The Mount Miguel Matadors extended their winning streak to 15 games, including a pair of contests Wednesday, capped by an 83-47 pasting of The Bishop's to caputre the Mission Bay Holiday Premiere Classic championship. (Photo by Athena Fountain)

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (12-31-09) — Head coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL isn’t happy that the majority of the teams in the San Diego CIF won’t dare step onto the court against his Mount Miguel Matadors.

“Nobody wants to play us,” Sandoval complained.

That’s because Mount Miguel (15-0) is that good.

Just how good are these Matadors?

Consider this. The Matadors, ranked No. 2 at the outset of the season, buried No. 4 The Bishop’s, 83-47, in Wednesday’s (Dec. 30) final of the Mission Bay Holiday Premiere Classic.

Although none of the Matadors would say this was a revenge game, the fact that Mount Miguel lost twice to The Bishop’s during summer club ball has not fallen on deaf ears.

“Our kids realize that Bishop’s has beaten us twice in summer club ball,” Sandoval said. “What made it hurt really bad was both games were at our place that we lost by one point and two points. I pointed out to our girls that nobody should beat us at our house.”

Whether that was a motivational factor or not, Mount Miguel dominated the game from the opening tip.

The Matadors used scoring runs of 14-0 and 30-6 to capture a 43-17 lead with 3:06 left in the 1st half.

The fact that the game ended in a rout seemed to even catch the Matadors players by surprise.

“We were expecting a tough game because that’s what we always get from Bishop’s,” said Mount Miguel senior NICOLE FOUNTAIN, who despite foul problems, managed to contribute 9 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.

YVONTE NEAL carried the torch in a balanced Mount Miguel offense with 18 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists.

“We know we’re better than most of the teams we play, but we try to remain humble and calm,” said Neal, a senior transfer from Eastlake.

Most of Mount Miguel’s games this season will result in blowouts as the Matadors, arguably the best team in the San Diego CIF, have more talent than their challengers.

Mount Miguel: Yvonte Neal 18 (8 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Danielle Miller 16 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Myishia Watkins 14 (3 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl), Shay Young 10 (10 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk), Dechae Evans 9 (6 reb, 2 blk), Nicole Fountain 9 (3 ast), Shataera Anderson 5, Chantel Yell 2.

MOUNT MIGUEL 63, SERRA 16 – This semifinal joust on Wednesday (Dec. 30 morning was simply another in a long line of Mount Miguel blowouts.

Mount Miguel: Myishia Watkins 14 (2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Shay Young 14 (5 reb, 6 stl), Yvonte Neal 12 (6 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Shataera Anderson 8 (4 stl), Nicole Fountain 6 (5 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Dechae Evans 6 (7 reb. 2 ast), Danielle Miller 3 (2 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk).

GRANITE HILLS 65, Phoenix-NORTH 58 – Freshman SKYLAR WILLIAMS, an all-tournament pick, scored 20 points to lead the Eagles in Wednesday’s (Dec. 30) final round of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic.

“Skylar Williams did a good job of attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line,” said Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER. “She had a breakout tournament.”

Williams landed 6 baskets but was only 8 for 16 at the free throw line. She also dished off 5 assists, collected 5 rebounds and made 2 steals.

Granite Hills (12-4), which has won four of its last five games, outscored the Mustangs, 34-25, in the second half to leave Nevada with a victory.

KEJI KUBARI turned in one of her best performances of the year with 14 points, 9 rebounds and a block.

Steady SABRINA JIMENEZ added 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

“Sabrina wasn’t 100 percent but she played today (after rolling her ankle in the third game),” said Parker.

“We were trying to attack the basket and get them in foul trouble. We did that. Two of their girls fouled out.

Granite Hills: Skylar Williams 20 (5 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Keji Kubari 14 (9 reb, 1 blk), Sabrina Jimenez 14 (5 reb, 3 ast), Jessica Harris 6 (3 ast), Alyssa Canoff 6, Hailey Garner 3 (3 reb).

GROSSMONT 52, RANCHO BERNARDO 35 – One thing Grossmont has going for it is the Foothillers (4-8) have played a tough preseason schedule.

JESSIE EDGIL was the cornerstone of the Foothillers’ victory in Wednesday’s (Dec. 30) final round of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division II at San Diego High.

“Jessie Edgil played a great game today,” said Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG. “She had an impressive line.”

The senior hit 6 of 8 shots from the floor and 2 of 2 free throws for 14 points while gobbling up 5 rebounds and creating 3 steals.

DANIELLE DAHLE led the Foothillers on the boards by collecting 11 caroms.

The Hillers hustled to a 14-4 first quarter lead and closed out the contest with a 15-7 scoring spree in the 4th quarter.

“We came out inspired today, but we relaxed too much in the 2nd and 3rd quarters and let them back in the game,” said Long. “We took advantage of their press in the 4th quarter for six quick baskets to put the game away.”

Grossmont: Jessie Edgil 14 (5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Danielle Balderas 9 (6 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Chloe Cook 8, Teyshonnia Bealer-West 8 (2 reb, 3 ast), Danielle Dahle 7 (11 reb), Frankie Treadwell 4 (2 ast, 6 stl), Carley Applegate 2 (5 reb).

MONTE VISTA 53, IMPERIAL 37 – The Monarchs sprinted to an 18-4 lead in the 1st quarter and led 37-15 by halftime in a 3rd Annual Lady Monarchs Holiday Classic game on Wednesday (Dec. 30).

Monte Vista, who hosts Mission Hills in a semifinal game at 9:30 a.m. Thursday (Dec. 31) in Spring Valley, hopes to advance to the championship game at 2 p.m.

ALEX ROSS for 4 for 4 from 3-point distance and finished with 13 points to lead the Monarchs (7-5).

DEANNA BEMBRY, who played a touch more than two quarters, added 10 points and 4 rebounds.

Monarchs coach MICHAEL SKIBBE focused on the play of STEFANIE BANKS.

“Banks had a good game,” he said. “She’s had a rough week but today was a real positive day for her. She’s been a little hesitant but today she just played hard.”

“I’m looking forward to getting us back in the gym and getting some practice in before league.”

Monte Vista: Alex Ross 13 (3 stl), Deanna Bembry 10 (4 reb, 2 stl), Shantee Woods 6 (3 stl), Dionna Mercer 6 (2 stl), Shamonique Boyd 5 (8 reb), Kayla Pusey 4, Stefanie Banks 4, Tasha Brown 3 (6 reb), Mercedes Tisnado 2 (3 reb).

VALHALLA 43, CALEXICO 39 – First-year coach VALLI LOPEZ had to be pleased when she saw her Norsemen take a 20-9 lead over the Bulldogs in Wednesday’s (Dec. 30) final day of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, Prep Division.

But the middle two quarters obviously foiled her mood as Calexico claimed a 25-11 scoring advantage during that span.

Valhalla (4-9), however, rebounded to gain the advantage down the stretch.

“Bottom line, we played great the first quarter like we always do,” Lopez said. “But we then reverted to old Valhalla and turned the ball over...we shot horrible.”

KANDISE KALASHO led Valhalla with 13 points and DANIELLE WILSON recorded a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with 5 steals.

TENISHA LEE continued her aggressive work on the boards as she pulled down 14 caroms along with 4 steals.

“We’ve only been blown out twice, all our other losses have been within 10 points,” said Lopez. “It’s good for us though since we are so young, I only have one senior, we will benefit from being competitive in all these games.”

Valhalla: Kandise Kalasho 13 (2 stl), Danielle Wilson 10 (10 reb, 5 stl), Tenisha Lee 5 (14 reb, 4 stl), MacKenzie Cartmill 8 (3 stl), Chelsea Hale 2 (2 reb, 2 stl).

ORANGE GLEN 49, HELIX 47 – It’s not very often that consolation games during the Christmas holidays have a whole lot of meaning. But Helix’s last second loss to Orange Glen in Wednesday’s (Dec. 30) Montgomery Invitational in South Bay had to have a gnawing effect.

That is even more true, considering Helix came within seconds of forcing overtime.

With just 8 seconds remaining Orange Glen hit a basket to go up 49-47.

The Highlanders’ KIM SCOTT responded by driving the ball down court and cutting to the basket where she put up a shot that rolled around the rim and fell off at the buzzer.

What had to disappoint the Highlanders is the fact that they led 29-19 at halftime.

“Prior to the game I had a feeling we weren’t ready to play,” said Helix assistant coach WILLIE HATHAWAY. “Our starters began the game sluggish so I pulled them out and put in a whole new unit. The second group played real well. When the starters went back in they were ready to play. We just ran out of gas in the 2nd half.”

Helix: Kim Scott 16, Kristina Scott 10, Jacqueline Smith 6, Alyxis Audley 6, Iesha Murray 5, Faith Leaupepe-Tele 2, Carly Aceves 2.

The Vaqueros stormed to a 33-5 halftime lead and then breezed to the finish line.

CHELSEY KYLE paced the Vaqs with 13 points and EMILY SUTTON added 10.

“We’re just happy to get another win,” said El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES.

El Capitan: Chelsey Kyle 13 (3 reb, 2 ast), Emily Sutton 10 (4 reb), Erica Arie 8 (5 reb, 2 ast), Vanessa Carrillo 6 (6 reb), Amber Rel-Solia 6 (5 reb, 2 stl), Marissa Pitman 4 (2 reb, 7 ast), Niki Spring 3, Megan Drennen 2 (4 reb), Corrie Monteverde 2 (3 reb),Robyn Staley-Logel 2 (4 stl), Vanessa Sierra (4 reb, 2 stl), Danielle Monteverde (3 reb).

PATRICK HENRY 70, STEELE CANYON 43 – The Cougars defense went incognito in Wednesday’s (Dec. 30) final day of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division I.

That is, Steele Canyon (4-7) surrendered 61 points in the first three quarters and were never in contention.

On the bright side JANVIER BARBARIN connected on 6 of 12 shots from the floor and 5 of 8 free throws for 17 points. She completed a double-double by collecting 12 caroms.

“I have to give credit to JV and JANIQUE (COFIELD – 7 points, 5 rebounds),” said Cougars coach PENNY SMITH. “They tried to execute what I told them to do. I can’t say that about the rest of the team. The 2nd half was a straight blowout.”

“We’ll get it together. We just need a day or two off and then get some more practice.”

Steele Canyon: Janvier Barbarin 17 (12 reb), Janique Cofield 7 (5 reb), Gabrielle Beasley 7 (4 ast), Samantha Vernon 5 (4 reb), Michelle Beasley 4, Alexis Merlino 3.

Lawndale-LEUZINGER 44, EL CAJON VALLEY 26 – An anemic offense continues to plague El Cajon Valley. The Braves made only 12 baskets in 37 shots from the field, including 0 for 8 from three-point distance in Wednesday’s (Dec. 30) final round of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NAIA Division.

El Cajon Valley (2-12) never scored more than 8 points in a quarter.

“We had too many unforced turnovers (23) and the turnovers and mistakes killed us,” said Braves assistant coach SIG CHABROWSKI. “We seemed to take a step back today from where we had been playing. I thought when we came out at halftime we were ready to play but we had a very poor 3rd quarter.”

El Cajon Valley: Hazel Doe 8, Natasha Fernandez 6, Kaylani Faten 6, Terika Williams 2, Miranda Mullens 2, Midia Lopez 2.

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (12-31-09) – What arguably will be the showcase of girls basketball this season in the San Diego CIF section, Mount Miguel (13-0) hosts The Bishop’s (14-1) for the San Diego Holiday Premiere Classic championship Wednesday (Dec. 30) in the Matadors’ gym at 7:30 p.m.

No question these are two of the top three teams in the area. Both the Matadors and the Knights must win in a semifinal contests to make this featured attraction come true. That is all but certain given the level of competition.

MOUNT MIGUEL 58, MISSION BAY 16 – Rarely have the Matadors been challenged this season and they were not in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) quarterfinals of the Mission Bay Holiday Premiere Classic.

The Matadors host Serra in a 10:30 a.m. semifinal that if they are successful will carry them into the showdown against The Bishop’s.

Mount Miguel: Danielle Miller 21 (4 reb, 4 stl), Shay Young 12 (8 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk), Yvonte Neal 11 (4 reb, 5 stl), Myishia Watkins 4 (5 reb, 5 ast), Shataera Anderson 4 (3 reb), Dechae Evans 4 (9 reb, 4 stl, 1 blk), Nicole Fountain 2 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk).

GRANITE HILLS 65, LV-SECTA 48 – Freshman guard SKYLAR WILLIAMS scored a career high 35 points and captured 8 rebounds to guide Granite Hills past SECTA in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) quarterfinal of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic.

“She does a great job of attacking the basket. She was really aggressive,” said Eagles coach JERRY PARKER.

Granite Hills finished this game without senior leader SABRINA JIMENEZ, who was injured in the 3rd quarter. Jimenez did not play in the nightcap.

Granite Hills vs. SECTA: Skylar Williams 35 (8 reb, 2 stl), Jessica Harris 9 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Sabrina Jimenez 8 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Samantha Silva 7, Cora Leonard 2 (8 reb), Keji Kubari 2 (4 reb), Hailey Garner 2 (2 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl).

LV-CENTENNIAL 77, GRANITE HILLS 47 – Playing without injured SABRINA JIMENEZ, the Eagles were outscored in every quarter of Tuesday’s semifinal of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic.

SKYLAR WILLIAMS continued her hot hand tactics with 19 points and could have had more had she not missed 12 of her free throw opportunities.

“Centennial was the best defensive team we’ve ever played,” said Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER.

“SKYLER WILLIAMS and JESSICA HARRIS played really well. They were denying Jessica and Skylar the ball – that’s the first time any team has keyed on those two players. They played hard but they were a little off, playing without Sabrina. I thought they did really well in that situation.”

Granite Hills, vs. Centennial: Skylar Williams 19 (8 reb, 2 stl), Jessica Harris 11 (5 reb), Keji Kubari 9 (5 reb, 2 blk), Samantha Silva 5 (5 reb, 1 blk), Hailey Garner 2 (3 reb), Cora Leonard 1 (7 reb), Alyssa Canoff (2 reb).

STEELE CANYON 59, L.A.-ROOSEVELT 54 – For one of the few times this year Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH could sit back and enjoy the game.

“I actually had to say very little from the bench,” Smith said after his Cougars (4-6) knocked off Los Angeles in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) SoCal Holiday Prep Classic contest in Rancho San Diego.

JANVIER BARBARIN turned in a powerful double-double of 26 points and 15 rebounds. She connected on 10 of 17 shots from the floor and 6 of 9 free throws.

“J.V. played her best game of the year today – she was completely dominant inside,” Smith said.

“We went out and played hard. The players had complete control today. Whoever wrote the story (on EastCountySports.com) of last night’s game inspired the girls. We are a different team from the one who played last night.”

Steele Canyon: Janvier Barbarin 26 (15 reb), Gabrielle Beasley 13 (7 ast), Alexis Merlino 7, Michelle Beasley 4 (7 reb), Janique Cofield 5 (11 reb), Samantha Vernon 3, Monique Van 1.

MONTE VISTA 45, SELMA 36 – DEANNA BEMBRY, who has been an instant double for the Monte Vista Monarchs, rolled in 22 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) victory in the 3rd annual Lady Monarchs Holiday Classic.

Bembry drilled in 10 points in the fourth quarter as the Monarchs overcame a 26-19 deficit.

“Our defense created opportunities for us,” said Monarchs coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “We worked some people in, keeping it fresh worked out for us down the stretch. We used our depth a little more.”

Monte Vista: Deanna Bembry 22 (12 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Alex Ross 12 (6 reb), DeeDee Morrison (4 reb), Shamonique Boyd 4 (9 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Mercedes Tisnado 4 (5 reb), Shantee Woods 3 (4 reb), Tasha Brown (4 reb).

HELIX 52, BRAWLEY 47 – The Highlanders balanced their record at 4-4 with a consolation victory over Brawley in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) Montgomery Invitational.

Helix outscored the Wildcats in each of the first three quarters.

“We came out in a 2-2-1 press to start the game and I think it surprised them,” said Helix assistant coach WILLIE HATHAWAY. “We had a great 1st quarter (resulting in an 11-4 lead).”

KIM SCOTT returned to the Highlanders’ lineup and poured in a team high 16 points.

“She did a good job on them inside. Our post players owned the paint, especially FAITH LEAUPEPE-TELE,” Hathaway added.

Helix: Kim Scott 16, Jacqueline Smith 9, Faith Leaupepe-Tele 8, Jasmine Hunn 8, Kristina Scott 7, Grace Osoimalo 4.

VALLEY CENTER 40, VALHALLA 38 – One thing is certain about Valhalla’s loss in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, Prep Division contest. The Norsemen were tough on the boards.

TENISHA LEE collected 20 caroms, while DANIELLE WILSON hauled down 14 rebounds.

“We were getting fouled down low and not getting calls,” said Valhalla coach VALLI LOPEZ. “But we didn’t shoot well either. We were 5 for 20 from the 3-point line and 8 of 35 on twos. We only shot 50 percent from the free throw line.”

Yet Lopez could see the light in the tunnel, noting her team

“We played aggressive defense, we just missed a lot of shots that we have been hitting in the past,” said Lopez.

Valhalla: Chelsea Hale 10, Kandise Kalasho 9, Danielle Wilson 8 (14 reb, 4 stl), Tenisha Lee 4 (20 reb).

MT. CARMEL 46, GROSSMONT 33 – The Grossmont Foothillers probably don’t want to see any more of the Mt. Carmel Sundevils. They’ve lost to them twice this season, including Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division II game.

Mt. Carmel (8-3) never could turn the game into a rout. By the same token the Foothillers were a paltry 1 for 19 in 3-point shooting.

“We live and die on the 3-point line,” said Foothillers coach MEGAN LONG. “I’m proud of my teams’ effort and we’re making strides. It was a better game than the score indicates, but when you can’t put the ball in the basket…”

Mt. Carmel was dominant on the offensive glass.

“Of their 46 shots they probably got 15-20 offensive second chance opportunities,” said Long. “We just have to put the small things together, we just need more experience.”

Grossmont: Frankie Treadwell 15 (4 reb), Danielle Dahle 7 (5 reb, 1 blk), Teyshonnia Bealer-West 4 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Chloe Cook 3 (2 stl), Christa Sawyers 2, Carley Applegate 2 (2 reb, 2 stl), Danielle Balderas (5 reb), Jessie Edgil (5 reb).

CALEXICO 50, EL CAPITAN 40 – Vaqueros coach FRANK QUINONES sensed an air of fatigue setting in within his thin ranks during Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, Prep Division contest.

It was a 2-point game after three quarters when the Vaqueros (4-8) withered in the final quarter.

Playing without team leader AMBER REL-SOLIA (poison oak), the Vaqueros suffered their fourth loss in a row.

ERICA ARIES attempted to pick up the slack as she scored 12 points and garnered 5 rebounds.

Freshman VANESSA SIERRA collected 12 caroms.

