© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-20-10) — Mount Miguel High coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL, who has guided the Matadors to 10 straight league championships, wanted to make special mention of senior NICOLE FOUNTAIN.

A 5-foot-9 guard, Fountain has been a member of four of the Matadors’ undefeated league championship teams. The only other Mount Miguel player to achieve that status was GENEVIEVE COSTELLO (2002-05).

Ranked No. 2 in the most recognized San Diego CIF poll, Mount Miguel (25-2, 8-0 GVL) is all but assured to be the No. 1 seed in the Division III. The Matadors will find out at 4:30 on Saturday (Feb. 20) when the girls pairings are announced.

Meanwhile West Hills (20-6) celebrated its third straight league championship by winning the Grossmont Hills League title with a 9-1 mark.

WEST HILLS 49, GROSSMONT 26 – Wolf Pack coach RYAN KINSER had to be a little bit stunned when the visiting Foothillers took a 7-0 lead and a 13-6 first quarter advantage in Friday’s (Feb. 19) Grossmont Hills League finale in Santee.

Had West Hills stumbled, the Wolf Pack would have been forced to share the Grossmont Hills League title with Granite Hills. But the Pack regrouped, taking an 18-16 halftime lead.

In the 2nd half it was all West Hills, starting with an 18-3 third quarter scoring burst.

SHERIKA MILLER was the leader, hitting 8 of 13 shots from the field including the Pack’s only 3-pointer to finish with 17 points.

It’s a rare day when West Hills (20-6, 9-1 GHL) has only one trey.

So the Pack had to rely on other sources to clinch the league championship.

“We posted Sherika down low and were able to take advantage of (Grossmont’s) post defenders,” Kinser said. “She played an outstanding game.”

Grossmont (12-14, 6-4 GHL) scored only six points in the middle two quarters.

“Defensively our game was there tonight,” said Kinser. “The energy and effort were there all night, but our shooting was way off.”

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

Grossmont: No report.

SANTANA 46, EL CAPITAN 40 – ALYSSA PADBERG and MARGIE PANKNIN each connected on one-and-one free throw situations in the final two minutes as the visiting Sultans protected a 42-40 lead to earn Friday (Feb. 19) night’s Grossmont Valley League victory.

Padberg paced the Sultans (9-18, 5-3 GVL) with 13 points, 8 assists and 2 steals. Panknin added 10 points, 2 assists and 2 steals.

Santana’s HALEY BURTON was the leading rebounder in the game, collecting 11 caroms and also blocked two shots.

ERICA ARIE paced El Capitan (10-17, 1-7 GVL) with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.

Senior AMBER REL-SOLIA chipped in with 10 rebounds, 5 blocks and 8 points.

Santana: Alyssa Padberg 13 (1 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl), Margie Panknin 10 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Haley Burton 7 (11 reb, 1 stl, 2 blk), Amanda Grable 7 (2 reb), Sammy White 7 (2 reb, 1 stl), Kim Gross 2 (8 reb), Delia Files (7 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Brittany Falletta (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Sarah Kvederis (1 reb, 1 stl).

El Capitan: Erica Arie 12 (7 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Amber Rel-Solia 8 (10 reb, 1 ast, 5 blk, 1 stl), Chelsey Kyle 7 (6 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Marissa Pitman 6 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Megan Drennen 5 (2 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Emily Sutton 2 (2 reb), Niki Spring (1 ast), Dorian Borras (1 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 62, HELIX 27 – SABRINA JIMENEZ celebrated Granite Hills’ Senior Night in a big way, knocking down 23 points while corralling 10 rebounds as the Eagles hammered the visiting Highlanders in Friday’s (Feb. 19) Grossmont Hills League finale.

Jimenez, East County ’s scoring leader, netted four 3-pointers while dishing 4 assists and making 3 steals.

Senior SAMANTHA SILVA also celebrated one of her best games of the year, swishing 3 triples and finishing with 11 points.

The Eagles led 31-7 at halftime and 55-17 by the close of the 3rd quarter. Jimenez hit 8 of 10 shots from the floor. As a team they shot better than 60 percent from the field, including 10 three-pointers.

“I was happy for our seniors to go out with a win,” said Eagles coach JERRY PARKER.

KRISTINA SCOTT finished with 13 points to lead the Highlanders (9-15, 2-8 GHL).

“I thought our girls came out tonight with no emotion,” said Helix coach ANDY MERIDETH. “Granite Hills had too much for us tonight. I’m proud of these girls as a whole. They’ve been through a lot this year.”

Granite Hills: Sabrina Jimenez 23 (10 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Samantha Silva 11 (2 stl), Skylar Williams 9 (5 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Keji Kubari 8 (3 reb, 3 blk), Jessica Harris 7 (3 reb), Monique Ybarra 2, Cassie Smith 2, Cora Leonard (6 reb).

Helix: Kristina Scott 13 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Kim Scott 8 (1 reb, 1 ast), Jacqueline Smith 2 (4 reb, 2 ast), Faith Leaupepe-Tele 2 (4 reb), Iesha Murray 2 (3 reb), Jasmine Hunn (6 reb), Dana Hosley (2 reb).

STEELE CANYON 52, VALHALLA 38 – JANVIER BARBARIN muscled in 10 of 22 shots from the field and 7 of 12 free throws for a season high 27 points to steer Steele Canyon (12-14, 5-5 GHL) to a Grossmont Hills League victory over visiting Valhalla.

Barbarin added 9 rebounds, made 3 steals and blocked 4 shots for the Cougars.

“JV (Barbarin) took Senior Night to heart – she played a real good all-around game,” said Cougars assistant coach RODNEY VAN. “She played good defense all night.

Valhalla (5-21, 0-10 GHL) led 21-20 at the half before the Cougars unleashed a 23-8 scoring barrage in the 3rd quarter to take control of the game.

“We decided to feed JV in the 2nd half and it worked,” Van added. “She had 12 points in the 3rd quarter.”

For Valhalla, DANIELLE WILSON collected a game high 13 rebounds and teammate KARISSA FERRELL grabbed 10 boards.

Steele Canyon: Janvier Barbarin 27 (9 reb, 4 blk, 3 stl), Michelle Beasley 8 (2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Janique Cofield 6 (7 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Gabrielle Beasley 5 (4 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Alexis Merlino 4 (2 reb, 1 stl), Monique Van (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Bianca Lara (1 reb, 1 stl), Alma Alvarez (1 reb).

Valhalla: Kandise Kalasho 9 (3 ast, 3 stl), Sandy Kagy 9 (2 stl), Karissa Ferrell 9 (10 reb, 2 stl), Danielle Wilson 6 (13 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk), Mackenzie Cartmill 5 (1 reb, 2 stl, 1 ast).

MOUNT MIGUEL 90, EL CAJON VALLEY 14 – The Matadors outscored the visiting Braves 61-4 in the middle two quarters, including 31-0 in the 2nd period of Friday (Feb. 19) night’s Grossmont Valley League encounter.

The Matadors’ NICOLE FOUNTAIN landed 5 three-pointers on her way to a game-high 19 points and 7 steals.

YVONTE NEAL added 18 points, including 5 steals and 5 assists for the Matadors.

MYISHIA WATKINS drilled in a trio of triples, contributing 17 points, 4 more than SHAY YOUNG.

Mount Miguel: Nicole Fountain 19 (5 reb, 4 ast, 7 stl), Yvonte Neal 18 (4 reb, 5 ast, 5 stl, 1 blk), Myishia Watkins 17 (2 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Shay Young 13 (4 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Danielle Miller 9 (3 reb, 3 ast, 6 stl, 2 blk), Shataera Anderson 8 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Dechae Evans 6 (4 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl, 2 blk), Chantel Yell (2 reb, 2 stl), Charity Lyons (1 ast, 2 stl).

El Cajon Valley: Kaylani Faten 8, Hazel Doe 4, Chelsea Ball 2.

CRAWFORD 44, CHRISTIAN 18 – The youthful Patriots were shutout in the 2nd quarter and held to 2 points in the 3rd period in Friday (Feb. 19) night’s regular season Central League finale at the Ryan Athletic Center.

“Their press hurt us in the 1st quarter,” noted Christian coach THOMAS LOWERY. “We had too many turnovers. We have some good young players on this team. I’m already looking forward to next season.”

Christian: Monique Elliott 10, Alesia Lowery 4, Mary Grabowski 2, Stephanie Hopkins 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-19-10) — DEANNA BEMBRY and SHAMONIQUE BOYD scored 19 points and 16 points respectively, propelling visiting Monte Vista to a 40-23 Grossmont Valley League victory on Thursday (Feb. 18).

The victory clinched the Monarchs' best league finish since the 2001-02 season, when they tied for second place with Granite Hills in the old Grossmont South League.

This was a resumed game from Tuesday (Feb. 9) when the game was stopped due to a wet floor caused by a leak in the roof at El Cajon Valley. The teams played 4 minutes on that rainy night and the Monarchs led 5-4 when play was suspended. The game was picked up nine days later from that point.

“I felt this was a game that neither team wanted to play,” said Monte Vista coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “(HAZEL) DOE played well for El Cajon Valley, as she always does.”

