Girls Hoops Fix: Previews of the week’s big games
January 7th, 2008, 6:59 pm · 1 Comment · posted by Carlos Arias
No. 3 Santa Margarita at No. 2 Mater Dei, Tuesday, 7 p.m.: Freshman phenom Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Monarchs past the Eagles, 50-43, in the finals of the Ocean View Tournament on Dec. 22. That game gave Mater Dei’s young team a lot of confidence, but the Trinity League is where it counts. With veterans Gillian Gipe, Lauren Oosdyke and Melissa Zornig, Santa Margarita is capable of turning things around and winning this rematch
Orange Lutheran at Rosary, Tuesday, 7 p.m.: The Royals’ six-victory season in 2006-07 is a distant memory. Rosary can hang with any team in the Trinity League. Orange Lutheran coach Tony Matson has put together another strong team. It will be interesting to see which three teams get the automatic playoff berths in the Trinity League, but all five teams will qualify for the playoffs. The five Trinity League teams are a combined 64-15.
No. 8 Huntington Beach at Northwood, Tuesday, 7 p.m.: The Oilers are 8-1 since Cal State Northridge-bound center Jasmine Erving returned to the lineup after being sidelined with a stress fracture on her foot. The Sea View League is expected to be a battle between Huntington Beach, Foothill and Woodbridge, but the Oilers better not sleep on Northwood. Huntington Beach swept the Timberwolves last season, but both games were decided by a combined three points.
Segerstrom at Orange, Tuesday, 7 p.m.: The Jaguars went 11-14 overall and 1-9 in league in their first varsity season last year, but they are off to a 12-4 start heading into the Golden West League opener with the Panthers, who shared the league title with Ocean View last season. Orange is led by Occidental-bound Jenny Fairman and Mahi, whom Panthers coach Joe Ballestero believes has the talent to play in college.
No. 6 Foothill at Woodbridge, Thursday, 7 p.m.: A one-point loss to Northwood in the regular-season finale prevented the Warriors from sharing the Sea View League title with Foothill and Huntington Beach. This will be the second meeting of the season between these two teams. Christina Marinacci scored 19 points to lead the Knights past the Warriors, 54-44, in the championship game of the Santa Ana Elks Classic on Dec. 15.
No. 9 JSerra at Rosary, Thursday, 7 p.m.: Penn-bound Jourdan Banks and the veterans in the Lions lineup should have the edge against the Royals.
Orange Lutheran at No. 3 Santa Margarita, Thursday, 7 p.m.: The Eagles need to keep their focus against the Lancers, who are capable of pulling off the upset.
Esperanza at Marina, Thursday, 7 p.m.: The Vikings shocked then-No. 3 Edison, 53-51, in the Sunset League opener last week. Marina is a much more potent team with a healthy Rita Sitivi in the lineup. Esperanza has a significant size advantage with Allison Burns and Lauren Spinazze up front.
No. 7 San Clemente at Mission Viejo, Thursday, 7 p.m.: The Tritons appear to be on a different level from the other teams in the South Coast League, but keep an eye on Mission Viejo’s Kaitlyn Petersen, who is one of the top guards in the county.
No. 1 Brea Olinda at Villa Park, Friday, 5:45 p.m.: The Ladycats have played a top-tier schedule and are overwhelming favorites to win the Century League title despite their youth. Justine Hartman is one of the top freshmen in the county, Kelsey Harris is one of the top sophomores and Jonae Ervin is one of the top juniors. If any team has a chance against Brea Olinda in the Century League, it would have to be Villa Park, which is led by sophomores Nicole Ballestero and Brianna Salvatore.
Windward of L.A. at No. 10 Troy, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.: The Warriors won’t get much competition in the Freeway League, so it has to stay busy in tough nonleague games against teams like Windward to be ready for the playoffs.
CARLOS ARIAS/OCVarsity.com














January 24th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Aaron
Great work. I am going to pass this along.