El Capitan: Erica Aries 12 (5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Emily Sutton 7 (3 reb), Marissa Pitman 6 (6 reb, 2 stl), Niki Spring 5 (5 reb), Chelsey Kyle 5 (6 reb), Megan Drennen 2 (3 reb), Vanessa Sierra 2 (12 reb), Vanessa Carrillo 1, Robyn Staley-Logel (2 stl), Danielle Monteverde (2 reb).

CARLSBAD 59, EL CAJON VALLEY 14 – The struggling El Cajon Valley Braves plain and simple do not have the numbers to challenge many teams. That was obvious in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NAIA Division encounter.

“Nothing exciting happened today,” said Braves coach CARLOS MOSS. ‘We were 5 for 29 from the field and that told a lot about the game. We did nothing right. The second quarter (a 21-2 deficit) killed us.”

El Cajon Valley: Hazel Doe 7, Terika Williams 4, Miranda Mullens 2, Kaylani Faten 1.

CERRITOS 45, SANTANA 40 – The Sultans (4-9) fell to Cerritos in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division II contest. No details were available on this game.

© East County Sports.com
LAS VEGAS (12-29-09) — The desert winds have been kind to the visiting Granite Hills Eagles.

Head coach JERRY PARKER’s girls swept a double-header in Monday’s (Dec. 28) Las Vegas Holiday Classic, knocking off Montebello’s Schurr 54-52 and Carson 55-42.

“It’s been a pretty good day,” understated Parker, whose Eagles improved their record to 10-3.

Most impressive of the Eagles’ conquests was the come-from-behind victory over Schurr in the opening game. Trailing by 16 points after three quarters, the Eagles used a fierce press to turn that deficit into a victory.

“Schurr tried to slow the game down and ate a lot of clock in the first three quarters,” Parker said. “So we intensified our pressure defense in hopes of turning it into an up-tempo game.”

And so they did.

Igniting the comeback charge for Granite Hills against Schurr was SABRINA JIMENEZ, who led the Eagles with 16 points.

JESSICA HARRIS scored 11 points as did HAILEY GARNER. SKYLAR WILLIAMS pitched in 10 points and grabbed 5 rebounds, one less than Jimenez.

“I think we got a little too cautious as we tried to pace ourselves playing on a larger floor,” noted Parker. “It was kinda helter-skelter there at the beginning. But once we stopped turning the ball over in that last quarter, things started going our way.”

Harris and Williams hit two 3-pointers apiece against Schurr.

GRANITE HILLS 55, CARSON 42 – SABRINA JIMENEZ scored 24 points to lead a balanced Granite Hills attack in the nightcap of the Las Vegas Invitational double-header on Monday (Dec. 28).

The Eagles led only 26-22 at halftime before pulling away in the 2nd half.

The majority of Jimenez’ points came from above the arc, where she landed five 3-pointers.

JESSICA HARRIS added 11 points and 8 assists to the Granite Hills’ victory column.

Granite Hills vs. Schurr: Sabrina Jimenez 16 (6 reb, 2 stl), Jessica Harris 11 (2 reb, 3 stl, 2 blk), Hailey Garner 11 (2 reb, 3 stl), Skylar Williams 10 (5 reb), Kayla Kemp 3, Cora Leonard 2, Keji Kubari 1 (2 reb, 2 blk).

Granite Hills vs. Carson: Sabrina Jimenez 24 (5 reb, 5 ast, 7 stl), Jessica Harris 11 (8 ast, 2 reb), Keji Kubari 10 (5 reb, 1 blk), Samantha Silva 5 (1 blk), Hailey Garner 3 (3 reb, 1 blk), Cora Leonard 2 (3 reb).

VALHALLA 47, SD-SOUTHWEST 25 – Double-double efforts by DANIELLE WILSON and TENISHA LEE provided Valhalla with a resounding victory over the Raiders in Monday’s (Dec. 28) SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, Prep Division action.

Wilson scored a season high 20 points and bagged 12 rebounds while blocking 4 shots, recording 6 steals and dishing 4 assists. Now that’s a complete game.

“Danielle Wilson was involved in all facets of the game today,” said Valhalla coach VALLI LOPEZ. “I’m really happy with the balance in our scoring.”

Lee also contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds.

MacKENZIE CARTMILL added 11 points, the majority of which came on her three 3-pointers.

The Norsemen (3-8) barged in front 23-6 in the first quarter and led 37-10 at halftime.

“We picked up our defense and attacked more today,” said Lopez. “We are understanding what we need to do offensively. We are jelling finally.”

Valhalla: Danielle Wilson 20 (12 reb, 4 ast, 4 blk, 6 stl), Tenisha Lee 12 (10 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), MacKenzie Cartmill 11, Kandise Kalasho 5 (4 reb, 2 stl), Chelsea Hale 2 (2 stl), Ashlee Alfonso 2.

SANTANA 36, RANCHO BERNARDO 31 – Playing what would arguably be their best game of the season thus far, the Sultans knocked off Division I power Rancho Bernardo in Monday’s (Dec. 28) first game of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division II double-header.

That was the third straight win for Santana.

“Rancho Bernardo is usually a powerhouse team,” said Sultans coach MARK TIPTON. “We were up 23-12 at the half – we should have smoked them. If the girls put it all together we proved we can be a dangerous basketball team.”

This game was all about defense. Tipton pointed the finger at BRITTANY FALLETTA and SARAH KVEDERIS for leading the way in that effort.

Santana: Margie Panknin 8 (7 reb), Alyssa Padberg 6 (2 reb), Delia Files 5 (6 reb), Amanda Grable 5, Kim Gross 6 (5 reb), Sammy White 2 (3 reb), Sarah Kvederis 2, Haley Burton 2.

HAMILTON (Ariz.) 64, SANTANA 42 – Hamilton, the No. 4 ranked team in Arizona’s large school division, overpowered Santana 58-29 in the first three quarters of Monday’s (Dec. 28) SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division II contest.

“ Hamilton can compete with most of the Top 10 San Diego teams that we’ve played,” said Sultans coach MARK TIPTON. “They were definitely quick. I was proud of our girls – they never quit.”

ALYSSA PADBERG paced Santana (4-8) with 14 points.

Tipton was impressed with the play of junior KELSEY CONLEY hit 3 of 5 shots from the floor and collected 4 offensive rebounds.

“Kelsey played really well in the second game,” said Tipton. “She really stepped it up for us.”

“We’ve beaten some good teams, like Rancho Bernardo and Rancho Buena Vista,” he continued. “If we put a whole game together we can compete in (the Grossmont Valley ) league.”

G 2 – Santana: Alyssa Padberg 14 (6 reb), Kelsey Conley 6 (4 reb), Amanda Grable 5, Sammy White 5, Katie Grable 3, Delia Files 2 (6 reb), Margie Panknin 2, Kim Gross 2, Brittany Falletta 2, Haley Burton 1.

STEELE CANYON 44, EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 21 – Steele Canyon played smothering defense in the 1st and 4th quarters, limiting the visiting Central Union Spartans to one point in Monday’s (Dec. 28) first game of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division I contest.

“We’ve have been kinda in a slump lately, but we got back into a groove,” said Cougars coach PENNY SMITH. “In the 2nd quarter we started with a fresh squad, took our first squad out. They challenged and got nine points but gave up 11. We are just trying to get stronger.”

GABRIELLE BEASLEY scored 14 points to lead the Cougars.

Defense was the key to this victory. Smith pointed out JANIQUE COFIELD as one of the Cougars’ defensive standouts.

“I’m more of a defensive player but coach wants me to score more and I want to also,” Cofield said. “My goal is to have a mind set of scoring a higher percentage of points.”

Steele Canyon: Gabrielle Beasley 14, Michelle Beasley 8, Janique Cofield 6, Janvier Barbarin 7, Samantha Vernon 4, Monique Van 3, Alma Alvarez 2.

RED MOUNTAIN (Ariz.) 55, STEELE CANYON 45 – Cougars coach PENNY SMITH was downright angry about the “questionable officiating” in Steele Canyon’s second game of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division I tournament play.

“Nothing against Red Mountain, because they’re a good team,” Smith said. “But I saw some calls out there that were unbelievable. I’m not blaming the officials for our losing. Our girls were gassed in the 2nd half.”

JANVIER BARBARIN knocked down 6 of 9 shots from the floor on her way to a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Cougars (3-6).

Steele Canyon: Janvier Barbarin 15 (13 reb), Gabrielle Beasley 14 (6 reb), Samantha Vernon 8, Michelle Beasley 7 (5 reb), Alexis Merlino 2.

MATER DEI 47, GROSSMONT 41 – The Foothillers had their chances, but could not overcome their paltry shooting in Monday’s (Dec. 28) SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division II action at El Cajon Valley.

“This game is the epitome of our season,” Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG said. “We stood out on the perimeter and chucked up a bunch of shots (making six and missing 18). And we’re getting killed on the boards because we don’t box out.”

Overall Grossmont shot 29 percent from the floor (15 of 52) and missed half of their 10 free throws.

A bright spot for Grossmont has been the play of sophomore DANIELLE DAHLE, who came off the bench to score a team high 15 points against 10-2 Mater Dei.

“For a sophomore she’s been pretty impressive,” Long said. “All she needs is experience.”

Dahle was Grossmont’s most effective shooter, sinking 5 of 8 shots from the field and 4 of 6 free throws.

Trailing 42-38 with 2:35 remaining, Grossmont, which once trailed by as much as 14 points, had a chance to win it but a series of turnovers and missed shots short circuited the Foothillers’ comeback bid.

Grossmont: Danielle Dahle 15 (6 reb), Danielle Balderas 11 (5 reb, 3 stl), Frankie Treadwell 5 (3 reb), Jessie Edgil 4 (4 reb), Chloe Cook 3, Teyshonnia Bealer-West 3 (9 reb, 2 stl, 3 ast), Carley Applegate (2 reb).

HELIX 43, CASTLE PARK 22 – The Highlanders applied the defensive clamps to Castle Park in Monday’s (Dec. 28) Montgomery Invitational.

“We wanted to hold them to single digits in each quarter and we were able to do that,” said Helix assistant coach WILLIE HATHAWAY. “Games that we win this year will be because of our defense.”

From an offensive standpoint, Helix (3-4) had to operate without either of its point guards.

“KIM SCOTT rolled her ankle Saturday and JASMINE WILLIAMS’ was out due to the death of her grandmother,” Hathaway said. “We struggled offensively but we played a great game defensively. We moved KRISTINA SCOTT over to the point and she did a good job running things.”

Sophomore FAITH LEAUPEPE-TELE was the only Helix player to reach double digits as she scored 13 points.

Helix: Faith Leaupepe-Tele 13, Grace Osoimalo 7, Kristina Scott 6, Carly Aceves 7, Dana Hosley 2, Alyxis Audley 4, Brittany Hollie 2, Jasmine Hunn 2.

MOUNT MIGUEL 81, CRAWFORD 21 – The Matadors continued their quest to a championship showdown against The Bishop’s in a Mission Bay Holiday Premiere Classic on Monday (Dec. 28) by clobbering visiting Crawford.

If the Matadors (12-0) can dismantle Mission Bay in Tuesday’s semifinals, they’ll face off against the Knights on Wednesday (Dec. 30) at Mount Miguel for the tournament title.

Mount Miguel: Yvonte Neal 21 (5 reb, 2 ast, 6 stl), Myishia Watkins 16 (8 ast, 2 reb, 2 stl), Nicole Fountain 12 (11 stl, 5 ast, 1 blk), Dechae Evans 8 (3 reb, 3 ast, 7 stl, 3 blk), Danielle Miller 8 (3 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Shay Young 8 (6 reb, 2 ast), Shataera Anderson 6 (2 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), 4 stl, 1 blk), Chantel Yell 2, Charity Lyons 1 (2 reb, 2 ast).

EL CAMINO 58, MONTE VISTA 39 – Visiting El Camino bulled its way to a 40-21 lead by halftime of Monday’s (Dec. 28) Lady Monarchs Holiday Classic in Spring Valley.

The Monarchs righted their ship somewhat in the 2nd half, playing the Wildcats (6-1) even at 18-18.

“We let them jump out on us early but we got back in it a little bit in the 2nd half,” said Monte Vista coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “I think El Camino is a mirror image of us. I think we’ll see them again in this tournament.”

DEANNA BEMBRY and ALEXANDRIA CONWRIGHT shared high point honors with 10 points apiece for the Monarchs.

“We didn’t shoot very well today,” said Skibbe. “Unfortunately with the holidays and travel, we haven’t been able to practice in 12 days. We need to get back in the gym.”

Monte Vista: Deanna Bembry 10, Alexandria Conwright 10, Jessica Garcia 4, Shamonique Boyde 6, Alex Ross 5, Kayla Pusey 2, Stefanie Banks 2.

IRVINE-NORTHWOOD 45, EL CAPITAN 37 – Coach FRANK QUINONES didn’t like what he saw from his El Capitan Vaqueros in Monday’s (Dec. 28) SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, Prep Division contest.

“We were just flat. Didn’t have any spark at all,” he said. “It was evident that we didn’t have a go-to girl.”

The closest thing El Capitan had to that was MARISSA PITMAN, who netted three 3-pointers to lead the meager Vaqueros scoring attack with 9 points.

ERICA ARIES collected 11 rebounds for El Capitan (4-7).

Quinones noted that Northwood went to the free throw line 37 times compared to only 13 times for his Vaqueros.

El Capitan: Marissa Pitman 9 (7 reb), Niki Spring 6, Chelsey Kyle 4 (7 reb, 3 ast), Vanessa Carrillo 4, Erica Aries 3 (11 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Emily Sutton 6 (3 reb), Danielle Monteverde 2, Vanessa Sierra 2 (5 reb), Darian Borras (2 reb), Darian Borras 1 (2 reb), Megan Drennen (2 reb).

CANYON CREST 52, EL CAJON VALLEY 19 – Known more for her rebounding, NATASHA FERNANDEZ scored 10 points for host El Cajon Valley but it wasn’t near enough for Monday’s (Dec. 28) SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NAIA Division game.

As a team the Braves (2-10) scored only six points in the 1st half, but trailed by only 13 at intermission.

Canyon Crest put the game away in the 3rd quarter with a 21-5 scoring run.

“We didn’t play with any intensity,” said Braves coach CARLOS MOSS.

El Cajon Valley: Natasha Fernandez 10, Hazel Doe 5, Kaylani Faten 3, Miranda Mullens 1.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-27-09) — Five of the nine tournament games involving Grossmont Conference teams on Saturday (Dec. 26) were decided by three points or less.

Of the eight Inland squads involved, only Santana – a 47-38 winner over El Centro-Central – and Mount Miguel, which blitzed Hoover 86-13, came out winners.

SANTANA 47, EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 38 – KIM GROSS paced the Sultans with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds to go along with 4 steals and a block in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division II game.

It was the second straight win for Santana (3-7).

“Kim Gross played an excellent ball game,” said Santana coach MARK TIPTON. “This was her first game in a few days that she was playing in her natural position. She has been playing the point guard (in ALYSSA PADBERG’S absence) but tonight she was back in the five position, even though she’s an undersized five. She works hard and gets her numbers.”

Santana junior MARGIE PANKNIN turned in a stellar performance of 12 points and 9 steals.

Padberg returned to the lineup to contribute 9 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Santana: Kim Gross 13 (11 reb, 4 stl, 1 blk), Margie Panknin 12 (4 reb, 2 ast, 9 stl), Alyssa Padberg 9 (5 reb, 4 ast), Delia Files 6 (6 reb, 4 stl, 2 blk), Brittany Felletta 3 (2 stl), Sarah Kvederis (2 ast, 3 stl),Sammy White 4 (4 reb).

SAN MARCOS 43, HELIX 42 – Assistant coach WILLIE HATHAWAY of Helix was standing in for head coach TRINA MERIDETH, who is visiting family in South Dakota for the holidays. Both Rapid City and Sioux Falls airports are closed due to snow, but Merideth hopes to be back for Monday’s game, weather permitting.

“It was cold as an icebox in the gym at 9 a.m.,” said Hathaway of Saturday’s (Dec. 26) Montgomery Invitational. “Both teams warmed up in the 2nd half as the gym warmed up.”

The Highlanders came with 15 feet of squeezing out a victory over San Marcos. The game turned into a foul-fest that was decided at the free throw line.

San Marcos made 12 of 17 in the final quarter while Helix was 9 of 15 in the same period.

“We had a rough day on offense – too many turnovers,” said Hathaway. “But I was pleased with the job we did on defense.”

Helix had a chance to tie it at the end of the game but JASMINE WILLIAMS missed a running 15-foot jump shot at the buzzer.

Helix: Kim Scott 14, Kristina Scott 9, Jasmine Williams 8, Grace Osoimalo 6, Jacqueline Smith 2, Iesha Murray 2, Dana Hosley 1.

FALLBROOK 56, EL CAPITAN 53 – Thirty-one turnovers and playing without team leader AMBER REL-SOLIA was too much for the host El Capitan Vaqueros to overcome in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) opening round of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, Prep Division against Fallbrook.

“We missed Amber Rel-Solia’s inside presence today. She went hiking with some friends and got into poison oak.”

MEGAN DRENNEN attempted to pick up the slack, as she scored a season-high 15 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and notched 3 steals.

CHELSEY KYLE and EMILY SUTTON combined for 24 points and 15 rebounds, yet the Vaqueros (4-6) still came up short.

“I don’t care what team you are if you go 9-22 on free throws you’re not going to win many games,” said Vaqueros coach FRANK QUINONES.” I wish we had practiced on Christmas day. I asked the team if anyone had touched a basketball since our last game (two days before Christmas). Only two players had – they are freshmen on our JV team – and they got hoops for Christmas.”

“It’s disappointing to lose but we have gotten four more wins than I expected. We just have to learn from this and move on.”

El Capitan: Megan Drennen 15 (6 reb, 3 stl), Chelsey Kyle 12 (8 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk, 4 stl), Emily Sutton 12 (7 reb), Erica Arie 7 (5 reb, 2 ast), Vanessa Sierra 4, Niki Spring 2 (2 reb, 3 stl), Vanessa Carrillo 1, Marissa Pitman (5 reb, 2 ast).

VISTA 37, GROSSMONT 34 – A quick glance at the box score in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) first round game of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division II would indicate that the Grossmont Foothillers would have come out on top.

The Foothillers (3-6) limited Vista to one point in the 2nd quarter, yet trailed 16-15 at halftime. Grossmont gained the lead 23-22 after three periods but couldn’t hold on.

“We just can’t close games and finish,” said Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG. “We are too inexperienced – scoring for us is difficult. We are holding our own defensively and rebounding well. We missed our free throws in the 4th quarter and Vista made theirs in the last minute.

“We had good effort but we could not force things to go our way.”

Grossmont: Danielle Dahle 11, Danielle Balderas 10 (2 reb), Teyshonnia Bealer-West 4 (8 reb, 2 stl), Frankie Treadwell 3 (2 reb, 2 stl), Jessie Edgil 3 (4 reb), Chloe Cook 3, Carley Applegate (5 reb).