Monte Vista: Deanna Bembry 19, Shamonique Boyd 16, Shantee Woods 2, Tasha Brown 2, Jessica Garcia 1.

El Cajon Valley: No report.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-18-10) — The pieces to an improved ballcub setting the foundation for next season finally earned some early rewards Wednesday (Feb. 17), when the Christian Patriots withstood a pair of Madison surges to finally defeat the visiting Warhawks, 35-31, at Ryan Athletic Center.

For Christian, at least on paper, it was just the second Central League victory of the season, but the total is misleading according to the players.

"We're playing tough defense and playing aggressive – we're coming back," said guard MIA JOHNSON, one of a large contingent of sophomores dotting the Patriots roster. "And we're pressuring to create turnovers."

The first Madison run to close the first half did produce a short-lived lead, but the Patriots prevented a repeat occurrence to close the second half in protecting their lead. And both times, ALESIA LOWERY was the difference for Christian (2-9, 2-9 CTL).

After the Warhawks overcame an 8-point deficit to grab a 16-15 lead, Lowery closed the opening half by draining a mid-range jumper to re-claim the advantage with 46 seconds left, then swished a 3-point shot at the buzzer to secure a 20-16 margin.

"Our tempo started out well, but Madison brought the beat up to us," said Lowery. "It was stressful at that point, so I did whatever I could for my team."

Lowery finished with a game-high 15 points, and was aided by the Patriots forwards to prevent Madison from a repeat of its comeback effort.

RICKI GENTRY registered 12 of her season-high 18 rebounds in the second half, while MARY GRABOWSKI added 12 boards and blocked a pair of Warhawks shots.

"Ally (Lowery) is a big part of our wins," noted Grabowski. "And Ricki and I just worked hard – we did not let them take the game from us."

Quick starts in each quarter also aided the Pats, who jumped out to a 9-2 lead on Madison in the first period, then opened the next three periods with scoring runs of 4-2, 4-1 and 4-0 – each small yet decisive intervals to produce the triumph and forced Madison to play catch-up throughout the afternoon.

Johnson also slowed Madison by recording three of her four steals in the opening moments of the third period, allowing Christian to gain its biggest advantage at 31-22.

Christian: Alesia Lowrey 15 (5 stl, 4 ast), Monique Elliott 8 (4 reb, 2 stl), Ricki Gentry 6 (18 reb, 2 ast), Mia Johnson 4 (4 stl, 4 reb), Makala Bailey 2 (3 reb), Mary Grabowski (12 reb, 2 blk).

GRANITE HILLS 41, STEELE CANYON 39 – No. 9 ranked Granite Hills pulled a narrow escape in Wednesday’s (Feb. 17) makeup Grossmont Hills League game in Rancho San Diego.

JESSICA HARRIS took a pass from SKYLAR WILLIAMS to give the visiting Eagles (22-6, 7-2 GHL) a 40-39 lead with 53 seconds remaining.

Steele Canyon (11-14, 4-5 GHL) missed several chances to overtake Granite Hills in the final seconds. Three different Cougars went to the free throw line – at the 22.5, the 15 and the 12 second mark – and all failed to connect.

With 5.5 seconds remaining Steele Canyon missed another opportunity to take the lead when senior JANVIER BARBARIN took an inbound pass and drove the lane for a layup that rolled off the rim.

It was one of only three shots that Barbarin missed as she converted 9 of 12 attempts for a game high 19 points.

Granite Hills’ SABRINA JIMENEZ secured the rebound after Barbarin’s key miss and was fouled. Jimenez made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, allowing time to expire as the Cougars, with no timeouts remaining, scrambled for the rebound. They were unable to launch a desperation shot.

Williams paced the Eagles with 13 points and 6 rebounds and Jimenez added 12 points and 7 rebounds.

Barbarin added 9 rebounds and 7 blocks to her totals.

“These games get so tense and emotional,” observed Cougars assistant coach RODNEY VAN. “The girls were really tired.”

Granite Hills: Skylar Williams 13 (6 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Sabrina Jimenez 12 (7 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Hailey Garner 3, Jessica Harris 3 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Cora Leonard 3 (7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Alyssa Canoff 3, Keji Kubari 2 (2 reb, 1 blk), Kayla Kemp 2 (1 reb).

Steele Canyon: Janvier Barbarin 19 (9 reb, 7 blk), Alexis Merlino 7 (6 reb, 1 stl), Gabrielle Beasley 5 (2 ast, 1 stl), Michelle Beasley 4 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Janique Cofield 2 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Brianna Fair 2 (5 reb), Monique Van (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

and all failed to connect.

With 5.5 seconds remaining Steele Canyon missed another opportunity to take the lead when senior JANVIER BARBARIN took an inbound pass and drove the lane for a layup that rolled off the rim.

It was one of only three shots that Barbarin missed as she converted 9 of 12 attempts for a game high 19 points.

Granite Hills’ SABRINA JIMENEZ secured the rebound after Barbarin’s key miss and was fouled. Jimenez made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, allowing time to expire as the Cougars, with no timeouts remaining, scrambled for the rebound. They were unable to launch a desperation shot.

Williams paced the Eagles with 13 points and 6 rebounds and Jimenez added 12 points and 7 rebounds.

Barbarin added 9 rebounds and 7 blocks to her totals.

“These games get so tense and emotional,” observed Cougars assistant coach RODNEY VAN. “The girls were really tired.”

Granite Hills: Skylar Williams 13 (6 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Sabrina Jimenez 12 (7 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Hailey Garner 3, Jessica Harris 3 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Cora Leonard 3 (7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Alyssa Canoff 3, Keji Kubari 2 (2 reb, 1 blk), Kayla Kemp 2 (1 reb).

Steele Canyon: Janvier Barbarin 19 (9 reb, 7 blk), Alexis Merlino 7 (6 reb, 1 stl), Gabrielle Beasley 5 (2 ast, 1 stl), Michelle Beasley 4 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Janique Cofield 2 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Brianna Fair 2 (5 reb), Monique Van (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (2-17-10) — For the first time in 16 seasons, the El Cajon Valley Braves won a league game on Tuesday (Feb. 16) by a 37-29 count at the expense of the El Capitan Vaqueros.

“It felt very nice and invigorating to get a win,” said Braves senior forward KAYLANI FATEN. “We are so happy. Our defense was really good. It’s been an education so far this season. I’ve learned a lot.”

Faten finished with a team high 11 points. HAZEL DOE pitched in with 10 points.

“We led them all game,” said Braves coach CARLOS MOSS. “I told them before the game we’ve only got three games left and El Cajon Valley hasn’t won a league game in a long time. It takes a lot of character to keep working hard when we haven’t been winning.”

The Braves led 22-16 at intermission.

“At halftime they were all happy and I told them there’s a lot of game left,” Moss said “In the 4th quarter we tried to stay poised.”

“Our three seniors – HAZEL DOE, Kaylani Faten and TERIKA WILLIAMS – came out and played hard. It was nice for us and for the school to get this win.”

The victory was long reaching for El Cajon Valley (4-19, 1-GVL).

“I graduated from El Cajon Valley in 1982,” Moss said. “I was the captain of the boys basketball team under coach (now athletic director) RANDY ROBINSON, and after joining the service, returned to be Randy’s assistant coach for the girls team from 1993-94. We were pretty good, we won some league games that year.”

None of those wins was any sweeter than the latest conquest.

El Cajon Valley: Kaylani Faten 11, Hazel Doe 10, Terika Williams 9, Natasha Fernandez 5, Chelsea Ball 2.

El Capitan: Amber Rel-Solia 14 (7 reb, 3 blk, 4 stl), Erica Arie 8 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Emily Sutton 2 (4 reb, 1 stl), Megan Drennen 2 (2 reb), Vanessa Carrillo 2, Marissa Pitman 1 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Robyn Staley-Logel (1 ast, 2 stl), Ashley Andersen (3 reb), Chelsey Kyle (1 reb, 1 ast), Niki Spring (2 ast), Dorian Borras (1 reb).

WEST HILLS 54, VALHALLA 28 – The Wolf Pack clinched at least a tie for the Grossmont Hills League championship by clipping visiting Valhalla on Tuesday (Feb. 16).

After taking a 12-3 first quarter lead, West Hills (19-6, 8-1 GHL) continued on to outscore the Norsemen across the board.

Wolf Pack senior SHERIKA MILLER scored her 1,000th point on the first basket of the game. The game was stopped to recognize her accomplishment. This brings the number of girls on the team who have reached the 1,000 point milestone to three, the others being KIMBERLY CLARK and MARILYN NADERHOFF.

“We started off well with an 11-0 lead,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “The bench got a lot of minutes but did not play very well. The seniors played very well tonight and our defense was super all night.”

DANIELLE WILSON led Valhalla (5-20, 0-9 GHL) with a double-double for 13 points and 13 rebounds.

“I’d like to see West Hills go all the way,” said Valhalla coach VALLI LOPEZ. “I love to watch (Wolf Pack point guard) Marilyn Naderhoff play. She’s got something special that doesn’t come through often. I wish them the best in CIF.”

