her first three 3-point shots.

“I think they were backing off of me,” said Silva. “But it was still scary. When I let those shots go I was praying, ‘please let them go in.’”

Jimenez, the East County scoring leader, said she wasn’t ready to end her senior season just yet.

“I’m so proud of my team, the way they kept fighting back,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of close games and we don’t give up.”

Eight of Granite Hills’ games have been decided by three points or less, with the Eagles winning seven of them. Two of the games were overtime and Granite Hills won both times.

Granite Hills: Sabrina Jimenez 19 (10 reb, 5 ast, 7 stl), Jessica Harris 18 (4 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Skylar Williams 6 (7 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Samantha Silva 6 (1 reb, 1 stl), Hailey Garner 5 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Cora Leonard 4 ( reb), Keji Kubari 2 (5 reb, 1 stl).

SANTANA 66, KEARNY 45 — Among 35 first-round contests Wednesday (Feb. 24) in the CIF San Diego Section girls basketball championships, only five produced upsets by a visiting ballclub. And two of those were achieved by Grossmont Conference schools, including the Sultans' surprising blowout of the Central League champion Komets.

Santana outscored Kearny in each period by remaining steadfast in two strategy points: slow-down the game with its half-court offense, and depend on senior guard MARGIE PANKNIN to somehow slowdown Komets scoring sensation Ashleigh King.

King, who entered the postseason ranking among the county scoring leaders, did roll-up a game-high 23 points. However, most came on fast-break transition points following turnovers. And when Santana started to take better care of the ball, the visitors pulled away to a double-digit lead early in the second half.

"We knew she was averaging 22.5 points per game, so we had to find a way to slow her down," said Panknin. "We tried real hard to not let her drive. And once she passed the ball, we didn't let her get the ball back."

On the other end of the court, Santana point guard ALYSSA PADBERG slowed down the game, forcing Kearny (17-6) to play defense for a full 30 seconds. And when they began to wilt, the Sultans (10-18) hit an array of outside shots en route to their highest offensive output of the season.

"We're a bit of a slower team, so we really needed to control tempo," said Padberg, who plans to attend either Sacramento State or UC Santa Cruz in the fall. "Everyone under-estimates how good we are – we play hard."

Kearny leaped to a quick 8-3 lead, but Santana answered with a 19-4 scoring run. The stretch opened on four quick points by HALEY BURTON, followed by a pair of mid-range jumpers by DELIA FILES. And when center KIM GROSS scored on a putback bucket, Santana had a 13-8 lead.

The Sultans then ran their triangle offense for a set of 3-point goals by AMANDA GRABLE and SAMMY WHITE, with seven of the eight members of the Santana rotation contributing to the scoring.

White later added 9 points during an 11-2 run to push the lead to more than 20 points. Included was a 3-point goal, then she grabbed an offensive rebound leading to a give-and-go with Padberg for a basket while being fouled for another 3-point play. A minute later, White drained another triple for a 60-39 cushion.

In the end, four Sultans produced in double figures, including a team-best 15 points by both White and Grable. Padberg added 12 points and 5 assists, while Files posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Santana, the 9th seeds, advances to Saturday's (Feb. 27) quarterfinals at No. 1 Mount Miguel.

Santana: Sammy White 15 (4 reb, 2 ast), Amanda Grable 15 (5 reb), Alyssa Padberg 12 (5 ast, 4 reb, 4 stl), Delia Files 11 (10 reb), Kim Gross 7 (7 reb), Haley Burton 4, Kelsey Conley 2.

STEELE CANYON 42, MISSION HILLS 39 – On a night when the Cougars’ offensive force JANVIER BARBARIN scored only six points, Steele Canyon still had enough magic to stun host Mission Hills in Wednesday’s (Feb. 24) San Diego CIF Division II playoff opener.

GABRIELLE BEASLEY picked up the offensive slack for the Cougars (13-14) by casting in 15 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. She was also 7 for 9 from the charity stripe.

“Gabrielle hit the last three points at the line,” said Steele Canyon assistant coach RODNEY VAN said. “She shot one for a technical call on (frustrated) Mission Hills and 2 at the line.”

Steele Canyon led 24-18 at halftime but Mission Hills (17-12) went on a 13-4 scoring run to lead 31-28 after three quarters.