RANCHO BUENA VISTA 45, VALHALLA 44 – It’s frustrating experiences like Valhalla first-year head coach VALLI LOPEZ endured in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, Prep Division game against Rancho Buena Vista

“The game came down to the last second,” said Lopez. “We had six attempts down low at the end of the game and could not convert any of them.”

This was the second time Valhalla has lost to Rancho Buena Vista, the first time 39-33 just over a week ago.

“CHESLEA HALE is all of a sudden stepping up and ASHLEE ALFONSO is hitting her threes,” said Lopez. “This is the first loss of the season that I’m really pleased with. We did a good job shutting off RBV’s penetration this time. We are getting closer to learning how to win down the stretch.”

Valhalla: Tenisha Lee 10, Ashlee Alfonso 9, Chelsea Hale 8, MacKenzie Cartmill 7, Danielle Wilson 6, Karissa Ferrell 4.

G1: EL CENTRO-SOUTHWEST 53, EL CAJON VALLEY 45; G2: EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 34, EL CAJON VALLEY 32 – HAZEL DOE scored 28 points, dished 9 assists and recorded 13 steals in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) opening round double-header of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NAIA Division game.

But Doe’s efforts were in vain as the Braves (2-9) succumbed to the desert heat supplied by El Centro Southwest and Central Union.

“This is a different team from last year,” said Doe, a senior point guard who was 11 of 23 from the floor in the twinbill. “I see a lot of improvement but a lot of room to grow.”

El Cajon Valley had a chance to win both games.

With a minute left and El Centro Southwest leading 47-45, both teams fouled but the Eagles put the game away from the free throw line.

“We started off well but we relaxed and lost our intensity,” said Braves coach CARLOS MOSS. “We fell behind by 13 after three quarters but we made a run at them in the 4th quarter.”

The nightcap was even more frustrating to coach Moss.

“We just don’t know how to win yet,” he said.

G1 – El Cajon Valley vs. EC-Southwest: Hazel Doe 16 (5 reb, 6 stl), Terika Williams 11 (4 stl), Kaylani Faten 13 (9 reb), Natasha Fernandez 5 (12 reb).

El Cajon Valley vs. El Centro-Central: Hazel Doe 12 (4 ast, 7 stl), Kaylani Faten 7 (6 reb), Natasha Fernandez 7, Terika Williams 6 (9 reb, 3 stl, 5 stl).

MOUNT MIGUEL 86, HOOVER 13 – No telling how lopsided this game could have ended up had the Matadors maintained their press beyond the first quarter and the running clock not kicked in by the 4th period of Saturday’s (Dec. 26) Mission Bay Holiday Premiere Classic game in Spring Valley.

Mount Miguel (11-0) created 32 steals while Hoover turned the ball over 44 times.

DANIELLE MILLER, who topped a balanced Mount Miguel offense with 18 points, logged 5 steals as did NICOLE FOUNTAIN, YVONTE NEAL and MYISHA WATKINS.

Neal (16 points) and SHAY YOUNG (14 points) also reached double figures for the Matadors, who led 55-5 at halftime. CHANTEL YELL scored a career high 9 points on a trio of 3-pointers.

Mount Miguel: Danielle Miller 18 (4 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Yvonte Neal 16 (2 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), Shay Young 14 (2 reb, 2 ast), Chantel Yell 9 (2 stl), Shataera Anderson 8 (2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Dechae Evans 8 (3 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl, 2 blk), Nicole Fountain 8 (8 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), Myishia Watkins 5 (6 ast, 5 stl), Charity Lyons (4 stl).

WESTVIEW 43, STEELE CANYON 28 – In what was a sluggish game in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) opening round of the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic, NCAA Division I, Steele Canyon saw an 18-17 first half possible upset-in-the-making slip through its fingers.

A 26-10 scoring surge by Westview in the 2nd half sent the Cougars to their fifth loss in seven starts.

Steele Canyon shot a paltry 21 percent (10 for 47) from the floor.

GABRIELLE BEASLEY was the only player breaking into double figures with 13 points. Nearly half of her points came from the free throw line where she made 6 of 8.

“We didn’t play at all today – we just went through the motions,” said Cougars coach PENNY SMITH. “Gabrielle Beasley played a great game today. It was another typical Gabrielle game for her.”

“Westview tallest player was 5-9. We didn’t take advantage of the size discrepancy at all.”

Steele Canyon: Gabrielle Beasley 13, Michelle Beasley 6, Janvier Barbarin 6, Samantha Vernon 2, Janique Cofield 1.

SAN YSIDRO at MONTE VISTA – This contest in the 3rd Annual Lady Monarchs Holiday Classic was cancelled due to a scheduling mixup.

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (12-24-09) — The Valhalla Norsemen are familiar with lopsided games, especially when it comes to finishing on the short end.

That’s why first-year coach VALLI LOPEZ had to be pleased by Valhalla’s 65-17 knockout of Temecula Prep in Wednesday’s (Dec. 23) final round of the Vaquero Invitational at Santana.

CHELSEA HALE scored a career-high 20 points, hitting 10 field goals from the field.

KANDISE KALASHO was equally as deadly for the Norsemen (2-6) as she punched in 18 points, including a pair of treys.

For good measure, KARISSA FERRELL produced her varsity high of 13 points.

“We tried to get the ball to our scorers early,” Lopez said. “Kandise and Chelsea were outstanding tonight. We decided to work on a few things in the second half. We wanted to get our younger players involved more in the game, and we did.”

Valhalla: Chelsea Hale 20, Kandise Kalasho 18, Karissa Ferrell 13, Ashlee Alfonso 7, Danielle Wilson 3, MacKenzie Cartmill 2, Tenisha Lee 2.

BAKERSFIELD-STOCKDALE 62, WEST HILLS 43 – Even though West Hills shows only a 7-5 record at this point in the season, third-year head coach RYAN KINSER isn’t overly concerned. Sure, he’d like the Pack to have a better ratio of success, but he realizes that his teams have been facing some of the better teams in Southern California.

Bakersfield-Stockdale outscored the Wolf Pack in all four quarters of Wednesday’s (Dec. 23) third-place game of the Tournament of Champions at Santa Barbara.

“I enjoy scheduling tough games early in the season,” Kinser said.

Better yet, Kinser would like to knock off some of the elite.

“(Stockdale) is a very athletic team and they wanted it more than we did. We gave them 20 offensive rebounds and had another game of 20-plus turnovers.”

The West Hills woes didn’t stop at that.

“We were ice cold from the perimeter,” Kinser continued. “KIMMIE CLARK injured her ankle last night and she had limited playing time today.”

West Hills: Marilyn Naderhoff 10 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Sherika Miller 8 (3 reb, 2 ast), Mariah Bennett 6 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Taylor Aguirre 6 (2 reb, 2 ast), Jillian Brown 5 (2 reb), Emily Cole 4, Danielle Hays 2, Alexa Evans 2, Taylor Ingraham (2 reb).

MISSION HILLS 52, EL CAPITAN 42 – If you would have asked coach FRANK QUINONES at the beginning of the season what he thought his Vaqueros’ record would be after nine games, you might be surprised.

“I’m proud of the progress we’ve made and where we are today,” Quinones said. “At the outset I thought we’d be fortunate to win maybe two, possibly three games.”

Let the record show that El Capitan is 4-5, which includes a pair of losses to Mission Hills.

“I really like this team. They’re fun to watch and fun to coach,” Quinones added. “I know we’re going to get better and that’s really encouraging.”

AMBER REL-SOLIA paced the Vaqueros with 13 points in Wednesday’s (Dec. 23) fifth-place game of the Vaquero Shootout. She was named to the all-tournament team as was teammate CHELSEY KYLE.

El Capitan: Amber Rel-Solia 13 (4 reb), Erica Arie 9 (4 reb, 2 ast), Marissa Pitman 9 (10 reb, 6 ast), Chelsey Kyle 8 (7 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 3 blk), Niki Spring 8, Emily Sutton (2 reb).

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (12-23-09) — Although there were no banners or horns to celebrate the performance of AMBER REL-SOLIA, she certainly earned her way onto center stage in Tuesday’s (Dec. 22) Vaquero Invitational 49-46 victory over Kitsilano Secondary School of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Rel-Solia, a 5-foot-10 junior, led the Vaqueros with 18 points and 9 rebounds. But her influence went much deeper than that.

After Kitsilano jumped out to an 11-2 first-quarter lead, Rel-Solia eventually ended the first half by nailing her first 3-pointer in her initial attempt from long distance, leaving the Vaqueros down by one point at intermission.

“When I think back on it now, if she doesn’t make that shot we could have lost the game,” said El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES.

That was just the beginning of Rel-Solia’s heroics. She actually won the game for the Vaqueros when she turned a missed free throw into a putback and a free throw to break a 46-46 deadlock with 1.3 seconds remaining.

“She was our go-to girl today,” said Quinones.

Even after Rel-Solia’s game winning points, Kitsilano nearly put the game into overtime.

“I don’t know what happened but I think we went to sleep on defense,” Quinones said. “We let them inbound the ball and get off a 3-point shot that I thought for sure was going to force overtime.

“But, fortunately for us, the ball rimmed out.”

ERICA ARIE added 9 points and 10 rebounds for the Vaqueros (4-4) and MARISSA PITMAN connected on a pair of 3s.

“This was a really good test for us because Kitsilano pressed us the whole game,” Quinones said. “Just about every team we’ll face in our ( Grossmont Valley ) League is going to press us.”

El Capitan: Amber Rel-Solia 18 (9 reb), Erica Arie 9 (10 reb), Marissa Pitman 6 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Chelsey Kyle 8 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Niki Spring 4, Megan Drennen 2 (4 reb), Emily Sutton 2.

MONTE VISTA 52, MARCOS de NIZA (Tempe, Ariz.) 48 – One thing the Monte Vista Monarchs can count on is leadership and powerful play from 5-foot-9 junior DEANNA BEMBRY.

For Bembry, the first nine games of the season have been a double-double or better.

She scored 18 points and grabbed 18 rebounds as the Monarchs pushed their record to 5-4 in Tuesday’s (Dec. 22) final round victory over the Padres in the Nike Tournament of Champions at Chandler, Ariz.

Bembry also dished 5 assists, blocked 3 shots and made 4 steals.

“Deanna Bembry had a typical Deanna game today,” said Monarchs coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “She’s such a hard worker. She just punches the clock every game and goes right to work. She sets a good example for the rest of the team to follow.

“We had good balance from the other players today. We learned a lot over here. This will really help us for the rest of the season.”

“Marcos de Niza was a tough team for us to play. They were a bigger team than us and they really changed defenses on us all the time. I’m glad we’re leaving because I’m tired of not having a shot clock.”

Monte Vista: Deanna Bembry 18 (18 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk, 4 stl), Alex Conwright 8, Shantee Woods 7, Alex Ross 6, Dionna Mercer 6, Jessica Garcia 4 (3 reb), Shamonique Boyd 1 (3 stl), DeeDee Morrison 1, Mercedes Tisnado 1, Stefanie Banks (2 blk).

ST. JOSEPH 60, WEST HILLS 40 – The Wolf Pack must have lost its focus in the third quarter as Santa Maria-St. Joseph (7-0), ranked No. 14 in the state, went on an 18-2 scoring run to secure the semifinal victory in the Tournament of Champions at Santa Barbara.

Thus West Hills (7-4) will face Palmdale in Wednesday’s (Dec. 23) third place game at Santa Barbara High.

“We fell apart in the 3rd quarter, couldn’t do anything right in that quarter,” said Wolf Pack coach RYAN KINSER. “Our only basket came on a layup by SHERIKA MILLER with 30 seconds left in the 3rd.”

Miller finished with 12 points and 6 rebounds.

MARILYN NADERHOFF hit 6 of 8 shots from the floor and added 2 free throws to pace the Pack with 14 points. However, the senior point guard issued only one of West Hills’ six assists in the game.

“We missed too many layups, close in shots,” said Kinser. “Our lack of offense affected us on defense, especially in the 2nd half.”

West Hills: Marilyn Naderhoff 14 (4 stl), Sherika Miller 12 (6 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Jillian Brown 4 (5 reb), Kimberly Clark 3 (3 reb), Mariah Bennett 2, Emily Cole 2, Taylor Ingraham 2 (2 reb), Danielle Hays 1 (4 reb).

VENICE 52, VALHALLA 36 – Tenisha Lee (12 points) and MacKenzie Cartmill (11 points) were on target but the Norsemen (1-7) were unable to generate enough offense to upend the Gondoliers in Tuesday’s (Dec. 22) Vaquero Invitational.

Valhalla: Tenisha Lee 12, MacKenzie Cartmill 11, Ashlee Alfonso 5, Danielle Wilson 4, Kandise Kalasho 4.

© East County Sports.com
SANTA BARBARA (12-22-09) — West Hills jumped out to an 8-0 lead over Irvine Woodbridge – ranked 25th in the state – but suffered 15 turnovers in the first half of Monday’s (Dec. 21) Tournament of Champions contest.

Those miscues caused the Wolf Pack’s advantage shrink to two points by intermission. West Hills regrouped and cut the turnovers to one in the third quarter and held on for the 52-44 victory.

Woodbridge only got as close as eight points in the second half.

“We got off to a very good start,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “We played good defense throughout. We played pretty well to play a very good team. We rebounded well and had good balance in our scoring.”

KIMBERLY CLARK led the Pack with 16 points, hitting 5 of 10 shots from the floor and 6 of 8 free throws.

MARIAH BENNETT added 10 points, making half of her 10 shots from the field, while topping the team with 4 steals.

West Hills: Kimberly Clark 16 (3 reb, 2 stl), Mariah Bennett 10 (4 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Sherika Miller 8 (7 reb), Marilyn Naderhoff 7 (6 reb, 5 ast), Jillian Brown 7 (8 reb, 1 blk), Taylor Aguirre 2, Taylor Ingraham 2, Danielle Hays (5 reb).

SANTA MONICA 56, MONTE VISTA 54 – DEANNA BEMBRY created her 7th double-double for the Monarchs as she generated 26 points and 11 rebounds in the second round of the Nike Tournament of Champions in Chandler, Ariz.

Bembry banged in 12 of 15 shots from the field, netted 2 free throws and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Monarchs. The only time the 5-foot-9 junior failed to execute a double-double was when she manufactured a triple-double – in other words, she’s top gun among the Monarchs.

“We are 4-4 and right where we should be,” said Monte Vista coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “They play without a shot clock in Arizona and it takes some getting use to. It really hurt us in the 4th quarter when we tried to make a comeback. I’m pleased with our effort on defense. We played really strong 'D' today.”

The Monarchs had a chance to tie the game on their last possession but threw the ball away.

Monte Vista: Deanna Bembry 26 (11 reb, 3 blk, 3 stl), Alex Ross 9, Dionna Mercer 6, Alex Conwright 3, Tasha Brown 3, Kayla Pusey 3, Shantee Woods 2, Shamonique Boyd 2.

EL CAPITAN 62, TEMECULA PREP 9 – Regardless of the competition, El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES had to be pleased by the Vaqueros’ defensive effort against visiting Temecula Prep over the final three quarters in the second round of the Vaquero Invitational.

MARISSA PITMAN balanced El Capitan’s offense with 12 points – all of them coming on three pointers.

“You never know who you are playing, so we came out in a press until we went up by 10-0,” said Quinones. “Then I called it off. We played man-to-man and got to work on our zone defense. They are rebuilding, just as we are. I know what they are going through.”

El Capitan: Marissa Pitman 12 (8 reb, 3 ast), Erica Arie 11 (7 reb), Chelsey Kyle 9 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Megan Drennen 8 (4 reb), Amber Rel-Solia 6 (4 reb, 3 stl), Robyn Staley-Logel 5 (2 reb, 3 stl), Vanessa Carrillo 5 (2 reb, 3 stl), Emily Sutton 4 (4 reb), Niki Spring 2 (2 reb, 5 ast), Darian Borras (4 reb, 2 stl).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-20-09) — Granite Hills missed its only chance to knock off East County kingpin Mount Miguel in Saturday’s (Dec. 19) finals of the Granite Hills Holiday Invitational.

“That’s what’s so frustrating… that our girls were so anxious to play Mount Miguel two times this year,” said Eagles coach JERRY PARKER. “But now that we’re in different leagues, our seniors won’t be able to play them again.”

Mount Miguel (10-0) is now a member of the Grossmont Valley League and Granite Hills (8-3) is now affiliated with the Grossmont Hills League due to the Grossmont Conference re-leaguing.

“Our girls were looking forward to playing this game since they knew this would be our only chance to play them,” Parker said.

Credit the Eagles for making a game of it as they trailed by only three points after one quarter and 35-27 at halftime. Mount Miguel maintained control after that, claiming the championship trophy with a 61-46 victory.

“You have to give them some credit because they jumped out to a 12-2 lead,” Sandoval said.

“But the thing that hurt us more than they did was the officiating. There were way too many touch fouls in the first half. I wound up with two of my starters on the bench in the first quarter. That kept us from being as aggressive on defense as we usually are. And when we can’t attack on defense to create turnovers, that kills our transition game.”

Three Matadors finished in double figures, including YVONTE NEAL and DANIELLE MILLER who tallied 11 points apiece. MYISHIA WATKINS added 10 points for Mount Miguel.

For Granite Hills SABRINA JIMENEZ had 13 points and 5 assists while JESSICA HARRIS added 10 points.

“We won the game on the defensive end,” Sandoval said. “We have to rely on that every game.

“When we play Granite Hills it’s a rivalry, which makes the game more intensive. I think we eventually wore them down.”

Mount Miguel: Yvonte Neal 11 (7 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Danielle Miller 11 (6 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk), Myishia Watkins 10 (4 ast, 3 stl), Shataera Anderson 9 (4 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Nicole Fountain 7 (6 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Dechae Evans 6 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk).

Granite Hills: Sabrina Jimenez 13 (5 ast, 3 reb, 3 stl), Jessica Harris 10 (2 ast), Keji Kubari 9 (2 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Samantha Silva 6 (2 reb), Hailey Garner 4 (2 reb), Kelsey Bailey 3.

MOUNT MIGUEL 63, SAN DIEGO 41 – In a battle of Top 10 teams, the Mount Miguel Matadors won this early morning clash in Saturday’s (Dec. 19) semifinals of the Granite Hills Holiday Invitational.

“To be honest, our kids were awake, pumped up and ready to go,” Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL said of the 9:30 a.m. tipoff time. “The kids from both of these teams play club ball in EBO. They know each other, they’re competitive and they want to win.”

Mount Miguel turned the game into a blowout with a 27-15 scoring run in the final quarter.

MYISHIA WATKINS scored 15 of her 19 points in the 4th quarter. Watkins nailed a trio of 3-pointers and went 6 for 6 from the free throw line.

YVONTE NEAL was also on the mark from the charity stripe as she made 9 of 10 en route to scoring 17 points. The senior transfer from Eastlake also banked two 3-pointers and shared the rebounding lead with DECHAE EVANS of 7 apiece.