West Hills: Sherika Miller 10 (6 reb, 3 st, 2 stl), Danielle Hays 9 (7 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl), Mariah Bennett 8 (1 reb, 2 stl), Kimberly Clark 5 (4 reb, 1 stl), Jillian Brown 5 (6 reb), Marilyn Naderhoff 4 (2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Emily Cole 4 (6 reb, 1 blk), Caitlin McLucas 2, Taylor Ingraham (7 reb, 1 ast), Alexa Evans (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Daniana Ghandour (2 reb, 1 stl).

Valhalla: Danielle Wilson 13 (13 reb, 2 blk), Mackenzie Cartmill 9, Karissa Ferrell 3 (3 reb, 1 stl), Jordan DeLucci 1 (6 reb, 2 stl), Kandise Kalasho 1.

GRANITE HILLS 45, GROSSMONT 30 – The 9th-ranked Eagles of Granite Hills were anxious to get another shot at Grossmont after falling in the first round meeting 51-49.

They made that clear in the 1st quarter on Tuesday (Feb. 16) as they took an 11-1 lead in Grossmont Hills League action against the visiting Foothillers (12-13, 6-3 GHL).

Although this appeared to be an easy victory for the Eagles, Granite Hills coach JERRY PARKER didn’t see it that way.

“We were in foul trouble in the 2nd quarter,” he said. “I had to sit SKYLAR WILLIAMS, KEJI KUBARI and HAILEY GARNER for most of the 2nd and 3rd quarters.”

Fortunately for the Eagles SABRINA JIMENEZ, East County ’s leading scorer, produced 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals to fill in the void.

Sophomore JESSICA HARRIS knocked down a trio of treys on her way to a 15-point game for Granite Hills.

“We have got to do a better job of rebounding,” Parker said. “We corrected some mistakes we made the last time we played them.”

Sophomore KAYLA KEMP bounced off the bench for 5 points and that impressed Parker.

“She does a lot of good things but I’m having a hard time trying to find minutes for her,” Parker said. “She had a good opportunity in this game and made the most of it.”

Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG was frustrated because her team could never find any offensive power.

“It was 11-1 after the 1st quarter, but our defense was not to blame – it kept us in the game,” Long said. “If we come out shooting well we can compete with anybody. Unfortunately we did not tonight. Granite Hills really played well. They moved the ball well and had good shots. We looked tired at times.”

Granite Hills: Sabrina Jimenez 19 (6 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), Jessica Harris 15 (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Kayla Kemp 5, Alyssa Canoff 5, Skylar Williams 1 (4 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl).

Grossmont: Jessie Edgil 9 (2 reb, 1 ast), Danielle Dahle 8 (4 reb, 1 st, 1 blk), Danielle Balderas 5 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Teyshonnia Bealer-West 4 (5 reb, 2 stl), Chloe Cook 3 (1 ast), Carley Applegate 1 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Frankie Treadwell (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl).

STEELE CANYON 29, HELIX 25 – Some might call this a defensive battle. Those closer to Tuesday’s (Feb. 16) Grossmont Hills League matchup might say it was poor offense.

Although host Steele Canyon (11-13, 4-4 GHL) reached double digits only once in the four quarters this had to be a key victory.

Steele Canyon senior JANVIER BARBARIN scored 6 of her game-high 10 points in the 4th quarter and finished with a double-double that included 11 rebounds.

“You’re not going to win many games when you score only four points in the 1st half,” said Highlanders coach ANDY MERIDETH, whose team trailed 9-4 at intermission. “If you can play good defense as a team you’ll have a better chance to win. I’m actually pleased with our defensive effort.”

Steele Canyon: Janvier Barbarin 10 (11 reb, 3 blk), Michelle Beasley 6 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl), Monique Van 4 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Alexis Merlino 3 (4 reb, 1 stl), Gabrielle Beasley 2 (4 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Janique Cofield 2 (5 reb), Alexis Tucker 2.

Helix: Kristina Scott 9 (2 reb, 2 stl), Kim Scott 8 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Jacqueline Smith 4 (7 reb, 4 blk, 1 stl), Jasmine Hunn 2 (8 reb, 3 stl), Leaupepe-Tele 1 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Iesha Murray (1 reb, 2 blk), Dana Hosley (1 blk).

MONTE VISTA 67, SANTANA 51 – Junior DEANNA BEMBRY rolled off a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds as host Monte Vista slapped the Sultans in Tuesday’s (Feb. 16) Grossmont Valley League action.

Bembry hit 7 of 11 from the floor and hit 2 free throws while adding 5 assists and 5 steals to her totals.

“I’m happy with the way we played tonight,” said Monarchs coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “I still think we can get a home game in the playoffs.”

The Monarchs avenged a first-round loss to the Sultans.

“We corrected some of the flaws in our last game with Santana,” Skibbe said.

SHAMONIQUE BOYD added 16 points and 9 rebounds for the Monarchs, while ALEX ROSS pitched in 11 points. Ross included three 3s in her totals.

Santana senior guard ALYSSA PADBERG scored a career high 21 points to pace the Sultans (8-18, 4-3 GVL).

KIM GROSS pitched in 12 points and hauled down 8 rebounds for the Sultans.

Monte Vista: Deanna Bembry 16 (13 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 5 stl), Shamonique Boyd 16 (9 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl), Alex Ross 11 (1 reb), Kayla Pusey 6 (3 reb, 2 blk), Dionna Mercer 6 (1 reb, 2 ast), Tasha Brown 6 (9 reb, 1 ast), Shantee Woods 4 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl).

Santana: Alyssa Padberg 21 (7 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Kim Gross 12 (8 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Sammy White 9 (4 reb), Amanda Grable 5, Haley Burton 2 (6 reb, 3 stl, 2 blk), Margie Panknin 2 (2 reb, 3 stl), Brittany Falletta (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Sarah Kvederis (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Delia Files (1 reb, 2 stl).

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (2-13-10) — This was a game of frustration that included two 4-minute overtime periods in Friday (Feb. 12) night’s Grossmont Valley League action at Foster Gymnasium.

DEANNA BEMBRY, who connected on 8 of 12 shots from the field, was the anchor for Monte Vista (13-11, 3-3 GVL) in a 47-42 victory for the Monarchs.

With 16 seconds remaining in the 2nd overtime, El Capitan’s MARISSA PITMAN stole the ball and made a layup to cut the Vaqueros’ deficit to 3 points (45-42).

With 7 seconds left in the game Monte Vista’s SHANTEE WOODS added 2 free throws.

“We have been working our bench a lot lately,” said Monarchs coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “Today they finally paid off for us. At the end of the game the only starter left on the floor was ALEX ROSS.”

“TASHA BROWN was a beast tonight,” Skibbe added. “She pulled down 8 offensive rebounds of her 14 total rebounds. We played a strong defensive game as well. Our learning curve got a whole lot stronger this year.”

Monte Vista beat El Capitan twice this year – once on a basket at the buzzer and now in the double overtime.

AMBER REL-SOLIA led El Capitan with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Pitman contributed 10 rebounds for the Vaqueros.

Monte Vista: Deanna Bembry 16 (10 reb, 6 ast, 2 blk, 6 stl), Jessica Garcia 9 (8 reb, 1 blk, 5 stl), Shantee Woods 7 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Tasha Brown 6 (14 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Dionna Mercer 4 (2 reb, 2 stl), Alex Ross 3 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Kayla Pusey 2 (1 stl), Shamonique Boyd (8 reb, 1 at, 1 blk, 2 stl), DeeDee Morrison (2 reb, 3 stl).

El Capitan: Amber Rel-Solia 20 (10 reb, 3 blk, 4 stl), Erica Arie 6 (4 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Niki Spring 6 (4 reb), Marissa Pitman 5 (10 reb, 5 stl),), Chelsey Kyle 3 (8 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Dorian Borras 2 (1 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Emily Sutton (9 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Megan Drennen (5 reb, 3 blk).

Senior SABRINA JIMENEZ was the main cog in the victory for the Eagles (20-6, 5-2 GHL) with 23 points. She nailed 4 threes, ditched 7 assists and made 5 steals.

The Eagles’ JESSICA HARRIS pitched in with 14 points, including a trio of treys.

In the eyes of first-year coach VALLI LOPEZ, the Norsemen made an improvement over the 70-29 loss to Granite Hills in the 1st round game.

“We got within five points in the third quarter but we just ran out of gas,” said Lopez. “This is the best game we’ve been in in a long time. I’m proud of the way we played against Granite Hills tonight.”

TENISHA LEE had a double-double of 11 points and 25 rebounds for Valhalla, while MACKENZIE CARTMILL landed a trio of 3-pointers for 11 points.

Not to be overlooked was the 13 rebounds by Valhalla’s DANIELLE WILSON.

Granite Hills: Sabrina Jimenez 23 (7 ast, 4 reb, 5 stl), Jessica Harris 14 (3 ast, 4 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl), Skylar Williams 7 (9 reb, 6 stl, 3 ast), Keji Kubari 6 (3 reb, 3 blk, 2 stl), Cora Leonard 4 (6 reb, 1 stl), Alyssa Canoff 3 (1 reb), Samantha Silva 3 (1 stl).