“We led early, but in the 3rd quarter they started raining threes and they jumped out to a lead on us,” Van said.

The Cougars restored order in the final period with a 14-8 scoring edge to advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday (Feb. 27) at Mt. Carmel.

“We pulled even and in the 4th quarter we hit our free throws and didn’t have as many turnovers,” Van noted.

Steele Canyon: Gabrielle Beasley 15 (2 ast), Alexis Merlino 10 (7 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Michelle Beasley 8 (1 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Janvier Barbarin 6 (10 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Janique Cofield 3 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Monique Van (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

MONTE VISTA 65, UNIVERSITY CITY 60 – Monte Vista coach MICHAEL SKIBBE had to be concerned when his top player, DEANNA BEMBRY, fouled out midway through the 4th quarter of Wednesday’s (Feb. 24) SDCIF Division III playoff opener.

When Bembry, who led the Monarchs with 15 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists, departed the score was knotted at 55-all.

“The team came together and played well together to pull out the win,” Skibbe said. “This was our best team win of the season.”

Monte Vista senior KAYLA PUSEY knocked down 6 of 8 shots from the field and 2 free throws for 14 points.

The Monarchs (16-11) broke an 11-11 first quarter deadlock with a dominant 2nd quarter to lead 31-21 by intermission. It was a different story in the 3rd quarter, as the Centurions (10-16) claimed a 24-14 scoring edge to chop the Monarchs’ advantage to 46-45 with one quarter to play.

“We always have one quarter where we score a lot of points, and another where we give up a lot of points,” said Skibbe. “Tonight was one of those nights. We scored in the 2nd quarter and gave up points in the 3rd.”

Turns out it didn’t matter as Monte Vista will travel to Cathedral Catholic for a quarterfinal duel on Saturday (Feb. 27).

Monte Vista: Deanna Bembry 15 (14 reb, 6 ast, 2 blk), Kayla Pusey 14 (1 reb, 3 stl), Jessica Garcia 9 (7 reb, 5 stl), Shamonique Boyd 9 (7 reb, 5 stl),Tasha Brown 8 (7 reb, 1 blk), Alex Ross 6 (4 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Dionna Mercer 5 (4 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Shantee Woods 4 (3 reb), Stefanie Banks (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk).

WEST HILLS 69, POINT LOMA 23 – Shooting better than 56 percent from the floor (31 of 55), the No. 1 seeded Wolf Pack devoured the visiting Pointers in Wednesday’s (Feb. 24) SDCIF Division II opener in Santee.

West Hills (21-6) sprinted out to a 14-0 first quarter lead over the Pointers (10-15) and never looked back. It was 61-12 after three quarters.

SHERIKA MILLER, who hit 5 of 10 shots from the field and 2 free throws for 12 points, was the scoring leader in a West Hills offense that had 12 players contributing.

“We called off the press early,” said Wolf Pack coach RYAN KINSER. “They played us a zone pretty much throughout the game, and we were able to work on several zone sets. We got everybody a lot of time on the floor tonight. It was good to get some young players some CIF time.”

West Hills: Sherika Miller 12 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Jillian Brown 9 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Marilyn Naderhoff 8 (2 reb, 5 ast, 6 stl), Mariah Bennett 8 (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Kimberly Clark 6 (5 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl), Alexa Evans 6 (1 reb), Haley Forsberg 5 (1 reb, 1 ast), Danielle Hays 4 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Taylor Ingraham 4 (5 reb, 1 stl), Emily Cole 4 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk), Taylor Aguirre 2 (2 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Daniana Ghandour 1 (1 reb), Caitlin McLucas (1 reb).

GROSSMONT 56, SERRA 40 – The Foothillers (13-14) diluted Serra’s high-octane offense by playing some shutdown defense in Wednesday’s (Feb. 24) SDCIF Division II opener at Grossmont.

The Foothillers held the Conquistadors (9-17) to single scoring digits in each of the first three quarters while assuming a 40-26 lead.

“We played some of the best half-court defense we have played all season,” said Hillers coach MEGAN LONG. “We took away their transition game completely. Our 1-1-3 zone completely confused them. We shut down all their entry passes.”

Sophomore guard DANIELLE DAHLE rolled a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Foothillers.

Senior guard DANIELLE BALDERAS chipped in with 14 points and 5 boards.