“San Diego has to be one of the top five teams in the county and it’s good to get a win over them,” Sandoval said.

Mount Miguel: Myishia Watkins 19 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Yvonte Neal 17 (7 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl, 1 blk), Danielle Miller 8 (5 reb, 3 stl, 2 blk), Dechae Evans 8 (7 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Shay Young 4 (6 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Shataera Anderson 4 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Nicole Fountain 3 (5 reb, 4 ast, 5 stl).

GRANITE HILLS 51, BRAWLEY 26 – SABRINA JIMENEZ was the difference in the Eagles romp over Brawley in Saturday’s (Dec. 19) semifinals of the Granite Hills Holiday Invitational.

Jimenez finished with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals for the Eagles, who led 42-14 after three quarters.

Granite Hills: Sabrina Jimenez 19 (5 ast, 6 reb, 4 stl, 1 blk), Jessica Harris 10 (3 ast, 3 stl), Cora Leonard 6 (8 reb), Michelle Ybarra 6, Samantha Silva 5 (2 reb, 2 stl), Kayla Kemp 3, Hailey Garner 2 (3 reb, 2 stl), Keji Kubari (5 reb, 1 blk, 3 stl), Monique Ybarra (4 reb).

WEST HILLS 55, NEWBURY PARK 46 – It’s hard to defend West Hills on the offensive side because the Wolf Pack is such a balanced outfit.

After falling behind 20-12 in the first quarter, the Wolf Pack (6-3) came storming back with a 20-4 scoring run in the second quarter to take a 32-24 halftime advantage in Saturday’s (Dec. 19) first round of the Tournament of Champions in Santa Barbara.

This is not a game where one person showed the way to victory lane.

As a team West Hills shot better than 53 percent from the floor (25 of 47) to earn its sixth win in nine games.

SHERIKA MILLER was the leader of the Pack with 13 points – the majority of which came on 6 for 10 shooting from the floor.

After one quarter the Wolf Pack was trailing 20-12. Newbury Park had no fouls and West Hills had seven in that period.

“It took us awhile to get settle down on defense,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “Because of foul trouble we had to play a little zone in the 2nd quarter.

We handled the ball much better in the 2nd quarter.”

West Hills led by eight points at halftime.

The Wolf Pack’s five seniors scored 49 of their 55 points.

“We didn’t get much help from our bench, and we need our bench to contribute more if we are to advance in this tournament,” said Kinser.

West Hills: Sherika Miller 13, Kimberly Clark 10, Marilyn Naderhoff 10, Danielle Hays 8, Mariah Bennett 8, Emily Cole 2, Taylor Aguirre 2, Alexa Evans 2.

MONTE VISTA 66, Pasadena-MARANATHA CHRISTIAN 50 – At first glance at Monte Vista’s game against Maranatha in Saturday’s (Dec. 19) Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix, Ariz., you have to wonder if it took the Monarchs an extra long time to warm up or something.

Scoring a paltry four points in the opening eight minutes, the Monarchs erupted for a 26 point scoring spree in the final quarter to push their record to 4-3.

DEANNA BEMBRY, a 5-foot-9 junior, completed a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds while blocking 3 shots and dishing 4 assists for Monte Vista. Bembry’s game included hitting 8 of 10 shots from the field and 4 of 6 free throws.

ALEX CONWRIGHT led the Monarchs’ supporting cast with 12 points, while DIONNA MERCER handed out 7 scoring passes.

“There was a lot of defense on both sides early,” said Monarchs coach MICHAEL SKIBBE, noting that Monte Vista led only 21-18 at halftime. “We played our best defense of the year. Our depth was a lot better than theirs. They got tired as the game went on. Our bench played well today, we got good contributions from everybody.”

Monte Vista: Deanna Bembry 20 (11 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk), Alexandria Conwright 12, Shantee Woods 7, Shamonique Boyd 6, Tasha Brown 5 (4 reb), Dionna Mercer 4 (7 ast), Stefanie Banks 4, DeeDee Morrison 2 (3 reb), Jessica Garcia 2, Kayla Pusey 2, Alex Ross 2.

SANTANA 43, OCEANSIDE 31 – MARGIE PANKNIN scored a career high 15 points to guide Santana to Saturday’s (Dec. 19) 63rd Annual Kiwanis Tournament victory over Oceanside in a game played at Scripps Ranch.

Panknin, a junior, netted 6 of 8 shots from the field and 3 of 7 free throws to set the pace for the Sultans (2-7). She led the team in assists with 3.

Junior KIM GROSS muscled in 10 points, recorded 6 steals, blocked 2 shots, dished 3 assists and collected 4 rebounds to lead Santana’s supporting cast.

Not to be overlooked was SAMMY WHITE, who topped the team with 4 blocks.

Santana: Margie Panknin 15 (7 reb, 4 ast), Kim Gross 10 (4 reb, 3 ast, 6 stl, 2 blk), Amanda Grable 8 (5 reb), Haley Burton 4 (3 reb, 1 blk), Sammy White 4 (4 blk), Delia Files 2 (4 reb, 2 ast).

SAN PASQUAL 52, EL CAJON VALLEY 27 – First-year El Cajon Valley coach CARLOS MOSS wasn’t expecting miracles in Saturday’s (Dec. 19) Granite Hills Holiday Invitational, and none were forthcoming as visiting San Pasqual took a 32-13 halftime lead.

“It’s been a long week and we just didn’t show up to play in the first two quarters. It’s hard to play catch-up with seven girls,” said Moss. “They got tired. Sometimes, it’s ‘like your mama said... there’ll be days like this.’”

El Cajon Valley: Hazel Doe 11 (5 ast, 6 stl), Natasha Fernandez 7 (11 reb), Kaylani Faten 4 (6 reb), Terika Williams 2 (4 ast, 4 stl), Sharde Williams 2, Miranda Mullens 1.

CARSON 67, VALHALLA 21 – Consider this one of those classic mismatches. Just watching these teams warm up on Saturday (Dec. 19) before the second round of the Vaqueros Invitational made it obvious that Valhalla was at a distinct disadvantage.

“Carson is a tough team,” said Valhalla coach VALLI LOPEZ. “We played as hard as we could. They were much bigger than us – they had four players over six feet and we have none. We had trouble rebounding against them.”

The Colts of Carson (8-4) led 49-16 by halftime.

Valhalla: Danielle Wilson 5, Kandise Kalasho 4, Tenisha Lee 4, MacKenzie Cartmill 3, Karissa Ferrell 3, Chelsea Hale 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-19-09) — Even though Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER wouldn’t say it, the Eagles put together their best quarter of the season in Friday’s (Dec. 18) Granite Hills Holiday Invitational 66-39 rout of Santa Fe Christian.

We’re talking about the first quarter when Granite Hills flew in front 29-8.

JESSICA HARRIS scored all 11 of her points, and SABRINA JIMENEZ scored 10 of her game high 26 points in the opening period to lead the Eagles.

Jimenez hit 5 three-pointers as Granite Hills improved to 7-2.

Granite Hills will host Brawley at 11 a.m. in Saturday’s semifinals, after Mount Miguel takes on San Diego at 9:30 a.m.

The winners will meet for the tournament championship at 6:30 at Granite Hills. The losers will face off in the third place game at 5 p.m.

Granite Hills: Sabrina Jimenez 26 (3 stl, 3 ast), Jessica Harris 11 (3 stl, 4 ast), Cora Leonard 6 (6 reb), Skylar Williams 6 (4 stl), Kayla Kemp 4 (2 reb), Samantha Silva 4 (2 stl), Cassie Smith 3 (2 reb), Keji Kubari 2 (5 reb, 2 blk, 2 ast), Hailey Garner 2, Alyssa Canoff 2, Monique Ybarra (3 reb), Michelle Ybarra (2 reb).

MATER DEI 56, EL CAPITAN 34 – El Capitan couldn’t seem to pump up its offense in Friday’s (Dec. 18) opening round of the Vaquero Invitational.

“I thought we played well, but you’re not going to win many ballgames when you shoot 25 percent from the field,” said Vaqueros coach FRANK QUINONES.

Of course when you’re playing the defending state champions, scoring easy baskets is not allowed.

“It was one of those games where you’re glad you played it. It was our best game of the season, even though we lost,” Quinones said.

Despite the loss, AMBER REL-SOLIA rolled a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

CHELSEY KYLE chipped in with 7 points and 8 boards.

Another factor that burned Quinones was the Vaqueros’ poor free throw shooting, as they converted only 9 of 19 attempts.

“We practice free throws every stinkin’ day,” Quinones said. “I wish we had three hours a day to shoot free throws.”

Mater Dei turned the game into a blowout in the 2nd half, outscoring the Vaqueros (2-4) 36-21.

“We continue to keep getting better,” Quinones said. “We’re young – no one is expecting us to win. As long as we keep getting better each and every day we’ll be OK. We should be able to compete.”

El Capitan: Amber Rel-Solia 10 (11 reb), Chelsey Kyle 7 (8 reb), Megan Drennen 4 (2 reb, 2 stl), Vanessa Carrillo 4 (3 reb), Niki Spring 4, Marissa Pitman 3 (2 reb, 3 ast), Erica Arie 2 (5 reb).

BRAWLEY 36, EL CAJON VALLEY 28 – It’s no secret that the Braves need more scoring punch than just HAZEL DOE can do. It’s a lot to ask one player to carry the load.

Doe turned in another sparkling performance, hitting 7 of 11 shots from the field, including one trey and a free throw for 16 points in Friday’s (Dec. 18) Granite Hills Holiday Invitational contest.

The Braves went toe-to-toe with the Wildcats from Imperial Valley for all but the 3rd quarter. A 14-5 Brawley burst in the 3rd period made the difference in the outcome.

Five-foot-9 sophomore NATASHA FERNANDEZ snagged 12 rebounds to pace the Braves.

“We just do not know how to win yet,” said Braves coach CARLOS MOSS. “We made a run in the 4th quarter but could not overcome Brawley. The new players need to get used to playing with Hazel. When they do we’ll be a better team.”

El Cajon Valley: Hazel Doe 16 (5 ast, 7 stl), Miranda Mullens 5, Kaylani Faten 4, Terika Williams 3 (4 ast, 5 stl), Natasha Fernandez (12 reb).

MORSE 38, SANTANA 36 – This one had to hurt. The Santana Sultans shot a paltry 21 percent (8 of 39) from the field and still had a chance to win Friday’s (Dec. 18) against Morse in the 63rd Annual Kiwanis Tournament at Scripps Ranch.

With 15 seconds remaining Santana (1-7) stole the ball and missed a shot. Morse called a timeout with 5.4 seconds left, then inbounded the ball to Tiffany Wellington, who drove the lane for an uncontested game-winning layup at the buzzer.

Santana: Kim Gross 16 (6 reb), Margie Panknin 6, Delia Files 3 (11 reb), Sarah Kvederis 4 (6 reb, 6 stl), Amanda Grable 4 (6 reb, 1 blk), Sammy White 2 (2 reb), Haley Burton 1 (3 reb, 1 blk).

RANCHO BUENA VISTA 39, VALHALLA 33 – The score was tied 20-20 at halftime in Friday’s (Dec. 18) Vaquero Invitational at El Capitan, but the Longhorns held on to claim the victory over the Norsemen (1-5).

Valhalla: Danielle Wilson 8, Tenisha Lee 7, Kandise Kalasho 6, MacKenzie Cartmill 5, Ashlee Alfonso 3, Karissa Ferrell 2, Chelsea Hale 2.

LACES 61, MONTE VISTA 40 – The Monarchs (3-3) lost Friday’s (Dec. 18) opening round of the Nike Tournament of Champions game in Phoenix, Ariz. No other details were reported.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-18-09) — SABRINA JIMENEZ drained a 3-pointer from the corner in the final seconds to give Granite Hills a 61-58 victory over visiting San Pasqual in Thursday’s (Dec. 17) Granite Hills Holiday Invitational.

Jimenez, who finished with a team best 15 points, took a pass from JESSICA HARRIS to nail her game-winning bucket.

The victory raised Granite Hills’ record to 6-2.

The 3-point shot was Granite Hills’ best friend as the Eagles landed 8 treys from above the arc. Jimenez, SAMANTHA SILVA and KEJI KUBARI each hit a pair of triples. Harris and SKYLAR WILLIAMS hit one apiece.

“MONIQUE YBARRA came off the bench to give us good energy,” said Eagles coach JERRY PARKER. “CORA LEONARD gave us key minutes off the bench and played well defensively.”

“We played well enough to win the game,” he added. “I wasn’t happy with our free throw shooting in the fourth quarter (2 for 7).”

Those five misses were the only free throws the Eagles missed in the whole game, as they turned in an 11 for 16 performance on charity shots.

“Offensively we did a good job of recognizing and reacting to their defensive changes,” Parker added.

Granite Hills: Sabrina Jimenez 15 (8 reb, 2 stl, 5 ast), Skylar Williams 11 (5 reb, 3 stl, 3 ast), Jessica Harris 9 (3 reb, 2 stl, 4 ast), Samantha Silva 9 (2 reb, 2 stl, 2 ast), Keji Kubari 8 (6 reb, 3 blk, 2 stl), Cora Leonard 4 (5 reb), Hailey Garner 3 (2 reb), Monique Ybarra 2 (4 reb), Alyssa Canoff (2 reb).

GROSSMONT 57, SAN DIEGUITO 23 – For one of the few times this season, the Grossmont Foothillers outscored their opponent in each of the four quarters, which resulted in an easy Mission Bay Shoot-Out Classic victory over San Dieguito on Thursday (Dec. 17) at Horizon.

Sophomore guard DANIELLE DAHLE nailed 4 of 8 shots from the field, including a pair of treys, as she shared high point honors with FRANKIE TREADWELL at 12 points.

This was probably Grossmont’s best balanced attack of the season. DANIELLE BALDERAS chipped in 11 points and 5 steals, while CHRISTA SAWYERS contributed 11 points. Both girls landed a pair of 3-pointers.

“We got off to a good start,” said Foothillers coach MEGAN LONG after Grossmont stormed in front 16-7 after one period.

The Foothillers made it 31-12 by halftime and the issue was decided.

“Tonight we were able to maintain momentum throughout the whole game. We shot the ball well. We moved the ball well against their zone and got the looks we wanted.”

Treadwell missed only one of seven shots from the field to set the tone for Grossmont (3-5).

TEYSHONNIA BEALER-WEST led Grossmont’s board brigade by collecting 11 caroms. She also dished 6 assists and notched 4 steals – one fewer than Balderas.

“I was pleased with our defense – we rebounded real well,” Long said.

One other note that pleased Long was the fact that Grossmont limited the Mustangs (5-3) to four offensive rebounds.

Grossmont: Frankie Treadwell 12 (2 stl), Danielle Dahle 12 (8 reb, 2 blk, 3 stl), Danielle Balderas 11 (3 reb, 5 stl), Christa Sawyers 11 (3 reb), Teyshonnia Bealer-West 7 (11 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl), Jessie Edgil 2 (2 reb), Chloe Cook 2 (3 ast), Ashley Hargrove (3 reb, 1 blk).

EL CAJON VALLEY 30, CASTLE PARK 17 – The El Cajon Valley Braves made it two in a row as they toppled the visiting Trojans in Thursday’s (Dec. 17) Granite Hills Holiday Invitational play in El Cajon.

HAZEL DOE paced the Braves (2-5) when she sank 9 of 10 shots from the floor, added a free throw and recorded 8 steals.

“Hazel was a one-man wrecking crew. She did it all,” said Braves coach CARLOS MOSS. “She’s getting better and she is so athletic she outruns herself.”

Only two other El Cajon Valley girls scored, KAYLANI FATEN (7 points) and NATASHA FERNANDEZ (4 points), but it was more than enough to secure the win.

“I love that I’m back at El Cajon Valley,” said Moss, an El Cajon Valley alum who has coached at several schools around the county. “I want to restore the passion for the game that was here back in the early 90s when I was an assistant to then-head coach RANDY ROBINSON.”

El Cajon Valley: Hazel Doe 19 (8 stl), Kaylani Faten 7, Natasha Fernandez 4.

MOUNT MIGUEL 76, MONTGOMERY 26 – The odds of Mount Miguel losing a game in East County this year are next to none. It’s not gonna happen. As a matter of fact, the Matadors must be considered as contenders for the Southern California championship in Division III.

Once again the new-look Matadors (8-0) relied on a balanced attack as six players scored 8 points or more in Thursday’s (Dec. 17) Granite Hills Holiday Invitational action in Spring Valley.

It was the second time the Matadors have beaten the Aztecs, as Mount Miguel earned a previous 74-31 decision.

Junior DANIELLE MILLER registered an impressive double-double of 16 points and 12 steals for the Matadors. Miller, along with MYISHIA WATKINS, scored 7 points in the 1st quarter as Mount Miguel bullied its way to a 24-8 first quarter lead in the rematch.

Watkins and NICOLE FOUNTAIN each hit a pair of treys in the lopsided contest.

Mount Miguel: Danielle Miller 16 (3 reb, 4 ast, 12 stl), Myishia Watkins 14 (2 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Yvonte Neal 12 (7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Shay Young 10 (2 reb), Nicole Fountain 8 (7 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Shataera Anderson 8 (3 reb), Dechae Evans 4 (3 reb, 5 stl, 1 blk), Chantel Yell 4.

RAMONA 50, SANTANA 41 – Inconsistent shooting spelled doom for the Santana Sultans against Ramona in Thursday’s (Dec. 17) 63rd Annual Kiwanis Tournament action at Serra.

The Sultans failed to make a 3-pointer while surrendering five treys to the Bulldogs.

From the floor Santana shot only 26 percent (12 of 46), while Ramona shot 44 percent (16 of 36).

Junior KIM GROSS was a force inside for Santana (1-6), hitting 7 of 12 shots from the floor while grabbing 16 rebounds and recording 5 steals.

The game was still up for grabs until Ramona claimed a 16-9 scoring edge in the fourth quarter.

Santana: Kim Gross 16 (6 reb, 5 stl), Alyssa Padberg 9 (8 reb, 3 ast), Margie Panknin 7 (5 reb, 3 stl), Delia Files 6 (3 reb, 2 stl), Sammy White 2, Amanda Gable 1 (3 reb), Haley Burton (5 reb), Sarah Kvederis (2 reb).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-17-09) — El Cajon Valley broke into the win column for the first time in six starts in Wednesday’s (Dec. 16) opening round of the Granite Hills Holiday Invitational by knocking off Hoover, 45-38.

The pivotal period was the 3rd when the Braves outscored the visiting Cardinals, 10-2.

KAYLANI FATEN led the team with 16 points.

“Faten had a great 2nd half,” said Braves first year coach CARLOS MOSS. “She scored 14 of her 16 points in the last two quarters.”

HAZEL DOE added 11 points and TERIKA WILLIAMS punched in 9.

“It was nice to get our first win of the season here at home in front of the home crowd, said Moss. “We made some changes to our defense and our defense in the 3rd quarter was outstanding. We decided to put more pressure on Hoover defensively and it paid off. Our aggressiveness led to quite a few steals.”