Valhalla: Tenisha Lee 11 (25 reb, 2 stl), Mackenzie Cartmill 11 (2 ast, 2 stl), Kandise Kalasho 8 (1 stl), Danielle Wilson 6 (13 reb, 2 stl), Alle Mims 2 (3 reb, 3 blk, 1 stl).

Mount Miguel (24-2, 7-0 GVL) has compiled a 92-1 league record over the past decade.

The Matadors took a 20-0 lead over the Sultans in the opening period and continued to abuse the Santee bunch until the final buzzer.

“In games like this the goal is to not have anybody get injured,” said Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL.

Santana senior KIM GROSS, who scored only one point in the battering, said, “It’s hard to play in a game like this. All we can do is work on the goals we have against a top team. We were not very successful in what we wanted to do.”

The game was conducted with a running clock in the second half, which did not allow Mount Miguel to score its season average.

Mount Miguel: Yvonte Neal 14, Nicole Fountain 13, Shay Young 10, Shataera Anderson 6, Danielle Miller 6, Myishia Watkins 5, Dechae Evans 2, Charity Lyons 2.

Santana: Alyssa Padberg 4, Sarah Kvederis 2, Delia Files 2, Haley Burton 1, Kim Gross 1.

WEST HILLS 64, STEELE CANYON 39 – KIMBERLY CLARK landed 6 three-pointers for a game-high 18 points as visiting West Hills smashed Steele Canyon in a Grossmont Hills League contest on Friday (Feb. 12).

“Offensively we did a good job tonight shooting the 3-ball,” said Wolf Pack coach RYAN KINSER. “After the 1st quarter our defense dug in and did a better job. We shut down their post game. We seem to be coming around on offense.”

MARILYN NADERHOFF added 12 points and 9 assists for the Pack (18-6, 7-1 GHL), which stormed to a 38-23 halftime lead.

“It was a good defensive battle early on,” said Cougars assistant coach RODNEY VAN. “JV (Barbarin) kept us in the ballgame. West Hills hit 5 threes in the 2nd quarter that put us behind the 8-ball. We made a short run on them in the 3rd quarter. TINA MERLINO had 6 of her 12 points in that quarter. We just did not have an answer for their 3-point shooting.”

West Hills: Kimberly Clark 18 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl), Marilyn Naderhoff 12 (3 reb, 9 ast, 5 stl), Mariah Bennett 10 (3 reb, 4 ast), Sherika Miller 9 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl), Danielle Hays 3 (4 reb), Taylor Ingraham 3 (2 reb, 1 stl), Jillian Brown 3 (1 reb, 1 ast), Haley Forsberg 2 (3 reb, 2 stl), Daniana Ghandour 2 (2 reb, 1 stl), Emily Cole 2 (1 reb, 3 stl), Alexa Evans (2 reb, 1 stl).

Steele Canyon: Janvier Barbarin 14 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Alexis Merlino 12 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Gabrielle Beasley 8 (1 reb), Michelle Beasley 2 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Brianna Fair 2, Monique Van (1 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Janique Cofield (2 reb, 1 ast), Samantha Vernon (2 reb).

GROSSMONT 52, HELIX 27 – DANIELLE BALDERAS scored a season high 21 points and JESSIE EDGIL pitched in 10 points as the Foothillers flattened visiting Helix in Friday (Feb. 12) night’s Grossmont Hills League game.

“Danielle Balderas was involved in everything we did tonight, every aspect of the game,” said Foothillers coach MEGAN LONG. “She’s been that way all season.”

“We were able to solve their game plan,” added Long.” We stopped their transition game cold. We hit our 3s – we had three 3s in the 2nd quarter – and that opened up the game.”

Balderas hit 3 of 7 shots from long distance and also had 4 steals.

Grossmont led 29-11 at halftime.

KIMBERLY SCOTT led the Highlanders (9-13, 2-6 GHL) with 11 points.

“Grossmont’s coach did an amazing job getting her team ready to play tonight,” said Helix coach ANDY MERIDETH. “We didn’t play with any intensity. I’m disappointed in that we weren’t ready to play.”

“We were completely out of synch,” added WILLIE HATHAWAY, the Highlanders’ assistant coach. “We didn’t show up tonight with any energy at all.”

Grossmont: Danielle Balderas 21 (5 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl), Jessie Edgil 10 (7 reb, 1 stl), Danielle Dahle 8 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Teyshonnia Bealer-West 4 (3 reb, 2 ast, 6 stl), Christa Sawyers 3, Frankie Treadwell 2 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Ashley Hargrove 2 (2 reb, 1 ast), Carley Applegate 2 (4 reb), Chloe Cook (2 stl), Abby Lehto (1 ast).

Helix: Kim Scott 11 (5 reb, 2 ast), Kristina Scott 3 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jasmine Hunn 3 (1 reb), Carly Aceves 3, Jacqueline Smith 2 (4 reb, 1 stl), Faith Leaupepe-Tele 2 (2 reb, 1 stl), Dana Hosley (2 reb), Lexi Audley 2 (1 reb), Iesha Murray 2 (1 reb), Jasmine Williams 1 (1 reb), Brittany Hollie (1 reb).

CORONADO 39, CHRISTIAN 18 – The Patriots posted their third-best defensive effort of the season on Friday (Feb. 12), holding the Islanders under 40 points for the second time this season. However, a lack of offensive production led to another setback in Central League action at the Blumenthal Athletics Complex.

Coronado pulled away by scoring the first nine points of the second half to expand upon a 23-8 intermission lead. Alex Evans paced the Wahines with 11 points, while Peri Curtis and Nicolet Abrantes chipped in 10 each.

Christian was led by ALYSSA LOWERY's six points, while RICKI GENTRY and MONIQUE ELLIOTT each recorded a pair of buckets.

Christian: Alyssa Lowery 6, Monique Elliott 4, Ricki Gentry 4, Mia Johnson 2, Hayley Cruz 2.

© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (2-10-10) — On the day that Helix changed head coaches, Grossmont Hills League leading West Hills posted its 10th win in 11 starts on Tuesday (Feb. 9) by knocking off the Highlanders, 49-37.

Helix coach TRINA (HANSEN) MERIDETH, who has been head coach of the Highlanders for six years, resigned for personal and health reasons.

Her husband ANDY MERIDETH, a long-time assistant in boys basketball under veteran coach JOHN SINGER, has picked up the reins for the Helix girls.

“I’ve had just 45 minutes of practice with the team – yesterday, but I coached most of these girls with the JV team a couple of years ago,” said Andy Merideth. “So I was familiar with them and they were familiar with what I liked for them to do. I’m proud of the way they responded tonight. I thought our girls played well.”

Helix (9-12, 2-5 GHL) suffered its sixth loss in seven games, but there’s no panic on the Highlanders’ sidelines. Right now their goal is to make the SDCIF Division II playoffs.

“We were happy with the way we competed tonight,” added long-time girls assistant coach WILLIE HATHAWAY. “We played them about as tough as we could. Unfortunately we didn’t get much help out of our post players tonight.”

KIMBERLY CLARK’s 18 points led West Hills (17-6, 6-1 GHL), which is in the driver’s seat to capture the Grossmont Hills League championship with three games remaining in the regular season.

“Defensively we were pretty good tonight,” said Wolf Pack coach RYAN KINSER. “We got off to a slow start on offense, but we were able to turn it around in the 2nd half. We shot much better in the last two quarters.”

KIM SCOTT led Helix with 12 points – half of them coming on 3-pointers.

Her sister KRISTINA SCOTT also hit a pair of treys and finished with 11 points.

”They surprised us with their man defense tonight,” Kinser added. We were expecting them to zone us and press us like the last time we played them. We got some good contributions from our bench tonight. Our bench was key to our overall game performance.”

West Hills: Kimberly Clark 18 (3 reb, 2 stl), Marilyn Naderhoff 9 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Danielle Hays 9 (3 reb, 1 stl), Mariah Bennett 5 (3 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Sherika Miller 5 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jillian Brown 2 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Emily Cole 1 (1 ast, 1 stl), Taylor Ingraham (2 reb).

Helix: Kim Scott 12 (1 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Kristina Scott 11 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Iesha Murray 6 (4 reb, 1 stl), Dana Hosley 3 (4 reb), Jacqueline Smith 3 (3 reb), Jasmine Williams (2 reb), Jasmine Hunn 1 (5 reb), Faith Leaupepe-Tele 1 (1 reb).

GROSSMONT 49, VALHALLA 35 – A 17-6 scoring burst in the 2nd quarter of Tuesday’s (Feb. 9) Grossmont Hills League encounter gave the host Foothillers the upper hand.

“We put our press on in the 2nd quarter and it made a difference,” said Foothillers coach MEGAN LONG.

TEYSHONNIA BEALER-WEST (11 points, 7 rebounds) led Grossmont (11-12, 5-2 GHL), which is only one game behind West Hills in the Grossmont Hills League race.

In the 2nd half the Foothillers maintained control on the strength of a 13-9 third quarter rush.

“The bench played well in the second half,” said Long. “They are adjusting well to what we want to do, especially on defense.”

TENISHA LEE led Valhalla with a game high 13 points, while MACKENZIE CARTMILL chipped in with 11 points, including a trio of treys.

