Prep Basketball GIRLS : North Hollywood Remains in First Despite First Loss

With three of its players out due to ineligibility, North Hollywood High suffered its first loss of the season, 56-44, to Palisades Tuesday night, but still remains in good shape for a Valley Girls 3-A League title.

Ardonia Hawthorne had led the Huskies to a perfect 8-0 league record before she and two other players were deemed ineligible because of poor grades before Tuesday’s game.

Nina Craig was also deemed ineligible for Palisades, but that didn’t stop the Dolphins from outscoring Notre Dame 38-15 in the second half to improve their league record to 4-5.

Stacie Washington led Palisades with 23 points and Meredith Bass tossed in 10 points as the Dolphins stay in the hunt for their first playoff berth.

“With only one league game left, North Hollywood pretty much has first-place rapped up,” commented Dolphins’ second-year Coach Jim Rosvall. “Polytechnic is the only team out of it (the playoffs) right now, but the rest of the league will be in a dog fight for second and third (place).

The top three teams from each of the five City 3-A leagues qualify for the playoffs, with the fourth-place team having the best overall record gaining the 16th playoff spot.

Rosvall, though, knows what his Dolphins are faced with.

“If we lose Friday, and Canoga Park wins, then we’ll be out,” said Rosvall, who’s team is now tied with Sylmar and the Hunters for possible playoff berths.

North Hollywood plays Canoga Park, which is on a three-game losing streak, Friday in its final league game, while Palisades takes on Sylmar for second-place.

Bell-Jeff 45, Notre Dame 33

Bell-Jeff High’s Lisa Rodriguez and Jenifer Gomez scored 16 and 11 points respectively as the Guards ended Notre Dame’s three-game winning streak in the San Fernando Valley League.

After a close first quarter and Bell-Jeff up, 5-4, the Guards took advantage of numerous Notre Dame turnovers to go up 22-11 at halftime.

The Lady Knights, though, pulled to within four points late in the game before Bell-Jeff outscored Notre Dame 9-2. Rodriguez scored six-straight points to lead the fourth quarter rally for the Guards.

Kristen Borella led the Lady Knights with 12 points.

Buckley 74, Campbell Hall 60

Ariana Lallone scored 16 points and grabbed a school-record 34 rebounds to lead Buckley High to the Delphic league win.

Buckley, 5-2 in league, was down 36-30 at halftime but scored 28 points in the third quarter, 14 by Joelle Wilkes, to pull away. Dana Gelb, despite fouling out in the third quarter, scored 25 for Campbell Hall. Tracey Murray added 23.

Campbell Hall is now 0-7 in league play.

Louisville 96, Imm. Heart 12

Louisville High jumped out to a 28-4 first quarter lead against Immaculate Heart High and sprinted to an easy victory.

The Royals, 9-1 in the San Fernando Valley league, were led by junior guard Marianella Cruz’ 20 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists. Sophomore center Andrea Knapp had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Karen Secky added 16 points. Immaculate Heart’s record falls to 1-10.

Saugus 55, Canyon 14

Holly Ingersoll scored 14 points and had game-highs of 11 rebounds and 10 assists as Saugus High had little trouble with Canyon High.

The Centurions, 4-3 in the Golden league, had three other players in double figures. Senior guard Patti Miller had 14 points, and Julie Garelick and Shari Farkas each scored 11. Farkas also had 10 rebounds. Canyon, 0-4 in league, was paced by Linda Powell’s seven points.

Calabasas 56, Santa Paula 32

Calabasas High held Santa Paula High scoreless in the third quarter after going out to a 31-21 halftime lead and cruised to an easy Frontier league win.

The Coyotes, 4-1 in league, were led by Janet Seligman’s 15 points and 11 rebounds and Sandi Thomsen’s 10 points and 12 rebounds. Shary Gartland added 12 points. Santa Paula, 2-3, was led by Lauren Schmidt, who scored nine points.

Oakwood 31, Bel Air Prep 13

Oakwood center Jamie Green had a game-high 28 rebounds to go along with 14 points to lead the Gorillas to the Liberty league win.

Bel Air was down 12-5 at halftime but didn’t score in the third quarter and never caught up. The Bruins’ record drops to 1-6 while Oakwood improves to 6-1 in league play.

Corvallis 47, Chaminade 46

Corvallis High led during the first 26 minutes of the game before being caught with six minutes to go at 38-38.

But Corvallis guard Karen Pinto made two key free throws with a minute left to give Corvallis the victory.

Pinto finished the game with 14 points and 7 assists. Forward Lysandra Pascher had 14 points, while center Nicole Chase had 15 points. Both teams are now 6-5 in the San Fernando Valley league.

Temple Chr. 51, Cal. Christian 13

California Christian was scoreless in the first quarter and scored only one point in the third period as Temple Christian put the Heritage League game away early.

Temple, 7-3 in league, was led by center Trish Eager’s 14 points and freshman guard Kassie Hammond, who scored 12. Center Sherri Benedict had 10 points for California Christian, which is now 3-6 in league.

W. V. Chr. 54, John Jenkins 2

Becky Hammond scored a layup off an offensive rebound with a little over two minutes left in the game to finally get John Jenkins Academy on the scoreboard.

Freshman Forward Stefani Hancock led the Jeekers with 10 points and 21 rebounds. The other starting freshman forward, Randi Arnold, scored 19 points and had 11 rebounds. West Valley is now 5-0 in the Christian Schools Athletic Conference, while John Jenkins falls to 0-3.