Commenting on his taking over the girls’ basketball program at El Cajon Valley, Moss noted, “The first year at a new school it’s important for the girls to get used to you. They are coming around and are improving each game.”

El Cajon Valley: Kaylani Faten 16, Hazel Doe 11, Terika Williams 9, Sharde Williams 5, Miranda Mullens 4. No other stats were available.

MOUNT MIGUEL 79, CHRISTIAN LIFE 26 – Coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL has fielded nothing but winners during his tenure as Mount Miguel girls basketball coach.

Facing off against San Diego CIF Division V champion Christian LIFE in Wednesday’s (Dec. 16) Granite Hills Holiday Invitational, the Matadors put five players in double figures as they rolled their record to 7-0.

The kingpin for Mount Miguel was DECHAE EVANS, who produced a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals.

“You don’t see that very often,” said Sandoval. “That’s a pretty tough triple-double. She was all over the glass.”

NICOLE FOUNTAIN led Mount Miguel’s scoring points with 17 points, including a pair of threes.

YVONTE NEAL was one of three Matadors that scored 14 points. She also grabbed 6 rebounds and dished 3 assists.

“Neal is our strongest offensive player,” Sandoval said. “But she’s also capable of doing so much more than spreading the ball around.”

Although Mount Miguel won in a rout, including 15-1 with a running clock, Sandoval said he wasn’t overly pleased with the Matadors’ defense.

“We didn’t play with passion or intensity on defense,” he said. “We need to pick that up when we play against the better teams.”

Mount Miguel: Nicole Fountain 17 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Danielle Miller 15 (5 reb, 3 ast, 6 stl, 2 blk), Yvonte Neal 14 (6 reb, 3 ast), Dechae Evans 14 (10 reb, 2 ast, 10 stl, 2 blk), Shay Young 14 (7 reb), Myishia Watkins 5 (4 ast, 4 stl), Shataera Anderson (2 reb, 5 ast), Chantel Yell (2 ast, 3 stl).

SERRA 52, SANTANA 47 – The Sultans lost a seesaw battle at Serra in the opening round of the 63rd Annual Kiwanis Tournament on Wednesday (Dec. 16).

Despite leading 23-21 at halftime, the Sultans couldn’t hang on as the Conquistadors rolled a 19-9 advantage and never let go.

With 20 seconds remaining in the game Santana had a chance to tie it with a 3-pointer but the shot went wide and the Sultans were forced to foul.

Serra missed their free throws to let Santana back in the game and keep it at a 3-point game until the Conquistadors finished it off with free throws.

DELIA FILES led Santana with a career best double-double of 13 points and 15 rebounds.

SAMMY WHITE pitched in with 11 points and 8 rebounds and blocked 3 shots.

“We are still trying to find our identity as a team,” said Sultans coach MARK TIPTON.

Santana: Delia Files 13 (15 reb), Sammy White 11 (8 reb, 3 blk), Alyssa Padberg 9 (3 reb, 6 ast), Amanda Gable 8, Kim Gross 4 (2 reb), Katie Gable 2 (2 reb), Sarah Kvederis (3 stl), Margie Panknin (2 stl).

GRANITE HILLS 62, UNIVERSITY CITY 60 (OT) – No individual scoring or stats were reported by Granite Hills (5-2) for this opening round of the Granite Hills Holiday Invitational game on Wednesday (Dec. 16).

© East County Sports.com
PACIFIC BEACH (12-16-09) — Visiting Grossmont narrowly missed pulling off an impressive upset Tuesday (Dec. 15) in the Mission Bay Shootout against Eastlake.

A 16-6 scoring run in the third quarter vaulted the Foothillers into a 32-26 advantage. But Eastlake (6-1) finished strong, hitting a three-pointer to take the lead with a minute to play and then nailing the lid shut for a 45-43 victory by dropping in three buckets in the final 20 seconds.

“We have got to learn how to play tough down the stretch,” said Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG.

Grossmont’s JESSIE EDGIL missed a layup at the buzzer that would have tied it. Edgil finished with 12 points, two fewer than team leader DANIELLE BALDERAS.

“We had 27 turnovers and that was way too many,” Long said. Three of those miscues came after point guard FRANKIE TREADWELL fouled out with 2:16 remaining.”

Grossmont: Danielle Balderas 14 (4 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Jessie Edgil 12 (2 reb, 1 blk), Chloe Cook 6, Frankie Treadwell 4 (4 reb, 2 stl), Teyshonnia Bealer-West 4 (10 reb, 2 stl), Danielle Dahle 3 (4 reb, 3 stl).

© East County Sports.com
CLAIREMONT (12-15-09) — The list of returning veterans for the Grossmont Foothillers may be short, but the ballclub is learning the quickest way to get into the victory column.

"We're working hard on defense, trying to keep the intensity up," said DANIELLE BALDERAS, one of the few seniors playing for the Hillers. "As long as we can have confidence on defense, we can do well."

In a performance reminiscent of a 1970s style contest, Grossmont limited Horizon scoring leader Kimbrel Flourney to just 17 points while keeping the remainder of the Panthers in check, taking Monday’s (Dec. 14) opening round of the Horizon Shootout, 33-24.

Flourney missed the final 1:29 after collapsing in front of the scorer's table while simply walking the ball upcourt without facing any pressure. She was taken from Horizon's gymnasium by paramedics; her condition was not released by Balboa Naval Hospital.

By then, the contest was already decided after Grossmont built its biggest lead moments earlier on a putback basket by Balderas, who finished with a team-best 11 points.

"Even though we are young, we are working well with a lot of determination on defense," added Balderas.

A customized zone frustrated Panthers shooters. Sans Flourney's shots, Horizon (0-4), who went winless at the highly-competitive La Jolla Country Day Sweet 16 Classic last week, converted a mere 2 of 20 from the floor.

"We exchanged very well, so we were able to shut them down," added Grossmont forward DANIELLE DAHLE, who added 6 points and 7 boards. "We moved around and communicated well, stopping the player with the ball."

The defensive effort frustrated the Panthers, who shot mainly from the 3-point arc deeper into the game. The Hillers' effort was so good, they didn't commit a second-half foul until nearly the midway point of the fourth quarter.

Grossmont also scored in the paint thanks to putbacks following 24 offensive rebounds, including 5 boards off the Panthers glass by JESSIE EDGIL, while TEYSHONNIA (TAY) BEALER-WEST added 4 more.

In addition, FRANKIE TREADWELL added 6 points and 7 rebounds for Grossmont.

“It was a pretty defensive game,” said Foothillers coach MEGAN LONG. “Both teams had trouble shooting all night. We rebounded well – we really crashed the boards.”

“Since they weren’t shooting well, we stayed back in a zone to clog the middle and cut off their penetration,” Long added.

Grossmont: Danielle Balderas 11 (5 reb, 5 stl), Frankie Treadwell 6 (7 reb, 2 stl), Danielle Dahle 6 (7 reb, 1 blk), Jessie Edgil 4 (10 reb), Chloe Cook 4 (3 ast), Teyshonnia Bealer-West 2 (9 reb, 6 stl), Ashely Hargrove 0 (5 reb).

STEELE CANYON 45, RAMONA 43 – Steele Canyon’s JANVIER BARBARIN scored eight of her 13 points in the 4th quarter, including the game-winner with 13 seconds remaining in Monday’s (Dec. 14) non-league contest against visiting Ramona (5-6).

The Bulldogs missed two shots in the final five seconds.

Steele Canyon (2-4), which netted a paltry 13 of 30 free throws, netted five of 10 shots from the floor during the final eight minutes.

“We made a 6-0 scoring run there at the end to pull it out,” said Cougars coach PENNY SMITH. “But our free throw shooting left a lot to be desired. The frustrating thing is we shoot free throws well in practice. When we get into a game it seems things go haywire.”

GABRIELLE BEASLEY connected on six of 10 shots from the floor en route to sharing team high scoring honors with Barbarin, who topped the Cougars with 9 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Steele Canyon will have the next 12 days off before tipping off the Southern California Holiday Classic on Saturday (Dec. 26).

Steele Canyon: Gabrielle Beasley 13 (2 reb, 2 ast), Janvier Barbarin 13 (9 reb, 2 stl, 3 blk), Michelle Beasley 8 (2 reb, 2 stl), Janique Cofield 6 (2 blk), Stevens 3 (8 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Monique Van 2.

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (12-13-09) — Maybe it wasn’t Mount Miguel’s finest effort of the season. Yet, the Matadors, who once led by 11 points and later trailed by 10, managed to squeeze out a 51-47 victory over visiting Our Lady of Peace in Saturday’s (Dec. 12) Red Division championship game of the Matador Classic.

No. 2 ranked Mount Miguel (6-0) came into Saturday’s showdown with No. 6 ranked OLP (4-2) having won its first five games by an average margin greater than 53 points per contest.

So when the Matadors saw an early 17-6 lead slip through their fingers they had to be concerned. With six minutes remaining in the contest the visiting Pilots had gained momentum and a 39-29 lead.

But remember now, we’re talking about Mount Miguel here, and they’re used to winning no matter what it takes. The Matadors got their chance against OLP, which was determined to pull off the upset.

“For awhile there we couldn’t do anything right, we just weren’t together as a team,” said senior guard YVONTE NEAL, who tallied 11 points, 7 rebounds and 7 steals. “We had to get it back together and work it.”

And so they did. The Matadors went on a 12-2 scoring binge to knot the count at 41-41 when MYISHIA WATKINS made 1 of 2 free throws with 2:38 remaining.

OLP refused to wilt under the Matadors’ tenacity as Ashlee Guay scored on a driving layup and was knocked to the floor.

A putback by DECHAE EVANS pulled the Matadors even. A steal and free throw by Watkins gave Mount Miguel a 44-43 advantage with 2:03 left.

But the Pilots did another flyby as Jamie Anderson returned the advantage to OLP 45-44 with 1:14 on the clock.

That’s when Neal came up big for Mount Miguel. She completed a 3-point play with 56seconds remaining to put Mount Miguel ahead to stay. For good measure she tacked on 2 free throws with 8 seconds left.

Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL admitted that OLP’s defensive scheme gave his team trouble.

“This is the first time we’ve faced a zone all year,” he said. “And we didn’t’ deal with it very well. Give them credit. They were more focused than we were. That was obvious in the 3rd quarter when they outscored us 13-4.”

Sandoval said he wouldn’t be surprised if these two teams meet for the SDCIF Division III championship.

“This is definitely somebody we’re going to see,” Sandoval predicted.

DANIELLE MILLER led the Matadors with 12 points and was named the Red Division Player of the Game.

The Matadors, who had hoped to play West Hills in the finals, came out flat from the start.

“You have to give OLP credit because they came right at us,” Neal said. “We didn’t play our usual game – our communication wasn’t good. We just didn’t talk. It shouldn’t have been like this, we just didn’t play together, especially on defense.”

Mount Miguel: Danielle Miller 12 (2 reb, 2 ast), Yvonte Neal 11 (7 reb, 7 stl), Nicole Fountain 10 (5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Myishia Watkins 9 (4 ast, 3 stl), Dechae Evans 6 (6 reb, 4 stl), Shay Young 2 (6 reb), Shataera Anderson 1 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl).

HELIX 54, MAR VISTA 30 – Nobody at Helix is ready to throw a party for the Highlanders girls basketball team. But coach TRINA MERIDETH can see reason for ordering a cake for a postseason celebration if her team plays as well as it did in Saturday’s (Dec. 12) Matador Classic consolation contest at Mount Miguel.

“We really needed a win today and we played well enough to get it,” Merideth said.

JACQUELINE SMITH (18 points, 16 rebounds, 1 block) and KIM SCOTT (17 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals) paved the way for Helix’s romp over Mar Vista.

“I thought we shot the ball well today and we also handled the ball well,” Merideth said. “It was important to cut down on our turnovers, and we did. Defensively I felt we were definitely the dominant team. It was nice to get all our players into the game – everybody had significant minutes.”

The Highlanders are off for the next two weeks.

“We need to get back into the gym and fine tune our entire game plan,” Merideth said.

Helix: Jacqueline Smith 18 (16 reb, 1 blk), Kim Scott 17 (10 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Kristina Scott 4 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Jasmine Williams 4 (4 reb, 3 ast), Grace Osoimalo 3 (5 reb), Faith Leaupepe-Tele 2 (5 reb), Iesha Murray 2, Jasmine Hunn 2, Carly Aceves 2.

THE BISHOP’S 62, GRANITE HILLS 39 – In terms of gamesmanship, give the Granite Hills Eagles credit for their effort against No. 4-ranked The Bishop’s (6-1) in Saturday’s (Dec. 12) finals of the Matador Classic Black Division at Mount Miguel.

The Eagles (4-2) managed to keep up with the well-oiled The Bishop’s machine for a while. Two minutes into the 2nd quarter, The Bishop’s led only 17-11. It was at that point that the Knights went on a 13-0 scoring run to break the game open.

The Bishop’s was breezing 38-16 by intermission.

Simply put, the Knights were too quick and smooth for the Eagles to match up.

Granite Hills: Skylar Williams 13 (3 stl), Sabrina Jimenez 12 (5 ast), Samantha Silva 7, Jessica Harris 5, Alyssa Canoff 2, Keji Kubari (8 reb).

UNIVERSITY CITY 48, EL CAPITAN 40 – Coach FRANK QUINONES is convinced that his El Capitan girls should have won this game in Saturday’s (Dec. 12) final round of the Vaquero Shootout in Lakeside.

The Vaqueros (2-3) were tied with visiting University City at 38-all after three quarters, but faltered in the 4th quarter.

Instead of being bitter about losing a consolation game, Quinones was pleased to note that 5-foot-11 junior EMILY SUTTON was able to play in her first game of the season (previous knee injury).

“She’s really going to be key for us but she was not scheduled to come back until January,” Quinones said.

Quinones limited Sutton’s play to three minutes in three different segments of the game. In that brief span Sutton managed to score 3 points and grab 3 rebounds.

“Her dad and I believed we needed a spark of fresh air, and Emily was able to give us that,” Quinones said. “It will be good to have her on a fulltime basis.”

AMBER REL-SOLIA paced the Vaqueros with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 7 blocks.

“We were the far better team so it was hard to take this one on the shin,” Quinones said. “We never got into a rhythm.”

El Capitan: Amber Rel-Solia 10 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 7 blk), Megan Drennen 8 (4 reb), Erica Arie 7 (6 reb, 2 ast), Chelsey Kyle 6 (3 reb), Marissa Pitman 6 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Emily Sutton 3 (3 reb), Niki Spring (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Ashley Andersen (2 reb).

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EL CAJON (12-12-09) — After falling behind 29-23 in the first half of Friday’s (Dec. 11) Matador Classic contest, host Granite Hills came on strong in the second half to pull out a 57-41 victory over Hilltop.

The Eagles (4-1) produced a balanced attack led by JESSICA HARRIS’ 16 points, 4 assists and 3 steals.

SABRINA JIMENEZ added 15 points, including a pair of threes. She also registered a team-best 6 assists while grabbing 4 rebounds and making 3 steals.

KEJI KUBARI topped Granite Hills in rebounds with 7 and recorded a career high 9 blocks.

Another noteworthy performance was turned in by SKYLAR WILLIAMS, who snared 6 rebounds, dished 4 assists and pilfered 3 passes. She also had 10 points, two less than MADELINE SHERRAN.

ALYSSA CANNOFF and Sherran also hit a pair of 3-pointers apiece.

Granite Hills will playThe Bishop’s for the Black Division championship of the Matador Classic at 7 p.m. In other division championship games, Mount Miguel will meet Our Lady of Peace for the Red Division crown at 5 p.m. Montgomery and San Diego will tip off the triple header when they battle for the White Division title at 3 p.m. All games are at Mount Miguel.

Granite Hills: Jessica Harris 16 (4 ast, 3 stl), Sabrina Jimenez 15 (4 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl), Madeline Sherran 12 (2 ast), Skylar Williams 10 (6 reb, 3 stl, 4 ast), Alyssa Cannoff 6, Keji Kubari 4 (7 reb, 9 blk), Hailey Garner 4 (3 stl, 2 ast), Cora Leonard (3 reb).

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CARLSBAD (12-11-09) — El Capitan won its second game in a row on Thursday (Dec. 10) in a Vaqueros Shootout game in North County as the Vaqueros edged Carlsbad, 38-36.

Five-foot-9 senior ERICA ARIE scored 12 points for the Vaqueros and hauled down 19 rebounds along with 2 assists and 4 steals.

“In all my years of coaching I don’t think I’ve had a girl with 19 rebounds. I’m extremely proud of her performance,” said El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES.

“I have been preaching that this season is going to be about doing this together, as a team,” he added. “We have been learning the “Pyramid of Success” by John Wooden.

“We were up 10 points at one time but we let them climb back in,” Quinones said. “We got tired. We are not in midseason form yet and we don’t have a deep bench. Carlsbad is listed in the Others in the Top 10. I told the girls that in my halftime speech – I challenged them.”

AMBER REL-SOLIA led the Vaqueros with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.

“It was a fun game to coach,” said Quinones. “It leaves a good taste in your mouth when you come out on top. Our girls are starting to believe in themselves and starting to play together. We played Carlsbad three times this summer and they smacked us up all three times. But this was the one that counts.”

El Capitan: Amber Rel-Solia 18 (4 reb, 2 stl), Erica Arie 12 (19 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Marissa Pitman 3 (2 reb, 2 ast), Chelsey Kyle 2 (5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Megan Drennen 2 (5 reb), Niki Spring 1.

MOUNT MIGUEL 74, MONTGOMERY 31 – The Matadors used a 22-1 scoring spree in the 2nd quarter to keep their record perfect in Thursday’s (Dec. 10) Matador Classic at Montgomery.

Once again, balanced scoring was Mount Miguel’s strength.

YVONTE NEAL set the pace with 18 points, including a pair of 3s, 7 rebounds and 7 steals.

DANIELLE MILLER added 16 points and DESHAE EVANS contributed 12, 6 rebounds and 4 steals.

“I thought we played really good defense in the 2nd quarter,” said Matadors coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL. We wanted to get back to playing good solid defense. We’re looking forward to Saturday’s (Dec. 12) game with Our Lady of Peace.”

Mount Miguel: Yvonte Neal 18 (7 reb, 7 stl), Danielle Miller 16 (2 reb, 2 ast), Dechae Evans 12 (6 reb, 4 stl), Miyishia Watkins 9 (4 ast, 3 stl), Nicole Fountain 8 (5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Shataera Anderson 6 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Shay Young 6 (6 reb).

WEST HILLS 51, MIRA MESA 17 – The Wolf Pack’s defense continues to improve as the Pack took an 18-2 first quarter lead and led 36-6 at halftime in Thursday’s (Dec. 10) Matador Classic in Santee.

SHERIKA MILLER led the Pack with 16 points and KIMBERLY CLARK tossed in 11.

“The defensive effort was there for us tonight,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “We didn’t shoot very well, we’ve got to pick it up. We substituted freely throughout the game, we needed to make sure that all our players have significant and sufficient game time. It was a productive all-around game.”