Grossmont: Teyshonnia Bealer-West 11 (7 reb, 1 stl), Danielle Dahle 9 (7 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Danielle Balderas 9 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jessie Edgil 7 (6 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl), Christa Sawyers 6 (2 reb), Chloe Cook 3 (1 ast, 2 stl), Frankie Treadwell 2 (1 reb, 1 ast), Abby Lehto (2 reb).

Valhalla: Tenisha Lee 13, Mackenzie Cartmill 11, Alle Mims 4, Kandise Kalasho 3, Karissa Ferrell 2, Danielle Wilson 2.

MOUNT MIGUEL 83, EL CAPITAN 18 – Grossmont Valley League games involving Mount Miguel are usually not much fun for the opposition. The Matadors (23-2, 6-0 GVL) proved that once again on Tuesday (Feb. 9) as the bolted to a 29-5 first quarter lead over El Capitan.

“We took the press off after the 1st quarter,” said Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL.

DANIELLE MILLER scored 10 of her 14 points in the opening period, while YVONTE NEAL and MYISHIA WATKINS scored 7 points apiece in the first eight minutes.

Watkins equaled her season high with 19 points, which included hitting 3 treys. Miller registered 10 of the Matadors’ 37 steals.

All nine Matadors contributed to Mount Miguel ’s scoring totals.

“We’re just playing to get ready for the ( San Diego ) CIF playoffs,” Sandoval said. “It’s a matter of testing ourselves every time we come out on the floor – no matter who we’re playing.”

Nobody reached double digits for El Capitan (10-14, 1-4 GVL).

Mount Miguel: Myishia Watkins 19 (5 ast, 4 stl), Danielle Miller 14 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 10 stl), Yvonte Neal 14 (3 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), Shay Young 12 (2 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl), Shataera Anderson 8 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Nicole Fountain 7 (4 reb, 5 ast, 5 stl), Charity Lyons 4 (1 ast, 1 stl), Dechae Evans 2 (2 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk, 7 stl), Chantel Yell 2 (2 reb, 2 stl).

El Capitan: Chelsey Kyle 4 (2 reb), Niki Spring 3 (2 reb, 1 blk), Megan Drennen 3 (1 reb, 1 ast), Emily Sutton 2 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Erica Arie 2 (1 reb), Vanessa Sierra 2, Amber Rel-Solia 1 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl), Ashley Anderson 1 (1 stl), Marissa Pitman (2 reb, 2 ast), Robyn Staley-Logel (1 stl), Vanessa Carrillo (1 reb).

KEARNY 54, CHRISTIAN 26 – For the first half of Tuesday’s (Feb. 9) Central League contest between the visiting Patriots and Kearny, it was a relatively close game as the Komets led 26-16 at intermission.

“This was the best defense we have played in awhile,” said Patriots coach THOMAS LOWERY. “We are really growing as a team.”

The Komets turned the game into a blowout in the 3rd quarter with an 18-2 scoring run.

“They came out in the 2nd half and made some adjustments,” said coach Lowery. “Their bigs went to work on us.

Christian: Monique Elliott 10, Alesia Lowery 8, Ricki Gentry 4, Makala Bailey 2, Mary Grabowski 2.

GRANITE HILLS at STEELE CANYON – This game last only four minutes as the visiting Granite Hills took a 6-0 lead before one of their players took a hard fall due to a puddle of water on the floor in Tuesday’s (Feb. 9) Grossmont Hills League game.

Play was stopped at that juncture as the teams waited for the rain to subside. That didn’t happen, thus the game was postponed. A make-up date was tentatively set for Wednesday (Feb. 11) in the Cougars gym at 6 p.m.

MONTE VISTA at EL CAJON VALLEY – For the second time this seaso,n host El Cajon Valley was rained out due to a leak in the roof of the Braves gymnasium.

This Grossmont Valley League game has been rescheduled for Thursday (Feb. 18) at 5 p.m.

© East County Sports.com
LA JOLLA (2-7-10) — The Mount Miguel Matadors don’t figure to receive a challenge on the court until maybe the San Diego CIF Division III finals. Until then, they’ll continue to bowl over foes by lopsided scores.

The No. 2-ranked Matadors (22-2) rolled past Scripps Ranch, 65-22, in Saturday’s (Feb. 7) Coaches vs. Cancer Showcase at The Bishop’s.

“This was a game for a good cause,” said Mount Miguel coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL. “It was an honor to be chosen to play in this game.”

Scripps Ranch eased out to a 4-0 lead before the Matadors embarked on a 20-0 scoring binge to break the game open.

DANIELLE MILLER (14 points), YVONTE NEAL (13 points) and MYISHIA WATKINS (12 points) paced a balanced attack for the Matadors.

“We generally try to share the scoring load. It’s not important who scores, but that the team scores,” Sandoval said. “We were sharp on defense the entire game. The girls did a good job taking Scripps Ranch away from what they wanted to do. The girls were excited to play in today’s game. We had more energy today than we’ve had in the past 2-3 weeks.”

Mount Miguel: Danielle Miller 14 (5 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Yvonte Neal 13 (7 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Myishia Watkins 12 (2 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl), Shay Young 7 (6 reb, 2 stl), Dechae Evans 6 (9 reb, 1 ast, 5 stl, 2 blk), Nicole Fountain 6 (6 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Shataera Anderson 5 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Chantel Yell 2 (2 reb).

EL CAPITAN 44, HOOVER 23 – Struggling El Capitan made it two wins in a row Saturday (Feb. 6) as they cut down the Cardinals in the Coaches vs. Cancer Showcase at Bishop’s.

AMBER REL-SOLIA led the Vaqueros (10-13) with 13 points, while MARISSA PITMAN broke out of a slump by nailing down four 3-pointers in just eight shots.

“It was good to see our offense show some life,” El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES said. “Marissa came out of her funk, and that’s a good sign. We’ve got to get ready for the stretch run in our (Grossmont Valley) League and then the (Division III) playoffs.”

El Capitan: Amber Rel-Solia 13 (5 reb, 2 ast, 6 stl), Marissa Pitman 12 (5 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl), Erica Arie 7 (4 reb), Niki Spring 5 (2 reb, 3 ast), Chelsey Kyle 2 (4 reb, 3 ast, 7 stl), Megan Drennen 2 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Emily Sutton 2 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Vanessa Carrillo 1, Ashley Anderson (2 reb, 1 stl), Vanessa Sierra (1 reb, 1 ast), Corrie Monteverde (1 reb, 1 stl), Robyn Staley-Logel (1 ast), Danielle Monteverde (1 reb).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-6-10/Revised 2-7-10) — Don’t look now but there is a race in the Grossmont Hills League.

Credit the Granite Hills Eagles for not allowing No. 8 ranked West Hills to wrap up the league championship Friday (Feb. 5) night.

The Eagles (19-6, 4-2 GHL) made their intentions known right off the bat, taking a 17-3 first quarter lead.

“Our girls were pretty excited after that 1st quarter,” said Eagles coach JERRY PARKER. “I had to remind them who we were playing, that the game was not over.”

Freshman SKYLAR WILLIAMS hit back-to-back 3-pointers and JESSICA HARRIS contributed 8 points, including a pair of treys, to stake Granite Hills to the early lead over the Wolf Pack (16-6, 5-1 GHL).

Granite Hills hit 10 three-pointers in the game compared to just 2 for West Hills, which played a major part in the Eagles 53-42 upset victory.

It was the first loss in nine games for West Hills, while the Eagles posted their 5th victory in six games.

“We did some good things to get shots, we just couldn’t put anything in,” said Wolf Pack coach RYAN KINSER. “We really shot poorly.”

For the record West Hills made 12 of 49 shots from the field, which computes to 24.5 percent.

Harris finished with 17 points – the majority coming of 4 three pointers – to lead the Eagles.

SABRINA JIMENEZ added 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists for Granite Hills.

“This was a big win for our girls because they’ve been playing club ball against most of the West Hills girls since they were in the 5th grade,” said Parker. “This was definitely one of our better games because it was a complete game – we played hard all the way.”

Nobody could accuse West Hills senior SHERIKA MILLER of not playing hard as she churned out a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolf Pack.

West Hills point guard MARILYN NADERHOFF did not play until there were 3 minutes left in the 2nd quarter due to disciplinary reasons.

Parker noted that the Eagles seemed to rise to the occasion when they play superior teams.

“My girls seem to lose focus when they are not playing one of the premier teams,” he said. “I think they’d rather play all Top 10 teams. Even so, I think we’ve played a pretty tough schedule and beaten some pretty tough teams.”

Granite Hills, which is tied with Grossmont for 2nd place in the GHL, trails the Wolf Pack by one game in the standings. The Eagles have four games remaining to either win or grab a share of the league title.

Granite Hills: Jessica Harris 17, Sabrina Jimenez 10 (5 reb, 4 ast), Cora Leonard 8, Samantha Silva 8, Skylar Williams 7, Hailey Garner 3, Keji Kubari (3 blk).