“Our guards really took control of matters on offense.”

Grossmont: Danielle Dahle 16 (10 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl), Danielle Balderas 14 (5 reb, 3 stl), Teyshonnia Bealer-West 7 (8 reb, 1 ast, 5 stl), Jessie Edgil 7 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Frankie Treadwell 6 (2 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Carley Applegate 3 (3 reb, 1 ast), Chloe Cook 3 (1 reb, 1 ast), Ashley Hargrove (2 reb, 1 ast), Christa Sawyers (1 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 89, SD HIGH TECH 8 – It’s a rare day indeed when the Mount Miguel Matadors do not press an opponent. Such was the case in Wednesday’s (Feb. 24) SDCIF Division III opener against San Diego High Tech High (10-6) in Spring Valley.

Five Matadors finished in double scoring digits, led by YVONTE NEAL’s 19 points. SHATAERA ANDERSON scored a career best 16 points. The Matadors also received 15 points, 10 assists and 8 steals from NICOLE FOUNTAIN, plus 15 points from DANIELLE MILLER and 14 more from MYISHIA WATKINS.

The No. 1 seeded Matadors (26-2) took a 31-4 first quarter lead and extended the advantage to 52-5 at the intermission. They will host Grossmont Valley League rival Santana in Saturday’s (Feb. 27) quarterfinals.

Mount Miguel: Yvonte Neal 19 (8 reb, 4 ast, 5 stl), Shataera Anderson 16 (2 reb, 4 stl), Nicole Fountain 15 (6 reb, 10 ast, 8 stl), Danielle Miller 15 (2 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Myishia Watkins 14 (2 reb, 4 ast, 5 stl), Dechae Evans 6 (3 reb, 7 ast, 7 stl), Shay Young 3 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Amber Bowen 2 (1 reb, 2 stl), Charity Lyons (2 ast, 3 stl).

MT. CARMEL 60, HELIX 36 – KIM SCOTT scored a career high 24 points for the visiting Highlanders, but it wasn’t enough to provide Helix (10-16) with an upset of No. 3 seed Mt. Carmel in Wednesday’s (Feb. 24) first round of the SDCIF Division II playoffs.

“We went up there with a ‘nothing to lose’ attitude,” said Helix coach ANDY MERIDETH. “Our kids definitely played hard and competed the whole game except for one lapse in the 2nd quarter.”

That lapse resulted in a 21-1 second quarter scoring burst by the Sun Devils (20-8).

Mt. Carmel made that scoring run when starters Kim Scott and JACQUELINE SMITH were on the bench in foul trouble.

“I told the girls that I wanted them to go into this game and have fun, regardless of the outcome, and I think they did,” Merideth said. “They did a lot of things right. Basically our whole team is returning. I think this game will be a good building block for next season.”

Helix: Kim Scott 24 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Kristina Scott 4 (1 reb, 1 ast), Jacqueline Smith 4 (3 reb, 1 blk), Jasmine Hunn 2 (6 reb), Faith Leaupepe-Tele 2 (2 reb, 1 ast), Lexi Audley (1 reb), Dana Hosley (1 reb).

CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 70, EL CAPITAN 38 – The visiting Vaqueros, who lost 9 of their last 11, jumped on No. 3 seeded Cathedral Catholic 4-0 out of the gate in Wednesday’s (Feb. 24) SDCIF Division III opener.

“I think we shocked them the way we came ready to play,” said El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES. “We started off strong as MARISSA PITMAN hit a three and we added a free throw. We all played well. On the bright side we prepared well for them and competed well with them. We just ran out of gas.”

It wasn’t until the second half that the Dons (15-12) broke the game open with a 25-10 scoring spree in the third quarter.

“It was one of those games you wish you’d played earlier in the season because you played so well,” said Quinones. We played with them, but kept making mistakes – a bad pass here and a bad pass there.”

Nobody reached double scoring digits for the Vaqueros (10-18), while junior guard Christina Kime paced Cathedral with 25 points.

El Capitan: Erica Arie 8 (5 reb, 1 ast), Chelsey Kyle 9 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl), Emily Sutton 7 (1 reb), Amber Rel-Solia 6 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk), Marissa Pitman 5 (6 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Megan Drennen (2 reb, 1 stl), Dorian Borras 2, Niki Spring 1 (1 stl).