West Hills: Sherika Miller 16, Kimberly Clark 11, Danielle Hays 4, Marilyn Naderhoff 4, Daniana Ghandour 4, Mariah Bennett 4, Taylor Ingraham 4, Emily Cole 2, Taylor Aguirre 2.

MORSE 51, STEELE CANYON 47 – This was a really weird game. Visiting Morse took a 25-23 first quarter lead over host Steele Canyon in Thursday’s (Dec. 10) Matador Classic, but then neither team scored in the 2nd quarter.

GABRIELLE BEASLEY was 8 for 13 from the floor including one trey and hit 10 of 16 free throws for 27 points. MICHELLE BEASLEY scored 6 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.

“Gabrielle Beasley and Michelle Beasley took over for us tonight. We needed to give them help in the paint,” said Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH.

“It really was a strange game and the strangest part is I had five girls tell me before the game that they were not going to be at the game due to a Drama Club presentation,” said a frustrated Smith.

“There were a lot of fouls called tonight. We had three players foul out and Morse had three players foul out. The kids don’t realize how important free throw shooting is. If we make all our free throws, we win the game.”

Steele Canyon was 12 for 22 at the charity stripe.

Steele Canyon: Gabrielle Beasley 27 (9 reb), Michelle Beasley 6 (8 reb), Samantha Vernon 4 (9 reb), Alexis Merlino 4 (6 reb), Stevens 4, Bree Pfunder 2.

MT. CARMEL 60, GROSSMONT 42 – The Grossmont Foothillers continue to face the aces of the Vaquero Shootout as they succumbed to visiting Mt. Carmel on Thursday (Dec. 10)

DANIELLE BALDERAS led the Foothillers with 14 points, while TEYSHONNIA BEALER-WEST chipped in with 14 and DANIELLE DAHLE added 10.

“We came out strong, as we have been doing,” said Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG. “We gave Mt. Carmel a 13-0 run in the 2nd quarter. We can’t keep letting teams do that. Mt. Carmel was 5 for 11 in 3-pointers in the 1st half alone. We are a very young team and we are still not in a good game shape. We are still learning the game.”

Grossmont: Danielle Balderas 14 (3 reb, 7 stl), Teyshonnia Bealer-West 14 (5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Danielle Dahle 10 (4 reb, 4 stl), Frankie Treadwell 4 (3 reb), Jessie Edgil (6 reb).

OUR LADY OF PEACE 57, HELIX 14 – The visiting Pilots took a 16-2 first quarter lead and never looked back as they defeated the Highlanders in Thursday’s (Dec. 10) Matador Classic in La Mesa.

Nobody scored in double digits for the Highlanders as they faced No. 8 ranked OLP.

“We have regressed,” said Highlanders coach TRINA MERIDETH. “We need to get back into the gym. We have to work hard on restoring our positive attitudes and we’ll stress fundamentals. Our shooting has been atrocious.”

Helix: Faith Leaupepe-Tele 4, Grace Osoimalo 4, Jasmine Williams 3, Jasmine Hunn 2, Kim Scott 1.

GRANITE HILLS 57, HILLTOP 41 – No report on this Matador Classic game of Thursday (Dec. 10).

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NATIONAL CITY (12-10-09) — When West Hills has its defensive game shoes on, the Wolf Pack can hang with the best of them. And the Pack’s defense seems to be improving every day.

In Wednesday’s (Dec. 9) Matador Classic 48-28 romp over host Sweetwater, the Wolf Pack (4-3) put a stranglehold on a Red Devils’ offense that scored 55 points the night before against No. 2-ranked Mount Miguel.

Sweetwater, in fact, scored only 12 points in the second half – just 4 in the fourth quarter – against West Hills.

“We played pretty good defense all night long,” West Hills coach RYAN KINSER said. “This was typical West Hills defense tonight.”

The coach wasn’t quite as tickled with the Pack’s offense although SHERIKA MILLER did produce a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds.

“Offensively we struggled a bit and had too many turnovers,” Kinser said. “We didn’t shoot well at all. We won the game because we clamped down on them defensively in the second half.”

West Hills: Sherika Miller 12 (12 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Taylor Aguirre 7 (1 blk), Kimberly Clark 6 (7 reb, 4 stl), Marilyn Naderhoff 6 (2 stl), Danielle Hays 4 (5 reb, 3 stl), Jillian Brown 4 (3 reb, 2 blk), Mariah Bennett 4 (5 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk), Emily Cole 2 (2 blk), Daniana Ghandour 2, Alexa Evans 1, Taylor Ingraham (2 reb).

PATRICK HENRY 60, SANTANA 47 – Facing their third ranked opponent of the season, the Sultans fell behind Patrick Henry early but finished strong in Wednesday’s (Dec. 9) Vaquero Shootout contest.

Patrick Henry nailed eight 3-pointers compared to Santana’s 3. Where the Sultans did make marked improvement was in taking care of the basketball. The Patriots pushed them into 16 turnovers in the first half but only 9 in the final two periods.

ALYSSA PADBERG was once again the floor leader for the Sultans (1-4) pouring in 15 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

“Patrick Henry is very well coached,” Santana coach MARK TIPTON said. “They will do some damage somewhere – both in league and in the playoffs.”

Santana: Alyssa Padberg 15 (8 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Sammy White 10 (3 reb), Delia Files 9 (13 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Kim Gross 4 (3 reb), Margie Panknin 4 (2 stl), Amanda Gable 3, Katie Gable 2 (2 ast), Sarah Kvederis (2 reb), Haley Burton (2 reb).

THE BISHOP’S 70, HELIX 25 – No surprise here. Of course, whenThe Bishop’s is involved there are very few close games, as the Knights proved against Helix in Wednesday’s (Dec. 9) Matador Classic.

The Bishop’s Alissa Campanero, a 5-foot-4 speedy guard, nailed 30 points and Elaina White, a 6-0 senior wing, accounted for 18 markers against the Highlanders (1-2).

“We decided we are going to look at this game like a scrimmage,” Helix coach TRINA MERIDETH. “They were bigger and stronger and they created turnover after turnover.

“They are good shooters – they can literally stand at half-court and make a shot. They deserved to win. Bishop’s is a strong, athletic team who knows how to score and play defense.”

It wasn’t a complete disaster for Helix.

“We played harder tonight than we have in the last two games,” Merideth said. “Defensively, at least if they missed a shot they didn’t get a second shot.”

Helix: Kim Scott 10 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Jasmine Williams 9, Alyxis Audley 2, Iesha Murray 2, Jasmine Hunn 1 (2 reb), Grace Osoimalo 1 (2 reb), Jacqueline Smith (12 reb), Faith Leaupepe-Tele (4 reb), Kristina Scott (2 stl).

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RANCHO SAN DIEGO (12-9-09) — Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH didn’t like what he saw in Monday’s practice. So in Tuesday’s (Dec. 8) Matador Classic game against visiting Serra, he benched his starting lineup for the whole first half.

“I know it was a little bit daring, kinda scary doing something like that,” Smith said. “But I felt they didn’t go hard in practice so I felt we needed a change.”

But it obviously worked out as the Cougars won their first game in three starts this season, knocking off Serra 52-43.

“I have to give credit to our second group of kids that weren’t starters because they gave us a 28-21 lead in the 1st half,” Smith said. “They played hard and they gave us a chance to win, and that’s what we wanted.”

GABRIELLE BEASLEY paced the Cougars with 17 points and 7 steals, while JANVIER BARBARIN added 14 points and 9 rebounds in the final two quarters.

Serra cut the Cougars’ lead to two points with 2 minutes remaining, and then it became a free throw shooting contest. Steele Canyon made 6 of 9 over that stretch with Barbarin setting the pace by making 4 of 5 from the charity stripe.

Steele Canyon: Gabrielle Beasley 17 (7 stl), Janvier Barbarin 14 (9 reb), Alexis Merlino 6 (4 reb), Monique Van 6 (2 reb), Samantha Vernon 4 (7 reb, 4 blk), Janique Cofield 3 (4 stl), Michelle Beasley 2 (4 stl).

EL CAPITAN 60, VALLEY CENTER 51 – Not since the first of his three years as El Capitan’s head coach can FRANK QUINONES recall when he had four players score in double digits, as they did in Tuesday night’s (Dec. 8) Vaquero Shootout victory over visiting Valley Center.

A 5-foot-5 senior, MARISSA PITMAN scored a team-high 14 points, while CHELSEY KYLE added 12 markers, ERICA ARIE chipped in 11 and freshman NIKI SPRING tossed in 10 to give the Vaqueros their first victory in three starts.

El Capitan stormed to a 32-21 first half lead, which equally tickled Quinones’ fancy.

“I know it’s early in the season but that’s the best half we’ve played so far,” he said. “It’s nice to have the kind of balanced scoring we had and I hope we can keep it up. We hit some perimeter shots and that opened up the inside. But we still have a lot of room for improvement.”

Quinones was concerned after he saw that Valley Center played Patrick Henry to a one-point game the night before.

“You bet I was concerned when I saw that,” he said. “I have to give my girls credit for never letting Valley Center get any kind of rhythm.”

El Capitan held off a last ditch challenge by the Jaguars by making 8 of 12 free throws in the final period.

El Capitan: Marissa Pitman 14 (4 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), Chelsey Kyle 12 (5 reb, 2 stl), Erica Arie 11 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Niki Spring 10 (2 reb, 3 ast), Amber Rel-Solia 8 (7 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Megan Drennen 5 (3 reb, 2 stl).

WEST HILLS 47, OUR LADY OF PEACE 44 – Not only did the Wolf Pack earn a payback against OLP in Tuesday’s (Dec. 8) Matador Classic encounter, West Hills senior guard KIMBERLY CLARK reached several milestones.

Only three days earlier the Wolf Pack succumbed to the Pilots 64-52.

So what was the difference in the rematch?

“Our defense controlled the game,” said Wolf Pack coach RYAN KINSER. “This game was much different than Saturday night’s game. We defended the pick-and-roll well. We definitely learned quite a bit about them on Saturday and used this knowledge to make the right adjustments. We pretty much had this game under control.”

The Wolf Pack led 21-17 at the half and 33-26 after three quarters.

Clark and MARILYN NADERHOFF led the scoring with 12 points apiece. Clark hit 5 of 10 from the field, including one 3-pointer and a free throw, while Naderhoff did most of her damage from the charity stripe where she made 8 of 10.

“This is the best we have executed our defense all year,” Kinser noted. “We gave up some cheap baskets at the end but overall our execution was there.”

“You know, it seemed like we outplayed them all over the floor but every time I looked up at the scoreboard it was a 2-point game. They just kept hanging around.”

Clark passed the 1,000 career points on Saturday and now stands at 1,020. She has made 157 three-point baskets, which is a West Hills record and is 13th in San Diego CIF history. Tonight was her 99th career game.

“She’s a good shooter. She shoots well from the field, from 3-point range and is an excellent free throw shooter,” said Kinser. “Kimmie has been a starter since she walked on this campus.

Both SHERIKA MILLER and Naderhoff are closing in on 1,000 points.

West Hills: Marilyn Naderhoff 12 (8 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), Kimberly Clark 12 (3 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Sherika Miller 8 (1 blk), Taylor Aguirre 5 (3 reb), Jillian Brown 4 (7 reb, 1 blk), Mariah Bennett 4 (2 ast), Danielle Hays 2 (5 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 91, SWEETWATER 55 – There is no question that Mount Miguel has been the most successful East County girls basketball program in the last decade, but never have the Matadors shown better offensive balance than they have in the first four game of this season.

Six Matadors finished in double scoring digits in Tuesday’s (Dec. 8) Matador Classic victory over visiting Sweetwater.

“I’m extremely pleased with the unselfishness our girls have shown this season,” said Matadors coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL. “They are sharing the ball very well. I think they’ve gotten the point that if everybody scores none of our opponents can key on one particular player.”

YVONTE NEAL, who has a scholarship to Cal State-Fullerton in hand, led the Matadors’ victory parade with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 7 steals and 3 assists.

Senior NICOLE FOUNTAIN also rolled a double-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and a block.

“You’ve gotta give (Sweetwater coach) Heather Huckaby credit,” said Sandoval. “She’s really turned that program around and that’s saying something.”

Sandoval said both teams pressed the entire game.

“We weren’t gonna call off the dogs if they weren’t gonna call off the dogs,” he said. “But I liked that because the Sweetwater girls never quit – they just kept coming after us.”

Sweetwater turned the ball over 37 times and Mount Miguel gave it up more often than usual.

“In the 2nd half the officials started tootin’ their whistle a little more often than they did in the 1st half,” Sandoval said.

The Matadors converted 22 of 27 free throw attempts. MIYISHIA WATKINS was 5 for 5 from the line, DECHAE EVANS was 5 for 6 and Fountain was 4 for 4.

It wasn’t like the game was ever in doubt, as Mount Miguel led 46-21 at halftime.

Mount Miguel: Yvonte Neal 19 (10 reb, 3 ast, 7 stl), Myishia Watkins 17 (4 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Dechae Evans 15 (6 reb, 5 stl, 2 blk), Danielle Miller 14 (5 reb, 1 blk), Nicole Fountain 12 (10 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Shay Young 12 (4 reb, 1 blk), Chantel Yell 2, Shataera Anderson (3 reb, 2 stl).

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SANTEE (12-8-09) — The Santana Sultans presented first-year head coach MARK TIPTON with his first victory Monday (Dec. 7) as they knocked off visiting Rancho Buena Vista, 50-44, in a Vaqueros Shootout contest.

KIM GROSS turned in a powerful double-double of 14 points and 11 points as Santana snapped a three-game losing streak.

Santana once led by 12 points, but the Longhorns scrambled back to tie it 44-all with 2:20 remaining.

DELIA FILES, who had missed 8 consecutive free throws earlier in the game, dropped in a pair of charity shots to put the Sultans back in front. Files finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

BRITTANY FELLETTA added a free throw and Gross completed a 3-point play as Santana blanked RBV 6-0 over the final two minutes.

“We really scrapped tonight, didn’t wilt under the pressure,” Tipton said.

Actually Santana survived 31 turnovers while forcing RBV into 26 turnovers.

Santana: Kim Gross 14 (11 reb), Delia Files 12 (12 reb, 2 ast), Alyssa Padberg 9 (7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Margie Panknin 7 (5 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl), Brittany Felletta 4, Sammy White 4 (4 reb), Haley Burton (4 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk).

MIRA MESA 48, VALHALLA 42 – Valhalla High hasn't posted a winning record since the 2002-03 season, but with new leadership the Norsemen have already demonstrated they will be competitive.

The latest example came Monday (Dec. 7) in pool play action in the Matador Classic. Despite leading throughout most of the contest, Valhalla barely fell down the stretch in a 48-42 decision to host Mira Mesa. However, unlike recent campaigns, the pieces are slowly gaining cohesion.

"We started to sit back on defense and that's when Mira Mesa got us," said first-year coach VALLI LOPEZ, a two-time All-East County selection out of El Capitan. "But when we picked it up over the last two minutes like we're supposed to, we got back in the game."

The late rally started with hard work under the basket.

TENISHA LEE grabbed an offensive rebound, one of her 20 boards in the contest, then scored on the putback to trim the Marauders lead to 44-40. And when MacKENZIE CARTMILL took a feed from DANIELLE WILSON for a basket with 57 seconds remaining, the Norsemen moved within a bucket.

However, Mira Mesa forward Linda Moua answered with a baseline jumper, then the Marauders hit a pair of foul shots to clinch the triumph.

The Norsemen still displayed the balance needed to compete. Cartmill paced the Orange with 12 points, while Lee and KANDISE KALASHO added 11 each.

"Mac (Cartmill) played well for us, hitting some threes and going after the ball," said Lopez. "When she plays well, the team spirits up."

Damisha Collins led Mira Mesa with 19 points, while Moua posted 16.

Valhalla: MacKenzie Cartmill 12 (3 stl, 2 ast), Tenisha Lee 11 (20 reb, 4 stl, 2 ast), Kandise Kalasho 11 (3 ast, 2 stl), Danielle Wilson 4 (8 reb, 4 stl), Karissa Ferrell 2, Carli Gilstrap 1 (8 reb 2 stl), Alle Mims 1.

LA COSTA CANYON 72, GROSSMONT 35 – For one quarter the visiting Grossmont Foothillers managed to hang with the host La Costa Canyon Cougars in Monday’s (Dec. 7) Vaqueros Shootout action.

“We played them tough in the first quarter,” said Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG.

It was close as the Mavericks led only 18-17. No. 6-ranked LCC then went on a 12-0 run to start the second quarter and the rout was on.

“They turned it into a track meet and our transition defense was weak,” Long said. “We just ran out of gas. I found after the game that two of my starters were sick and played anyway.”

Grossmont was overmatched by LCC’s 6-foot-4 post Madisen Irwin, who tallied 18 points and snagged 9 rebounds. Guard Jen Dumiak added 17 points, 12 assists and 8 rebounds.

TEYSHONNIA BEALER-WEST paced the Foothillers (1-3) with 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists.

“This was a good learning experience for us,” Long said. “We’re facing a pretty challenging preseason schedule, but it will help us get ready for league.”

Grossmont: Teyshonnia Bealer-West 9 (8 reb, 3 stl, 3 ast), Frankie Treadwell 8 (2 reb), Danielle Balderas 8 (2 ast), Chloe Cook 6 (3 reb, 2 stl), Jessie Edgil 2 (7 reb), Danielle Dahle 2 (3 reb, 2 stl), Christa Sawyers (2 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 40, SCRIPPS RANCH 38 – The Eagles used an 11-6 first quarter rally to pull out a Matador Classic victory Monday (Dec. 7) over visiting Scripps Ranch.

SABRINA JIMENEZ paced Granite Hills (3-1) with 15 points and 4 assists. ALYSSA CANOFF chipped in with 11 points.

Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER could not be reached for comment.

Granite Hills: Sabrina Jimenez 15 (4 ast), Alyssa Canoff 11, Keji Kubari 1 (8 reb, 2 blk), Skyler Williams 6, Jessica Harris 4 (3 ast), Madeline Sherran 2 (2 ast), Hailey Garner 1 (2 reb, 2 ast), Cora Leonard (5 reb, 1 blk), Cassie Smith (5 reb).

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SPRING VALLEY (12-6-09) — Nobody will argue that Mount Miguel has been a San Diego CIF powerhouse during the last decade.

The Matadors haven’t done anything to curb that trend as they have steamrollered to three straight wins, including Saturday’s (Dec. 5) latest 81-29 blowout of Morse in a Matador Classic contest.

Five Matadors reached double digits against the Tigers (1-1), and it wasn’t just a one player show. This Mount Miguel team had more balance than any Matadors team has exhibited in the last decade.

For the first time this season DANIELLE MILLER was the high point player for the Matadors with 19 points and 19 steals.

Point guard MYISHIA WATKINS knocked down 13 points, dished 4 assists and made 7 steals for the Matadors, who took a 24-9 lead in the first quarter.