West Hills: Sherika Miller 11 (11 reb), Marilyn Naderhoff 9 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Emily Cole 7 (1 ast), Kimberly Clark 5 (2 reb, 1 blk), Danielle Hays 4 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl), Taylor Aguirre 3 (2 reb, 2 stl), Mariah Bennett 2 (2 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Jillian Brown 1 (1 reb, 1 blk).

HELIX 51, VALHALLA 42 – The host Highlanders snapped a 5-game losing streak as the SCOTT sisters – KIM and KRISTINA – combined for 25 points, including 5 three-pointers in Friday’s (Feb. 5) Grossmont Hills League matchup with Valhalla.

Not to be forgotten was the play of JACQUELINE SMITH, who garnered a team best 13 rebounds to go along with 11 points and 2 blocks.

Helix’s JASMINE HUNN captured 10 rebounds and knocked down 4 of 6 shots from the floor on her way to 9 points.

“We had good post play from JASMINE HUNN and JACKIE SMITH,” said Highlanders’ coach TRINA MERIDETH. “Valhalla played good defense against us. We were finally able to solve their defense in the 2nd half and move into the gap for some good shots. This is the best we have shot in a long time. Our post play has really improved in the last couple of weeks.”

The Highlanders shot 49 percent from the floor but made only 10 of 23 free throws.

“Helix was on fire tonight,” said Valhalla coach VALLI LOPEZ of the Highlanders, who led 27-19 at halftime.

TENISHA LEE led Valhalla with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.

“Tenisha couldn’t get any calls tonight,” said Lopez. “I think our defense has come around lately. We are starting to come of age. We haven’t learned how to finish yet, but I see us getting better.”

Helix: Kim Scott 15 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Jacqueline Smith 11 (13 reb, 2 blk), Kristina Scott 10 (1 ast), Jasmine Hunn 9 (10 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Faith Leaupepe-Tele 2 (3 reb, 1 ast), Dana Hosley 2 (3 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Jasmine Williams 2 (1 reb, 1 stl), Brittany Hollie (3 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Iesha Murray (1 stl).

Valhalla: Tenisha Lee 17 (5 reb, 3 stl), Danielle Wilson 12 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Mackenzie Cartmill 9 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Kandise Kalasho 2 (1 ast, 2 stl), Alle Mims 2 (2 blk).

STEELE CANYON 36, GROSSMONT 23 – In the same week the Grossmont Foothillers experienced a season high and a season low. In fact it was back to back.

After knocking off 2nd place Granite Hills on Wednesday (Feb. 3), the Foothillers fell on their collective faces at Steele Canyon in Friday’s (Feb. 5) Grossmont Hills League encounter.

That is, the Hillers made only 9 baskets in 53 shots – 17 percent – as they scored 5 points or fewer in the first three quarters. Grossmont (10-12, 4-2 GHL), which missed a chance to move into a tie for first place, was 1 of 14 from three-point range.

On top of that, Grossmont registered no assists in this game.

“We came out flat and did not change the whole game,” Hillers coach MEGAN LONG said ruefully. “Our defense worked hard but our offense could not keep up the pace.

“Sophomore ASHLEY HARGROVE was a highlight tonight,” Long added. “She came off the bench and played her best game of the year overall.”

Steele Canyon (10-12, 3-3 GHL) stormed to a 14-5 first quarter lead and extended that advantage to 29-11 after three quarters.

“We came out on fire in the 1st quarter,” said Cougars assistant coach RODNEY VAN. “ALI (MERLINO) and SAMANTHA (VERNON) stepped up and played well in the post. We were aggressive on defense tonight. We took away what Grossmont wanted to do.”

“Things are starting to get exciting in Cougarland. The girls are learning how good it feels to win. The fans were going wild tonight.”

Steele Canyon: Alexis Merlino 6 (3 reb), Gabrielle Beasley 5 (5 reb, 2 blk), Michelle Beasley 5 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Emily Van 5 (1 ast, 1 stl), Janvier Barbarin 2 (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl), Janique Cofield 1 (2 reb, 1 stl), Chyna Stevens (2 reb).

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

SANTANA 43, EL CAJON VALLEY 21 – The Sultans bolted to a 17-2 first quarter lead and never looked back as they dispatched visiting El Cajon Valley Friday (Feb. 5) in a Grossmont Valley League game.

The star of the show on Senior Night at Santana was senior DELIA FILES, who set a Santana record with 27 rebounds. She broke the mark of 22 set by JORDAN FRANEY, who is now at UC Santa Barbara.

“I was really happy for her,” said Santana coach MARK TIPTON. “Somebody told me she had 18 at halftime and the record was 22, so I wasn’t going to deny her a chance to break the record. I think maybe leaving a girl in there to break a record like that when the game is out of hand is hardly running up the score. We’re talking about rebounds, not baskets.”

Files also shared game high scoring honors of 14 points with HALEY BURTON.

Neither team shot particularly well – El Cajon Valley was 9 of 66 for 13.6 percent, while Santana was 17 of 46 for 37 percent.

Santana: Delia Files 14 (27 reb, 1 ast, 6 stl, 1 blk), Haley Burton 14 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Kim Gross 5 (8 reb), Alyssa Padberg 4 (3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Sammy White 2 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Margie Panknin 2 (2 reb, 2 ast), Brittany Falletta 2 (1 ast, 1 stl), Sarah Kvederis (3 ast), Kelsey Conley (3 reb).

El Cajon Valley: Natasha Fernandez 11 (6 reb, 2 stl), Terika Williams 6 (2 reb, 2 ast), Hazel Doe 2 (6 reb, 3 ast, 6 stl), Chelsea Ball 2 (3 reb), Kaylani Faten (6 reb, 1 ast, 5 stl, 1 blk), Miranda Mullens (3 reb, 1 stl), Sharde Williams (1 reb), Danielle Santana (1 reb).

POINT LOMA 41, CHRISTIAN 38 – The improvement demonstrated by the Patriots continues to show everywhere except in the victory column after the visiting Pointers escaped Ryan Athletic Center with Friday’s (Feb. 5) narrow Central League victory.

Trailing by double-figures, Christian finally shut down Point Loma guard Ashley Johnson, who scored all of her game-high 18 points on 3-point shots, yet only one after the intermission.

“We picked it up on defense in the second half,” said Patriots coach THOMAS LOWERY. “We were not closing her out properly, so we went to a box-and-one to get back into the game.”

Meanwhile, the offense got into gear behind a team-best 14 points by ALYSSA LOWERY, while MIKAYLA BAILEY tallied all of 7 points in the second half.

Christian gained an opportunity to tie the contest with 16 seconds, but elected to try to fool Point Loma.

“We were down by three, but we went for a two, then go for the steal or foul since they weren’t making their free throws,” added the coach. “But we missed a layup and Point Loma got the rebound.”

Christian: Alyssa Lowery 14, Monique Elliott 8, Amelia “Mia” Johnson 7, Mikayla Bailey 7, Mary Grabowski 1.

MOUNT MIGUEL 80, MONTE VISTA 37 – The visiting Matadors built a 73-29 lead before the running clock took over in the 4th quarter in Friday’s (Feb. 5) Grossmont Valley League game at Monte Vista.

SHAY YOUNG was 8 for 8 from the free throw line as she finished with a game high 20 points for the Matadors (21-2, 5-0 GVL).

MYISHA WATKINS added 18 points and YVONTE NEAL tacked on 15 for Mount Miguel.

“I thought our defense was really good in the 2nd half, especially in the 3rd quarter. We let them get too many easy buckets in the 2nd quarter,” said coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL, who’s Matadors held the Monarchs to 5 points in the 3rd quarter and 13 in the 2nd half.

DEANNA BEMBRY led Monte Vista with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists.

“We did a lot of real good things tonight,” said Monarchs coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “We had a few glitches that led to a few runs by Mount Miguel. Actually I’m pleased with the way we played tonight. We didn’t back down from them at all.”

“We are going to see them one more time this year – in the (Division III) playoffs,” Skibbe declared.

Mount Miguel: Shay Young 20, Myishia Watkins 18, Yvonte Neal 15, Nicole Fountain 9, Danielle Miller 8, Shataera Anderson 4, Dechae Evans 2,Charity Lyons 1.

Monte Vista: Deanna Bembry 10 (10 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl), Tasha Brown 9 (2 reb), Shamonique Boyd 7 (5 reb), Alex Ross 5, Kayla Pusey 3, Dionna Mercer 3.

Valhalla's Danielle Wilson (24) drives to the basket against West Hills in a Grossmont crossover contest. (Photo by Ruth Mims) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-4-10) — There have been plenty of close calls in the Grossmont Conference this season but the Grossmont Foothillers finally pulled off a significant upset in the Grossmont Hills League on Wednesday (Feb. 3) as they knocked off Top 10 foe Granite Hills 51-49.

The key basket for Grossmont (10-11, 4-1 GHL) was registered by TEYSHONNIA BEALER-WEST with 1:30 remaining, extending the Hillers lead to 51-45.

The Foothillers were trying to run out the clock when they foolishly fouled East County scoring leader SABRINA JIMENEZ, who made two free throws to cut the deficit to 4.

“Granite Hills put a full court press on us and we got called for traveling with 45 seconds left,” said Grossmont coach MEGAN LONG.