YVONTE NEAL, DECHAE EVANS and SHAY YOUNG scored 12 points apiece for the Matadors (3-0), who built a 71-23 lead after three quarters.

“We had good balance in scoring over the first two games and tonight was pretty much the same thing,” said Matadors coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL. “We played outstanding defense tonight. Our defense was able to take Morse out of its game.”

“This team is a typical Mount Miguel basketball team. We are a little bigger than we have been in the past few years. That enables us to do a few things differently than we’ve been able to do in the recent past.”

“We’re still in the learning process. It’s early in the season and we seem to be getting a little bit better each time out.”

Mount Miguel: Danielle Miller 19 (9 stl), Myishia Watkins 13 (4 ast, 7 stl), Yvonte Neal 12 (2 reb, 4 stl), Dechae Evans 12 (3 reb, 6 stl), Shay Young 12 (8 reb, 2 ast), Nicole Fountain 7 (3 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl), Shataera Anderson 6 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl).

HELIX 35, HILLTOP 29 – Coach TRINA MERIDETH admits that her Helix Highlanders gave far from a sparkling performance in Saturday’s (Dec. 5) Matador Classic contest with visiting Hilltop.

Merideth said her team likes to play an up-tempo game but they were not able to do so because their guards got into early foul trouble.

“When our guards got into foul trouble it changed the dynamics of the game,” she said.

What she meant was the Highlanders were unable to play a run and gun game. Instead she ordered her ball handlers to run the clock and run the offense.

That was all fine and good, except that Helix only made 14 field goals in 52 shots (27 percent). The Highlanders weren’t a whole lot better from the free throw line as they made just 7 of 13.

Credit KIM SCOTT, who made 5 of 6 free throws and led the Highlanders with 11 points.

Asked how the Highlanders were able to pull out a victory with such poor shooting, assistant coach WILLIE HATHAWAY said, “Hilltop was 7 for 27 from the free throw line.”

Helix: Kim Scott 11 (4 reb, 2 stl, 3 ast), Grace Osoimalo 6 (9 reb, 2 ast), Faith Leaupepe-Tele 6, Iesha Murray 4 (2 reb), Carly Aceves 4, Jacqueline Smith 2 (11 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Kristina Scott 2, Jasmine Hunn (2 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 66, SWEETWATER 37 – Preseason predictions included the Red Devils of Sweetwater as one of the Top 20 teams in the San Diego CIF section. Apparently the Granite Hills girls didn’t get that memo.

After building a 24-20 halftime lead the Eagles (2-1) turned the game into a blowout in the second half of Saturday’s (Dec. 5) Matador Classic in El Cajon.

Senior SABRINA JIMENEZ (19 points) and JESSICA HARRIS (18 points) led the charge for Granite Hills, which used a 26-10 third quarter advantage to take control of the game.

Jimenez, who is prolific at driving to the basket, drew enough fouls to net 12 of 15 free throws.

Coach JERRY PARKER was unavailable for comment.

Granite Hills: Sabrina Jimenez 19 (5 reb, 2 stl, 5 ast), Jessica Harris 18 (4 reb, 2 stl, 3 ast), Keji Kubari 8 (2 reb, 2 blk), Skylar Williams 8 (4 reb, 3 stl), Hailey Garner 6 (8 reb, 4 ast), Alyssa Canoff 3, Madeline Sherran 1, Kelsey Bailey 1.

OUR LADY OF PEACE 64, WEST HILLS 52 – Ranked No. 5 at the start of the season, the Wolf Pack is having a difficult time living up to its preseason rating.

Sacked by the No. 8 Pilots in Saturday’s (Dec. 5) Sweet Sixteen Invitational at La Jolla Country Day, West Hills saw its record fall below.500 at 2-3.

Although the Wolf Pack led 34-30 at halftime, its offense was short circuited as the Pilots flew to a 19-9 advantage in the 3rd quarter to take a 6 point lead.

OLP, which had four players in double figures, padded their lead in the final quarter.

Senior SHERIKA MILLER paced the Pack with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks.

“We were up early and shooting well early,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “But this year we just can’t seem to stop anybody. Last year if we scored 52 points in a game, we would win by 10. This year we have been unable to get the job done. We didn’t execute on defense and OLP played well. We went cold and they got hot – they made their plays.”

Ironically, the Wolf Pack will play OLP again on Tuesday (Dec. 8) in a Matador Classic game.

West Hills: Sherika Miller 15 (5 reb, 2 blk), Jillian Brown 9 (3 reb, 2 ast), Marilyn Naderhoff 6 (6 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Taylor Aguirre 7 (3 ast, 1 blk), Kimberly Clark 6, Mariah Bennett 5 (6 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Taylor Ingraham 2, Daniana Ghandour 2, Emily Cole (2 ast).

SAN DIEGO 57, STEELE CANYON 43 – No coach is ever happy about losing a game, and that includes Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH. What Smith did appreciate was the fact that his Cougars (0-3) committed a minimal number of turnovers despite losing to San Diego in Saturdays’ (Dec. 5) Matador Classic contest.

“We played well in the 3rd quarter,” Smith said. “We didn’t turn over the ball tonight, had less than seven turnovers. Our girls played hard.”

GABRIELLE BEASLEY led the Cougars with 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers and 2 for 2 free throw shooting.

The Cougars’ SAMANTHA VERNON crashed the boards for a dozen rebounds to go along with 9 points, while MICHELLE BEASLEY pitched in 10 points and JV BARBARIN, although held to a season-low 4 points, collected 8 rebounds.

“Give credit to San Diego – they had a game plan and they executed their offense,” Smith said.

Steele Canyon: Gabrielle Beasley 14, Michelle Beasley 10, Samantha Vernon 9 (12 reb), Janvier Barbarin 4 (8 reb), Alexis Merlino 4 (6 reb), Janique Cofield 2 (4 reb).

“We were completely out of it tonight,” said Lopez. “It was a different team than I saw against Mar Vista. Mentally, my girls were not ready to play. I even had a girl with her shorts on backwards.”

Valhalla trailed Montgomery 28-14 at halftime of the Matador Classic contest in South Bay on Saturday (Dec. 5).

One of the maladies suffered by Valhalla was the fact that the Norsemen shot only 6 for 19 from the free throw line.

TENISHA LEE was 5 for 8 on free throws, finishing with 9 points – two less than team leader DANIELLE WILSON, who also had 8 rebounts and 3 assists.

“I don't think my girls are used to playing this many games in a row,” said Lopez. And with injuries taking ASHLEE ALFONSO out (injured back) and Tenisha Lee is playing hurt, we are by no means at 100 percent. Their press didn't hurt us at all, at least we were able to grab our composure with that. We just couldn't get anything to fall – even wide open layups didn't go in.”

“Danielle Wilson played her heart out tonight,” said Lopez. “I have one senior (Lee), but once my young team gels together we will be very competitive. We will be tough as we develop.”

Valhalla: Danielle Wilson 11 (8 rebs, 3 ast), Tenisha Lee 9 (5 rebs, 2 stl), Mackenzie Cartmill 5, Kandise Kalasho 4, Chelsea Hale 4 (2 rebs), Karissa Ferrell (2 rebs).

CORONADO 40, EL CAJON VALLEY 32 – HAZEL DOE scored 12 points and TERIKA WILLIAMS added 11, but it wasn’t enough as the El Cajon Valley Braves saw their record fall to 0-5 following their latest game in the Coronado Thanksgiving Tournament.

The Braves led 19-18 at intermission, but fell behind quickly in the 3rd quarter as the host Islanders claimed a 12-6 scoring edge.

“I felt we were still in the game but we never really got going in the 4th quarter,” said Braves assistant coach SIG CHABROWSKI. “Defensively we put out a good effort.”

The Braves made only 3 of 15 shots from three-point range and shot 29 percent overall.

“We need to get back in the gym and work on our shooting – our shooting has not been up to par in any game this year,” said Chabrowski. “We were in this game. We had a chance but we had too many turnovers and we lost our composure.”

El Cajon Valley: Hazel Doe 12, Terika Williams 11, Natasha Fernandez 7, Sophia Yeargain 2.

EASTLAKE at MONTE VISTA – The visiting Titans used a 29-5 run in the third quarter to topple host Monte Vista on Saturday (Dec. 5) in the 3rd Annual Lady Monarch Invitational. The Monarchs turned the ball over 44 times.

Monte Vista: Deanna Bembry 18 (10 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Shamonique Boyd 9 (9 reb, 3 stl), Alex Conwright 7 (3 reb), Stefanie Banks 6 (4 reb), Mercedes Tisnado 6 (4 reb), Dionna Mercer 5, Tasha Brown 2 (2 reb), Shantee Woods 2 (3 stl), Jessica Garcia 1, Alex Ross 1, Kayla Pusey (3 reb).

© East County Sports.com
VISTA (12-5-09) — Despite turning the ball over 25 times, the Grossmont Foothillers whipped host Rancho Buena Vista 47-39 in Friday’s (Dec. 4) in a Vaqueros Shootout contest.

“It was a pretty close game most of the night," said Hillers coach MEGAN LONG. "We did not come out to play hard right away.”

Grossmont led by 23 points midway through the 3rd quarter when RBV went on a 13-0 run that lasted into the 4th quarter.

“We really need to play games like this, this early,” said Long. “It will help us later on down the line.”

Grossmont: Danielle Balderas 13 (4 reb, 4 stl), Teyshonnia Bealer-West 11 (8 reb, 2 ast), Frankie Treadwell 10 (2 stl), Danielle Dahle 6 (9 reb, 1 blk, 4 stl), Jessie Edgil 4 (4 reb), Christa Sawyers 3 (2 reb), Chloe Cook (2 reb, 4 ast).

VALHALLA 53, MAR VISTA 29 – The Valhalla Norsemen presented first-year head coach VALLI LOPEZ with her first victory in Friday’s (Dec. 4) Matador Classic.

KARISSA FERRELL (12 points) and DANIELLE WILSON (10 points, 8 rebounds) led the charge for Valhalla (1-2).

“We played hard today, broke their press and were able to score down low,” Lopez said. “We played as a team tonight and had minimal turnovers. We dominated the boards and figured out their defense and offense quickly.”

Valhalla: Karissa Ferrell 12, Danielle Wilson 10 (8 reb), Tenisha Lee 10 (7 reb), Alle Mims 8 (5 reb), Kandise Kalasho 7, MacKenzie Cartmill 4, Carli Gilstrap 2.

SAN DIEGO 56, GRANITE HILLS 45 – When Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER saw that his Matador Classic schedule included a trip to San Diego High, he was elated.

Parker was hoping to expose his girls to an early season playoff atmosphere.

He found it Friday night (Dec. 4).

“The place was packed – there was a lot of noise,” Parker noted.

“I thought we did a pretty decent job. We scrapped. The girls really went out and competed. We stayed out of foul trouble this game, we moved our feet well and stopped reaching like we had done last game. This was the type of environment we need to play in. It will make us a better team later on in the season.”

“San Diego’s point guard (Tia Dixon) is really good. SKYLAR WILLIAMS, our freshman point guard did a good job tonight. She had the job guarding Dixon.”

Granite Hills: Jessica Harris 12 (4 reb, 3 ast), Madeline Sherran 10 (3 reb, 4 ast), Sabrina Jimenez 8 (3 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk), Hailey Garner 7 (3 reb), Skylar Williams 4, Cora Leonard 2 (7 reb, 2 blk), Canoff 2, Keji Kubari (4 reb, 1 blk).

REGIS JESUIT (Colo.) 58, WEST HILLS 45 – Turnovers continue to make for a bumpy road for No. 5 West Hills in the Sweet Sixteen Invitational at LJCD.

Regis Jesuit of Colorado (2-1) used a 26-8 scoring spread in the 3rd quarter to send the Wolf Pack (2-2) reeling.

“Once again, we had too many turnovers – 13 in the 1st half,” West Hills coach RYAN KINSER said. “This team wasn’t better than us. We killed ourselves.”

“In the 3rd quarter our two senior starters didn’t do what they are supposed to do. So we took them out and put our young players in. (Regis Jesuit) was fairly good and we got behind.”

West Hills fought back 16-9 in the 4th quarter but it was too little too late.

“For three quarters we outplayed them but we had one bad, bad quarter,” Kinser said.

West Hills will meet Our Lady of Peace at 11 a.m. Saturday (Dec. 5) in its final game of the tournament.

West Hills: Sherika Miller 14 (3 reb), Marilyn Naderhoff 11 (4 reb, 2 ast), Kimberly Clark 6, Danielle Hays 3 (3 reb), Emily Cole 3, Daniana Ghandour 2, Taylor Aguirre 1 (3 reb), Mariah Bennett 1 (2 stl).

SAN PASQUAL 72, MONTE VISTA 43 – For the first time in four starts in 3rd Annual Lady Monarch Invitational, host Monte Vista met its match on Friday (Dec. 4).

A swift 17-8 start and a 23-7 scoring burst in the 3rd quarter allowed visiting San Pasqual to deal the Monarchs their first loss in four starts.

“We just thought we were better than we are,” Monarchs coach MICHAEL SKIBBE said. “Early is the better time to do that. We couldn’t put it in to save our life. We’ll learn from it and move on.”

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

SAN MARCOS 51, SANTANA 39 – Host San Marcos (2-1) knocked off Santana (0-3) in Friday’s (Dec. 4) third round of the Vaqueros Shootout. No other details were available.

© East County Sports.com
LA JOLLA (12-4-09) — At the outset it looked like West Hills was going to run away and hide as the Wolf Pack took a 9-0 lead in the 1st quarter of Thursday’s (Dec. 3) Sweet Sixteen Invitational at La Jolla Country Day against Riverside Perris.

By halftime, however, the Wolf Pack found itself on the short end of a 25-23 score. Coach RYAN KINSER pointed out the Pack’s 14 turnovers helped Perris forge in front.

Different story in the 3rd quarter, when No. 5 ranked West Hills (2-0) claimed a 23-10 scoring edge and continued on to a 60-50 victory.

“At halftime we made a couple of adjustments but our main focus was to emphasize to our girls to take care of the ball,” Kinser said. “I think we made four or five turnovers in the 2nd half.”

The momentum switch in the 3rd quarter was ignited by SHERIKA MILLER, who hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored 12 points.

KIMMIE CLARK added 5 of her 14 points in that period.

MARILYN NADERHOFF contributed 13 points and 3 assists to the Pack’s totals.

“I think the basic thing is we quit turning the ball over,” Kinser said. “Miller hitting those two quick 3-pointers seemed to swing the momentum to our side.”

West Hills will meet Regis Jesuit of Colorado at 2:45 p.m. on Friday (Dec. 4) at La Jolla Country Day.

West Hills: Sherika Miller 17 (5 reb), Kimberly Clark 14 (2 reb), Marilyn Naderhoff 13 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Mariah Bennett 9 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Danielle Hays 5 (6 reb), Emily Cole 2, Jillian Brown (3 reb), Taylor Aguirre (3 reb), Taylor Ingraham (2 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 46, ESCONDIDO 37 – Even though Granite Hills cut down visiting Escondido in Thursday’s (Dec. 3) round of the Matador Classic, Eagles coach JERRY PARKER was hardly elated.

“We were in early foul trouble,” said Parker. “At one time in the 2nd quarter we had one guard and four bigs on the floor. Escondido took advantage by pressing us into a lot of turnovers.”

But the Eagles regained their footing and stopped fouling and outscored the Cougars 29-16 over the final 16 minutes.

“If we stay out of foul trouble, we win that game by more than 20 points,” Parker pointed out.

Senior point guard SABRINA JIMENEZ was the driving force for the Eagles with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks.

JESSICA HARRIS hammered down 15 points, corralled 8 rebounds, dished 2 assists and made 4 steals.

“For only our second game I think we did a better job of moving our feet, which should have cut down on our fouls,” Parker noted. “We’re still a work in progress so it might be a little rocky for awhile but I think we’re gonna get there.”

Granite Hills: Sabrina Jimenez 17 (7 reb, 5 ast, 5 stl, 3 blk), Jessica Harris 15 (8 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Skylar Williams 7 (2 reb), Madeline Sherran 5 (4 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Keji Kubari 2 (4 reb), Hailey Garner (2 reb), Cora Leonard (3 reb, 3 blk), Alyssa Cannoff (2 stl).

MONTGOMERY 46, HELIX 44 – If the Highlanders could have converted free throws with any kind of consistency they might have knocked off the Aztecs of Montgomery in Thursday’s (Dec. 3) Matador Classic contest in South Bay.

“The game was played at a fast pace – a regular track meet,” said Helix coach TRINA MERIDETH. “That was OK for awhile for us, but we never got control of the game. We had a lot of opportunities but we just couldn’t convert them. Most of our problems were from the free throw line.”

The Highlanders made only 14 of 34 free throws.

“If we could have just made a couple more free throws we would have won the game,” Merideth said. “I don’t know how many and-ones we missed.”

The game was 19-19 at halftime. The Highlanders took a couple of leads in the 3rd quarter but could not maintain their advantage.

“There was a lot of the usual first-game hype and a lot of nerves,” Merideth said. “As a coach you have to sit there and take in what your strengths and weaknesses are.”

JACQUELINE SMITH rolled a double-double for the Highlanders of 12 points and 10 rebounds. She did not attempt a free throw.

KIM SCOTT tallied 10 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals, however, she missed 10 free throws.

JASMINE WILLIAMS chipped in 9 points, 4 steals and 2 rebounds for Helix.

“It’s like I told my team, this is only one game – one that we should have won,” said Merideth. “But we’re going to get better because we have the talent to do so.”

Helix: Jacqueline Smith 12 (10 reb), Kim Scott 10 (3 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Jasmine Williams 9 (4 stl, 2 reb), Grace Osoimalo 5, Alyxis Audley 3, Jasmine Hunn 2, Kristina Scott 2, Faith Leaupepe-Tele 1.

MISSION HILLS 53, EL CAPITAN 39 – The Vaqueros were clinging to a 30-28 lead after three periods in Thursday night’s (Dec. 3) Vaquero Shootout contest before visiting Mission Hills went on a 25-9 scoring bender in the final quarter to pull out the victory.

“We just ran out of gas – it showed in the 4th quarter,” said El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES. “I was pleased… After last night’s game, I can see light at the end of the tunnel. We just have to put all the pieces together.”

Senior MARISSA PITMAN nailed 4 three-pointers to pace the Vaqueros (0-2) with 12 points.

AMBER REL-SOLIA contributed 9 points, while VANESSA CARRILLO blocked 4 shots and grabbed 8 rebounds.

ERICA ARIE pitched in with 5 assists and 6 rebounds for the rebuilding Vaqueros.

El Capitan: Marissa Pitman 12 (3 reb), Amber Rel-Solia 9 (2 reb), Chelsey Kyle 6 (5 reb, 1 blk), Niki Spring 4, Erica Arie 2 (6 reb, 5 ast), Megan Drennen 4 (6 reb), Vanessa Carrillo 2 (8 reb, 4 blk).