“With 13 seconds left we had the ball and Granite Hills trapped us,” Long noted. “We fouled Jimenez again. She made both free throws (making it 51-49).

The outcome came down to the final 10 seconds as Granite Hills fouled DANIELLE DAHLE, who missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Granite Hills got the rebound and called timeout with 4 seconds remaining.

The Eagles brought the ball in at half court but were unable to get off the final shot as they lost for the first time in five games.

“Bealer-West had an awesome game with 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals,” said Long.

Bealer-West pulled down 10 rebounds for the Foothillers.

In the 3rd quarter DANIELLE BALDERAS racked up 8 of her 17 points, including 2 threes for Grossmont.

CHLOE COOK also connected on a three in the 3rd quarter for the Foothillers.

“Lately Chloe is hitting crucial 3s at the right time,” said Long. “We held them to 8 points in the 3rd quarter. We played pretty good defense.”

“FRANKIE TREADWELL (11 points) hit some timely shots. She handled the press, had a couple of runners right through the lane that kept them at bay.”

“CARLEY APPLEGATE is such a solid all around player. Treadwell hurt her back and came out of the game for awhile, and Dahle was out with foul trouble, so I had Carley run the point. We didn’t skip a beat – we even scored 5 points off the sets that she ran.”

“They came back on us in the 4th quarter but we were able to hold them off,” Long said.

Jimenez finished with 18 points, while freshman SKYLAR WILLIAMS chipped in with 16 points.

Grossmont: Danielle Balderas 17 (1 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Frankie Treadwell 11 (6 reb, 1 ast), Jessie Edgil 5 (6 reb, 1 blk), Teyshonnia Bealer-West 8 (10 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Carley Applegate 4 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Chloe Cook 3 (1 ast, 1 stl), Danielle Dahle 3 (2 reb, 1 ast), Christa Sawyers (1 stl).

Granite Hills: Sabrina Jimenez 18 (4 ast, 6 reb), Skylar Williams 16 (5 reb, 1 ast), Hailey Garner 5 (6 reb), Jessica Harris 5 (3 reb, 2 ast), Samantha Silva 3 (2 reb), Keji Kubari 2 (4 reb, 3 blk).

STEELE CANYON 33, HELIX 28 – Steele Canyon coach PENNY SMITH had to figure that his Cougars were staring at defeat when they scored only one point in the 1st quarter of Wednesday’s (Feb. 3) Grossmont Hills League encounter at Helix.

Fortunately for Smith his team found firm footing as they went on to post Steele Canyon ’s third win in four decisions.

JANVIER BARBARIN scored a game high 17 points to lead the Cougars (9-12, 2-3 GHL).

KIM SCOTT topped Helix with 13 points.

For Helix (8-11, 1-4 GHL) it usually just boils down to free throws. The Highlanders made only 11 of 28 charity shots. The fact that Helix made only 8 of 33 shots from the field (24 percent) made for even tougher sledding for the Highlanders.

“When you shoot like we’ve been shooting the last couple of games, you can’t expect to win,” said Helix coach TRINA MERIDETH. “We are rushing our shots and that’s never good.”

“The 1st half was riddled with errors but in the 2nd half we came alive,” said Steele Canyon assistant coach RODNEY VAN. “Our defense is coming on – we’re getting better and better. We only shot 31 percent from the field but 65 percent on free throws.”

“JV (Barbarin) scored critical baskets in the 2nd quarter. The bigs – JV and ALI MERLINO – kinda took over the game at the end of the 2nd quarter and in the 3rd quarter.”

Steele Canyon: Janvier Barbarin 17 (6 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl), Alexis Merlino 7, Michelle Beasley 3 (2 reb, 1 stl 1 ast), Samantha Vernon 3 (3 reb, 2 blk), Janique Cofield 2 (4 reb, 1 stl), Monique Van 1 (3 reb, 2 stl, 1 ast), Gabrielle Beasley (1 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Chyna Stephens (1 reb).

Helix: Kim Scott 13 (3 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Kristina Scott 3 (2 reb, 2 stl), Jacqueline Smith 3 (6 reb, 1 blk), Jasmine Hunn 7 (10 reb, 1 blk), Lexi Audley 1, Iesha Murray 1 (3 reb), Dana Hosley (1 reb, 1 blk).

SANTANA 65, MONTE VISTA 55 – SAMMY WHITE scored a career high 19 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in Wednesday’s (Feb. 3) Grossmont Valley League game in Santee as the Sultans surprised Monte Vista.

The Sultans scored a season high as ALYSSA PADBERG tallied 15 points and DELIA FILES and KIM GROSS each scored 13 points.

“We completely befuddled them tonight,” said Santana coach MARK TIPTON. “We deserved to win the game.”

Files recorded a double-double in that she led the Sultans (7-16, 3-1 GVL) with 10 rebounds.

“She was strong in all aspects of the game,” said Tipton.

DEANNA BEMBRY led Monte Vista with 18 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks.

ALEX ROSS landed 6 three-pointers to cash in 18 points for the Monarchs (12-10, 2-2 GVL).

“Everybody’s going to play us zone,” said Monarchs coach MICHAEL SKIBBE. “We have to do something to make them play other defenses.”

Santana: Sammy White 19 (7 reb), Alyssa Padberg 15 (8 reb, 9 ast), Delia Files 13 (10 reb), Kim Gross 13 (8 reb), Margie Panknin 3 (3 reb), Haley Burton 2.

Monte Vista: Deanna Bembry 18 (12 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk, 5 stl), Alex Ross 18 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Dionna Mercer 11 (2 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Shamonique Boyd 5 (3 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Shantee Woods 3 (4 reb, 2 ast), Tasha Brown (5 reb), Stefanie Banks (2 reb), DeeDee Morrison (2 reb).

EL CAPITAN 26, EL CAJON VALLEY 23 – This Grossmont Valley League game on Wednesday (Feb. 3) boiled down to free throws in the 4th quarter.

AMBER REL-SOLIA nailed two free throws, CHELSEY KYLE hit a bucket and a free throw and ERICA ARIE also contributed 2 points as El Capitan (9-13, 1-3 GVL) squeezed out the victory over host El Cajon Valley.

“It was like a boring movie... you know, like the ones you just keep waiting to get better,” said El Capitan coach FRANK QUINONES. “I thought the ending was OK.”

El Capitan freshman NIKI SPRING led all scorers with 8 points.

“We’ve been in kind of a funk lately but it’s kinda scary to think that we scored more points against Mount Miguel than we did against El Cajon Valley,” said Quinones.

The Braves (3-18, 0-4 GVL) were on the verge of a mild upset when HAZEL DOE fouled out with 1:40 to play.

“If she wouldn’t have fouled out at that point I’d like to think we had a chance to win,” said Braves coach CARLOS MOSS. “We were close all the way, and I thought this might be the night. This might have been our best chance.”

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

El Cajon Valley: Natasha Fernandez 7, Hazel Doe 4, Terika Williams 4, Kaylani Faten 4, Chelsea Ball 2, Sharde William 2.

WEST HILLS 54, VALHALLA 32 – Those in the Valhalla huddle had to be excited after the close of the 1st quarter in Wednesday’s (Feb. 3) Grossmont Hills League game as the host Norsemen led Top 10 ranked for West Hills 14-12.

Turns out it was hardly worthy of a celebration as West Hills (16-5, 5-0 GHL) came to life in the 2nd half by outscoring the Norsemen 32-12.

“Let's be honest, they started their entire second string against us, which I was all for,” said Valhalla coach VALLI LOPEZ. “Let's have the underclassmen play the underclassmen, since my starting 5 only carries one senior. We played great against them. Then West Hills put all 5 regular starters in and we played well against them.”

SHERIKA MILLER led West Hills with 13 points. KIMBERLY CLARK led the Wolf Pack rebounders with 7 and MARIAH BENNETT had 4 assists.

“We mixed it up tonight. We started our sophomores and freshmen,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER. “They didn’t play very well, so we put our seniors back in. They didn’t play well either. We didn’t respond well early – we were outplayed. We finally put our offense and defense together in the 2nd half.”

“We lost steam at the end of the game,” said Lopez. “I have 7 players and we just ran out of steam.”

“This league makes me laugh because on any given night any team can beat any team. After tonight’s rounds of games, the results will speak for themselves.”

TENISHA LEE led the Norsemen with 11 points.

West Hills: Sherika Miller 13 (2 reb, 2 stl), Taylor Aguirre 8 (4 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Jillian Brown 8 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Taylor Ingrahm 8 (4 reb), Danielle Hays 6 (4 reb), Kimberly Clark 5 (7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Marilyn Naderhoff 3 (3 ast, 1 stl), Mariah Bennett 3 (3 reb, 4 ast), Emily Cole (2 reb), Alexa Evens (1 ast).

Valhalla: Tenisha Lee 11, Alle Mims 9, Kandise Kalasho 7, Danielle Wilson 3, Mackenzie Cartmill 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-2-10) — As a rule, Monday games do not showcase teams at their best.

Take Granite Hills for example. The Eagles came off the weekend and found themselves locked in a 34-all deadlock after regulation in Monday’s (Feb. 1) Grossmont Hills League against underdog Steele Canyon.

Yet believing that they are championship caliber, the Eagles found a way to pull out a 47-40 overtime victory.

They almost didn’t reach overtime. If not for SABRINA JIMENEZ’ 3-pointer with 8 seconds left in regulation, Granite Hills (18-5, 3-1 GHL) would have gone down in defeat.

SAMANTHA SILVA hit a 3-pointer to launch the Eagles’ overtime surge. Granite Hills led the entire extra period.

“The girls were really confident – we have played a lot of close games this year,” said Eagles coach JERRY PARKER.

Freshman SKYLAR WILLIAMS paced the Eagles with 15 points, one more than Jimenez, who also had 7 assists.

“We had a bad 1st half, weren’t shooting the ball well,” said Parker. “We have to do a better job of boxing out and catching the ball. We had some girls in foul trouble and they kinda beat us up on the boards.”

“MICHELLE YBARRA did a great job of boxing out,” Parker added.

For Steele Canyon GABRIELLE BEASLEY scored a team best 11 points.

Granite Hills: Skylar Williams 15 (6 reb, 3 stl), Sabrina Jimenez 14 (3 reb, 7 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Samantha Silva 10 (3 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Kayla Kemp 4 (1 reb), Jessica Harris 2 (5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Keji Kubari 2 (3 reb, 1 blk), Michelle Ybarra (3 reb, 1 blk), Cora Leonard (2 reb, 2 blk), Monique Ybarra (1 reb).

Steele Canyon: Gabrielle Beasley 11, Michelle Beasley 8 (1 reb, 4 stl, 2 ast), Alexis Merlino 8 (5 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Janvier Barbarin 7 (6 reb, 1 ast), Samantha Vernon 4 (3 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl), Janique Cofield 2 (7 reb, 4 stl, 1 ast), Monique Van (1 reb, 2 stl, 2 ast).

WEST HILLS 59, HELIX 34 – Freshman EMILY COLE proved her worth to the Wolf Pack in Monday’s (Feb. 1) Grossmont Hills League victory over visiting Helix by scoring 10 points and snaring 5 rebounds, despite not starting.

“Emily Cole did a good job off the bench,” said West Hills coach RYAN KINSER.

Senior MARILYN NADERHOFF, who hit 5 of 8 shots from the field, paced the Wolf Pack (15-5, 4-0 GHL) with 11 points.

KIMBERLY CLARK chipped in with 10 points – the majority coming on a trio of treys – and 5 rebounds.

“We played some pretty good defense at times,” said Kinser. “We did, however, give up too many 2nd chances. I’m happy with the offense side of the ball. We took some good open shots. Kimmie Clark was open early. She shot well from 3-point range.”

KIMBERLY SCOTT led Helix (8-10, 1-3 GHL) with a game high 15 points.

JASMINE HUNN grabbed a game high 11 rebounds for the Highlanders.

“We had a tough time with a good team,” said Helix coach TRINA MERIDETH. “We are still having some problems shooting (11 for 41 tonight) from the field. The girls came out and played hard. At times in the 2nd half their pressure defense hurt us.”

West Hills: Marilyn Naderhoff 11 (3 reb, 4 ast), Kimberly Clark 10 (5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Emily Cole 10 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Sherika Miller 6 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Jillian Brown 6 (1 reb), Danielle Hays 5 (5 reb, 1 ast), Mariah Bennett 3 (3 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Taylor Aguirre 2 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Taylor Ingraham 2 (5 reb, 2 ast), Daniana Ghandour 2 (1 reb), Alexa Evans 2 (2 reb).

Helix: Kim Scott 15 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Kristina Scott 6 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jasmine Hunn 4 (11 reb), Jasmine Williams 4 (1 reb), Dana Hosley 3 (3 reb, 1 blk), Faith Leaupepe-Tele 2 (1 stl), Jacqueline Smith (3 reb), Iesha Murray (1 reb).

MONTE VISTA 55, EL CAJON VALLEY 39 – The old days are over. The Monte Vista Monarchs are for real.

Maybe they’re not as good as perennial power Mount Miguel, but in East County they’re starting to climb the ladder. The Monarchs (12-9, 2-1 GVL) are probably a lock for 2nd place in the Grossmont Valley League, as they proved Monday (Feb. 1) to visiting El Cajon Valley (3-17, 0-3 GVL).

“We’re still a target,” said Monte Vista coach MICHAEL SKIBBE, whose Monarchs have won 4 of their last 5. “I never focus on any one game. We’re guaranteed five more games. Anything beyond that... we’re just going to keep working. Our season doesn’t end until it ends. We got a lot of people on the court tonight. We’ve been working on some zone stuff.”

Skibbe’s crew isn’t interested in creating superstars – it’s all about winning games.

Boyd erupted for 9 points and 8 rebounds, sharing the scoring lead with ALEX ROSS.

“Sophomore SHAMONIQUE BOYD is 6-foot-1, with a 6-4 mother, so she has some growing to do, and TASHA BROWN, 5-11, are really coming around,” said Skibbe. “To us they are big.”

TERIKA WILLIAMS and KAYLANI FATEN each had 11 points for the Braves.

“The 2nd quarter really got to us,” said Braves coach CARLOS MOSS of the Monarchs’ 18-4 scoring run. “We got into their style of game in the 2nd quarter. They really made us pick up our pace and play a much faster game, which we did not want to do. We played our style of game in the other three quarters.”

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

El Cajon Valley: Terika Williams 11, Kaylani Faten 11, Hazel Doe 9, Danielle Santana 2, Miranda Mullens 2, Natasha Fernandez 2, Chelsea Ball 2.

GROSSMONT 59, VALHALLA 24 – Even though host Valhalla got off to an impressive start, leading the Foothillers 12-10 after one quarter of Monday’s (Feb. 1) Grossmont Hills League game, Grossmont (9-11, 3-1 GHL) dominated the final 24 minutes for its fourth win in five starts.

Sophomore DANIELLE DAHLE delivered a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Foothillers.

CHRISTA SAWYERS added 10 points, including a pair of treys, for Grossmont. She was 4 for 4 from the floor.

“( Valhalla ) had a good half-court offense and they executed well in the 1st half,” said Foothillers coach MEGAN LONG. “They played sticky defense in the 1st half. We went to a press in the 3rd quarter – it bothered their young guards. Our outside shooting was crucial to our offense tonight.”

Grossmont broke the game open in the 2nd half, outscoring the Norsemen 39-7.

“We were only 3 down at the half,” said Valhalla coach VALLI LOPEZ. “The reason was we were relaxed in the 1st half, our shots were falling. Their press got to us in the 2nd half. We just tensed up. Grossmont had 6 threes – that was a big part of the game. I’m not disappointed in the way we played in the 1st half.”

TENISHA LEE tossed in 9 points and collected 10 rebounds to lead Valhalla (5-15, 0-4 GHL).

DANIELLE WILSON also tallied 9 points for the Norsemen.

Grossmont: Danielle Dahle 12 (11 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Christa Sawyers 10 (3 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Danielle Balderas 8 (7 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Frankie Treadwell 8 (2 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Jessie Edgil 6 (2 reb, 1 stl), Teyshonnia Bealer-West 6 (7 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Chloe Cook 5 (2 stl), Carley Applegate 4 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

Valhalla: Tenisha Lee 9 (10 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Danielle Wilson 9 (5 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Kandise Kalasho 4 (2 stl), Mackenzie Cartmill 2, Alle Mims (3 blk), Karissa Ferrell (1 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 68, EL CAPITAN 27 – When the Mount Miguel Matadors ventured to Lakeside to take on El Capitan Monday (Feb. 1) in a Grossmont Valley League game, one had to figure they’d be angry and ready take it out on the host Vaqueros.

Matadors coach ROBBIE SANDOVAL didn’t see it happen that way.

“We didn’t really get going until the 3rd quarter,” Sandoval said. “We were still suffering jet lag from Saturday (a 66-46 loss to La Jolla County Day).”

Mount Miguel (20-2, 4-0 GVL) led 38-14 by halftime and broke the game open with a 20-5 scoring spree in the 3rd period.

“I thought it was one of our better games against the press in my three years at El Capitan,” said Vaqueros coach FRANK QUINONES. “We did it against one of the best Mount Miguel teams I’ve seen in a long time.”

SHAY YOUNG led Mount Miguel with 16 points and 5 blocks.

“I have to give credit to SHAY YOUNG – that girl is class,” Quinones said. “She knocked over (El Capitan’s) ERICA ARIE several times and each time she helped Erica up.”

Nobody from El Capitan scored more than 5 points.

“If it weren’t for our mental mistakes tonight we would have scored a lot more,” Quinones said. “We’d break the press easily then turn the ball over. If we minimize our mistakes we score 20 more points.”

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

El Capitan: Amber Rel-Solia 5 (6 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl), Niki Spring 5 (2 reb), Chelsey Kyle 4 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Erica Arie 4 (3 reb, 2 stl), Megan Drennen 4 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Marissa Pitman 2 (4 reb, 4 ast), Robyn Staley-Logel 2 (1 stl), Emily Sutton 1 (1 reb), Ashley Andersen (1 reb, 1 stl).