MOUNT MIGUEL 79, MIRA MESA 11 – There weren’t be many challenges for the No. 2 Mount Miguel Matadors this season, at least not locally.

Five Matadors finished in double scoring digits Thursday night (Dec. 3) as Mount Miguel massacred Mira Mesa in the Matador Classic contest in Spring Valley.

“The fact that we can get five players in double figures is something we haven’t had in awhile,” said Matadors coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL.

DECHAE EVANS led the scoring parade with 17 points, 5 steals and 2 blocks. NICOLE FOUNTAIN fired in 15 points to go along with 4 assists and 4 steals. DANIELLE MILLER chipped in with 14 points and 7 steals, while YVONTE NEAL contributed 12 points and 6 steals.

“This is the kind of balance that any coach would like to have,” Sandoval said.

Mount Miguel (2-0) pressured Mira Mesa into 45 turnovers while collecting 29 steals.

Mount Miguel: Dechae Evans 17 (2 reb, 5 stl, 2 blk), Nicole Fountain 15 (2 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Danielle Miller 14 (4 reb, 3 ast, 7 stl, 1 blk), Shay Young 13 (4 reb, 5 stl, 1 blk), Yvonte Neal 12 (2 reb, 3 ast, 6 stl), Myishia Watkins 6 (2 reb, 5 ast, 6 stl), Shataera Anderson 2 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl).

THE BISHOP’S 66, STEELE CANYON 26 – The No. 4-ranked Knights sprinted to a 33-4 first quarter lead and never looked back as they pasted visiting Steele Canyon in Thursday’s (Dec. 3) second round of the Matador Classic.

“We turned the ball over 25 times in the first half alone,” Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH said. “We have a lot of new girls and we’re still trying to get into sync. Bottom line is we can’t put the ball in the basket with any consistency.

“(The) Bishop’s on the other hand, is a year-round program. They are a very talented team.”

SAMANTHA VERNON paced Steele Canyon with 10 points.

Steele Canyon: Samantha Vernon 10, Michelle Beasley 8, Janvier Barbarin 6, Alexis Merlino 2. No other statistics were available.

HILLTOP 51, VALHALLA 45 (OT) – No other information reported.

© East County Sports.com
LA JOLLA (12-3-09) — In an early season showdown between two of the Top 5 ranked girls basketball teams in the San Diego CIF, No. 1 La Jolla Country Day knocked off No. 5 West Hills, 51-38, in a Sweet 16 tournament tilt.

The Torreys (1-0) jumped in front 16-7 and led wire-to-wire.

The visiting Wolf Pack (1-1) scrambled back to trail only 27-23 late in the 3rd quarter, but were unable to carry that momentum into the final period.

“We had some opportunities to get even closer, then we just kinda faded,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “We played pretty well but we got tired and it just kinda got away from us. We didn’t rebound well and had too many turnovers.”

KIMMIE CLARK added 11 points, including a trey and 4-for-4 free throw shooting to go along with 5 rebounds.

It was a rough night for the Wolf Pack’s 5-foot-11 SHERIKA MILLER, playing against a tall front line of Torreys. She was 0-for-6 from the floor and held to one point and 5 rebounds.

Kinser pointed out that West Hills played its best basketball in the middle two quarters, gaining an 18-15 scoring advantage during that 16 minute stretch.

West Hills will meet Perris at 2:45 Thursday (Dec. 3) at La Jolla Country Day.

West Hills: Marilyn Naderhoff 20 (4 reb, 2 stl), Kimberly Clark 11 (5 reb, 2 stl), Mariah Bennett 2 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Danielle Hays 2 (2 reb), Jillian Brown 2 (4 reb, 1 blk), Sherika Miller 1 (5 reb, 1 blk), Taylor Aguirre (3 reb).

SAN MARCOS 40, EL CAPITAN 33 – For the first time in seven years, the El Capitan starting lineup does not include a DUFFY – as in ALLISON or ASHLEY, now both at San Diego State.

“It’s gonna be a learning season for us,” said Vaqueros coach FRANK QUINONES. “We have three seniors, but we’re basically a very inexperienced team. No one has stepped up to be a team leader and we really don’t have a go-to girl offensively. We’re gonna make a lot of mistakes.”

El Capitan turned the ball over 37 times in Wednesday’s (Dec. 2) season opener of the Vaquero Shootout in Lakeside.

“We didn’t box out and San Marcos had a 6-2 girl that was getting like 3 and 4 shots at the basket, it seemed like every time down,” Quinones said.

Yet the Vaqueros, led by AMBER REL-SOLIA (12 points, 6 rebounds) and ERICA ARIE (10 pts, 13 reb) were in front 16-15 at halftime.

“You know, I’m excited about the future of our team because we have 40 kids in our program, including a freshman team,” Quinones said.

El Capitan: Amber Rel-Solia 12 (6 reb), Erica Arie 10 (13 reb, 2 ast), Marissa Pitman 6 (4 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl), Chelsey Kyle 3 (7 reb, 2 ast), Megan Drennen 2 (7 reb, 2 stl).

SWEETWATER 50, STEELE CANYON 39 – JANVIER “JV” BARBARIN hit 8 of 10 shots from the field and finished with 18 points, yet host Steele Canyon lost to visiting Sweetwater (1-2) in Wednesday’s (Dec. 2) Matador Classic contest in Rancho San Diego.

The Cougars (0-1) led 14-11 after one quarter and 22-21 at intermission. Steele Canyon’s problem was it could not get any support for Barbarin as no one else scored more than 6 points.

“They outplayed us,” said Cougars coach PENNY SMITH. “In the first half we played pretty well. We just got gassed. Three of our five starters had to leave the game with leg cramps. We didn’t put a full game together but we played well for 16 minutes.”

Steele Canyon: Janvier Barbarin 18, Monique Van 6, Alexis Merlino 4, Gabrielle Beasley 3, Michelle Beasley 3, Samantha Vernon 2, Bree Pfunder 2, Janique Cofield 1.

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (12-2-09) — It’s been awhile since a Monte Vista girls basketball team started out the season with three straight wins.

But Monte Vista did more than just win in Tuesday (Dec. 1) night’s 3rd Annual Lady Monarch Invitational contest, massacring Madison 73-9, and it could have been worse had coach MICHAEL SKIBBE left his starters on the floor the whole evening.

“We just beat a team like we were beaten last year, and I don’t know what to do about it,” Skibbe said. “I talked to the other coach before the game and told him we are going to play hard for 32 minutes. Everybody played – my leading scorer (for the season) only got four points. I just felt bad. Madison is young. We were able to get some kids in who don’t get a lot of playing time.”

DIONNA MERCER, a 5-foot-6 sophomore point guard, had a brilliant game for the Monarchs, hitting 9 of 11 shots from the floor on her way to a game-high 19 points. Mercer also led Monte Vista with 5 steals and shared the rebounding lead with 5.

TASHA BROWN tossed in 12 points and snared 5 rebounds, while ALEX CONWRIGHT chipped in with 11 points.

“Our girls spent a lot of time played basketball in the summer, we just needed to get experience and to get older. Now it’s paying off, said Skibbe. “I tell the girls it’s not who you play – it’s how you play.”

Monte Vista: Dionna Mercer 19 (5 reb, 5 stl), Tasha Brown 12 (5 reb, 2 stl), Alex Conwright 11, Shamonique Boyd 8 (5 reb), Kayla Pusey 6 (5 reb), Alex Ross 5 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Deanna Bembry 4 (5 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), Jessica Garcia 4 (2 reb, 4 stl), Mercedes Tisnado 3 (4 reb), Stefanie Banks 1 (3 reb).

CARLSBAD 56, GROSSMONT 50 (OT) – Host Grossmont started out strong, taking a 15-10 first quarter lead in Tuesday’s (Dec. 1) Vaqueros Shootout contest in El Cajon.

The Foothillers (0-2) allowed the lead to slip away in the 4th quarter when Carlsbad scored 9 of its 18 points from the free throw line. That allowed the game to end 46-46 in regulation.

“We were up by 3 points with a minute left and fouled,” said Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG. “ Escondido made one of two free throws and got the rebound and got a shot off with 5 seconds left to tie it.”

Senior DANIELLE BALDERAS led Grossmont with 17 points, nearly half of which came on her 8 for 11 free throw shooting.

DANIELLE DAHLE added 11 points and 7 rebounds for the Foothillers. FRANKIE TREADWELL scored only 5 points but hauled in 7 rebounds and led the team with 7 steals.

“Right now we are taking some early bumps and bruises,” said Long. “We got mentally fatigued at the end – we got tired and started putting them on the free throw line. We got the leads but let them slip away.”

“When you shoot 62 percent on free throws, 15 percent on threes, and 27 percent on field goals it’s just not going to get it done.”

Grossmont: Danielle Balderas 17 (3 reb, 3 ast), Danielle Dahle 11 (7 reb, 3 stl), Jessie Edgill 6 (5 reb), Frankie Treadwell 5 (7 reb, 7 stl), Chloe Cook 5 (2 ast), Teyshonnia Bealer-West 4 (4 reb, 6 stl), Christa Sawyers 2 (2 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 86, MAR VISTA 16 – No. 2 ranked Mount Miguel opened its season on the road Tuesday night’s (Dec. 1) Matador Classic, but it didn’t make any difference.

The visiting Matadors stormed to a 33-7 first quarter lead and were sitting on a 55-11 cushion by halftime.

YVONTE NEAL scored 13 of her team-high 22 points in the opening quarter, while DANIELLE MILLER rang up half of her 20 points in the first eight minutes.

Mount Miguel: Yvonte Neal 22 (5 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), Danielle Miller 20 (4 reb, 4 ast, 5 stl), Nicole Fountain 12 (8 reb, 4 ast, 9 stl), Shay Young 11 (2 ast, 5 stl), Myishia Watkins 6 (2 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl), Shataera Anderson 5 (2 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Charity Lyons 2 (3 reb, 3 stl), Chantel Yell 2.

MT. CARMEL 58, SANTANA 43 – For the second night in a row the Sultans played a strong 1st quarter and closed with a high-scoring finish. It was the middle two quarters of Tuesday’s (Dec. 1) Vaqueros Shootout at Mt. Carmel that proved pivotal in the outcome.

The Sundevils outscored the Sultans 30-11 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.

Senior guard ALYSSA PADBERG paced Santana with 12 points, while MARGIE PANKNIN added 8.

Santana committed 24 turnovers and shot only 29 percent from the field.

On a positive note, Santana netted 17 of 22 free throws with Padberg (6 for 7) and KIM GROSS (4 for 4) leading the way.

Santana: Alyssa Padberg 12 (3 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Margie Panknin 8 (4 reb, 3 stl), Sammy White 5 (2 ast), Delia Files 4 (2 reb, 3 stl), Kim Gross 4, Brittany Felletta 3, Katie Grable 3, Haley Burton 2, Amanda Grable 2, Kelsey Conley (2 reb).

ESCONDIDO 53, VALHALLA 26 – Norsemen first year coach VALLI LOPEZ was obviously not pleased with the results of Tuesday’s (Dec. 1) Matador Classic opener against visiting Escondido.

But then again she wasn’t completely disappointed either.

“We hung in there for the first two quarters,” Lopez said (trailing 27-17 at intermission. “We had opportunities for scoring but we had first game jitters. I think we have potential, but we missed some easy layups. We’ve got to tighten it up a little bit.”

Six Norsemen contributed to the scoring. Junior DANIELLE WILSON led the way with 8 points to go along with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks.

TENISHA LEE was Valhalla’s leader on the boards, collecting 7 caroms.

But the biggest problem for the Norsemen was ball handling.

“We had more turnovers (40) than we had points,” Lopez said.

Valhalla: Danielle Wilson 8 (5 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk), Tenisha Lee 5 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Kandise Kalasho 5, Chelsea Hale 4, Karissa Ferrell 2 (2 reb), Ashlee Alfonso 2 (2 ast), Carli Gilstrap (3 reb, 3 ast), Alle Mims (2 reb).

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (12-1-09) — Ranked No. 5 in the San Diego Section, the West Hills Wolf Pack had to be somewhat stunned after the 1st quarter of Monday’s (Nov. 30) season-opening round of the Matador Classic against visiting Torrey Pines.

The No. 9 ranked Falcons showered the Wolf Pack with a flurry of 3-point buckets to take a 21-12 lead. That, no doubt, got the Pack’s attention as West Hills bounced back to take a halftime lead and continue on for a 66-54 victory.

“They came out and beat us up that 1st quarter – they couldn’t miss,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “We faced a good team right off the bat and we didn’t do a good job getting back in transition.”

The Wolf Pack used a 23-11 second quarter scoring spree to lead 35-32 by intermission. West Hills gradually pulled away after that.

SHERIKA MILLER rolled a double-double to pace West Hills with 19 points and 10 rebounds. She netted 8 of 15 from the floor, including a pair of 3s.

Senior guard MARILYN NADERHOFF nailed 7 of 10 free throws on her way to a 15 point finish. She also had 4 assists and 3 steals.

DANIELLE HAYS, the Pack’s most experienced player in the paint, was 4 for 5 on her way to 11 points and added 7 rebounds.

“We played well on offense and did a good job running sets,” said Kinser. “We played very good defense after the 1st quarter.”

West Hills: Sherika Miller 19 (10 reb), Marilyn Naderhoff 15 (4 ast, 3 stl), Danielle Hays 11 (7 reb), Kimberly Clark 9 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Taylor Aguirre 5 (2 reb, 3 ast), Jillian Brown 4 (2 reb, 1 blk), Mariah Bennett 3 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Taylor Ingraham (6 reb), Ghandour (2 reb), Emily Cole (2 reb).

WESTVIEW 61, SANTANA 39 – The visiting Santana Sultans rocked No. 10 ranked Westview in the 1st quarter of Monday’s (Nov. 30) Vaqueros Shootout, taking a 9-8 lead and trailed only 27-21 by intermission.

“The girls played hard and played tough defense in the 1st half,” said first-year Sultans coach MARK TIPTON. “But Westview shot well in the 2nd half and we were unable to counter.”

The Wolverines (2-0) netted 375 percent of 60 shots from the field, including 9 of 23 from above the arc.

Santana, by comparison, was only 15 of 48 from the floor (31 percent). The Sultans’ totals included only one 3-pointer.

Santana’s leading scorer was senior ALYSSA PADBERG, who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

DELIA FILES added 9 points and 11 boards for the Sultans.

Santana claimed a 40-24 rebounding edge but lost that advantage by turning the ball over 24 times compared to the Wolverines’ 11.

“It’s tough enough that we don’t have a dedicated scorer – a go-to girl,” Tipton said. “But when you turn the ball over as many times as we did it’s going to make it very difficult to beat the teams that we have on our schedule.”

Santana: Alyssa Padberg 12 (11 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Delia Files 9 (11 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Kim Gross 5 (7 reb), Katie Grable 4 (2 reb, 1 blk), Margie Panknin 3 (3 reb, 4 ast), Amanda Grable 2 (2 reb), Hayley Burton 2 (2 reb), Brittany Falletta 2, Sarah Kvederis (2 reb).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (11-28-09/Updated 11-29-09) — The Monte Vista Monarchs won their second game in as many days, defeating Otay Ranch 76-46 in Saturday’s (Nov. 28) 3rd Annual Lady Monarch Invitational.

DEANNA BEMBRY had the hot hand from the field, nailing 8 of 17 shots en route to a game high 21 points. Bembry completed her double-double by crashing the boards for 11 rebounds. She also blocked a shot and recorded 5 of Monte Vista’s 20 steals.

ALEX CONWRIGHT chipped in 18 points, the majority coming on her 4-for-11 shooting that came from 3-point range.

The Monarchs broke the game open with a 19-8 scoring spree in the 2nd quarter. They turned it into a blowout with a 22-9 spread in the 4th quarter.

Monte Vista: Deanna Bembry 21 (11 reb, 1 blk), Alex Conwright 18, Shantee Woods 8 (3 reb, 3 stl, 2 ast), Dionna Mercer 8 (4 ast, 3 reb, 2 stl), Tasha Brown 4, Jessica Garcia 6 (7 reb), Kayla Pusey 3 (2 reb), Stefanie Banks 3, Alex Ross 3 (2 ast, 2 reb, 4 stl), Mercedes Tisnado 2 (8 reb), DeeDee Morrison (4 reb, 2 stl).

WESTVIEW 45, GROSSMONT 28 – Grossmont High opened the season Saturday (Nov. 28) but was no match for visiting Westview as the Foothillers fell to the Wolverines 45-28 in a Vaqueros Shootout game.

Grossmont did the bulk of its scoring from the perimeter as DANIELLE BALDERAS, CHRISTA SAWYERS, CHLOE COOK and DANIELLE DAHLE each hit a 3-pointer.

Westview jumped to a 26-11 halftime lead and never looked back.

“Westview was more experienced than us,” said Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG. “We came out anxious and were thrown off our game. Credit to Westview's defense who took us out of our offense and what we wanted to accomplish. Even with the loss, I am encouraged by our team. I feel we have an upside and will only benefit from this early trial. We didn't play our best, yet we fought. We just need to get in the gym and get better and we will.”

Grossmont: Danielle Balderas 7 (3 reb, 4 stl, 3 ast), Frankie Treadwell 6 (4 reb, 3 stl, 3 ast), Danielle Dahle 5, Christa Sawyers 5 (3 reb), Chloe Cook 3, Teyshonnia Bealer-West 2 (7 reb).

Coronado Thanksgiving Tournament
Crawford 36, El Cajon Valley 32
El Cajon Valley vs. Chula Vista: No report.

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (11-28-09) — Junior DEANNA BEMBRY rolled off a triple-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to lead host Monte Vista to a 62-57 victory over Oceanside in Friday’s (Nov. 27) opening round of the 3rd Annual Lady Monarch Invitational.

SHAMONIQUE BOYD added 15 points and corralled 9 rebounds for the Monarchs.

“We found out in our fall program that we are a second-half team and that sure proved true tonight,” said Monte Vista coach MICHAEL SKIBBE.

Indeed. Oceanside led Monte Vista 22-19 at intermission.

Monte Vista, which shot 40 percent from the field (36-for-65) from the field, rallied in the third quarter but didn’t pull away in the final period.

“We are where we really want to be,” Skibbe said. “We are a very balanced team – we play real well together. We got into Oceanside’s bench and took advantage of their lack of experience.”

Bembry added 4 steals and Boyd notched 3, while ALEX ROSS accounted for the Monarchs only two 3-pointers.

Bembry has 510 career rebounds and 404 career points. She put up 12 double-doubles last year, and this was her second career triple-double.

Monte Vista scoring: Deanna Bembry 16, Shamonique Boyd 15, Dionna Mercer 6 (4 ast, 2 stl), Stefanie Banks 6 (2 reb), Jessica Garcia 6, Alex Ross 6 (3 reb, 4 ast), Alex Conwright 5, Tasha Brown 2.

Coronado Thanksgiving Tournament
SAN DIEGUITO ACADEMY 52, EL CAJON VALLEY 30;
RAMONA 52, EL CAJON VALLEY 28 – No reports.