Prep Basketball ROUNDUP : Weich Scores 14 as Santa Clara Tops Calabasas and Wins Title

Santa Clara High’s girls basketball team concluded an undefeated Frontier League season with a 51-41 win Thursday at Calabasas High.

Led by freshman Kim Weich’s 14 points and Tanja Brungard’s 13 points, Santa Clara took a 12-11 first-quarter lead before pulling away in the second quarter.

Calabasas was led by Sandi Thomsen, who scored 10 points, and Dana Astrachan and Janet Seligman, who each scored nine points.

The Saints finish the regular season as The Times’ No. 1-ranked 1-A school with an 8-0 record in league and an 18-2 overall mark. Calabasas, the No. 12 team, finished second with 6-2 mark in league and 12-8 overall.

W. Simi Chr. 25, Liberty Cyn. 23

Susie Updike scored the winning basket with 15 seconds left to give West Simi Christian the victory and eliminate Liberty Canyon from the semifinal round of the Christian Schools Athletic Conference playoffs.

With the scored tied at 23, Lynette Marble missed a shot that Updike rebounded and scored to advance West Simi into the finals next week. Marble and Updike each scored six points. Sophomore center Donnell Johnston led West Simi with nine points and nine rebounds.

Julie Jackson and Yolanda Contreras each scored six points to lead a balanced Liberty attack.

Bell-Jeff 64, Corvallis 52

Bell-Jeff High broke to a 25-4 first-quarter lead and quelled a late second-half surge by Corvallis to win the San Fernando Valley league finale for both teams.

After trailing, 34-25, at halftime, Corvallis scored 37 points in the next 16 minutes, but came up short.

Cathi Cotti scored a game-high 31 points and had 12 rebounds for Bell-Jeff. Lisa Rodriguez scored 17. Corvallis was paced by Nicole Chase’s 21 points and Kelly Caine, who had 14 points.

Bell-Jeff finished the regular season with a 9-5 league record. The Guards will play a wild-card game today against Chaminade for the last playoff spot in the league. Corvallis wound up 6-8.

St. Gen. 68, Immac. Heart 39

St. Genevieve High took a 38-22 halftime lead and pulled away for the win in the last game of the year for both teams.

The Valiants were led by senior guard Paula Lucas, who scored 22 points, and forward Ann Baida, who had 17.

The victory was the first of the year for St. Genevieve, which finished the season with a 1-12 record in the San Fernando Valley League. Immaculate Heart ended up 0-13.

Marshall 82, L.A. Lutheran 68

Sherrie Nelson had 18 points, 10 rebounds 5 steals and 4 blocked shots to lead Marshall Fundamental.

Nelson, last season’s Alpha League Most Valuable Player, got into foul trouble and had to leave the game midway through the third quarter. Shannon Masterson scored 18 for Marshall.

L.A. Lutheran guard Janet Ralph led all scorers with 26 points. She also had eight steals and six assists. Karen Hoffman scored 15 points and Kim Nikisher had a game-high 16 rebounds.

Marshall, the No. 2 team in The Times’ 1-A poll, finished the season 14-0 in the Alpha League and 19-2 overall. Lutheran was 8-1 in league and 14-5 overall.

BOYS

Chr. Church 54, Hillcrest 29

Christian Church School of Camarillo jumped out to a 16-3 first- quarter lead and went on to eliminate Hillcrest Christian School of Thousand Oaks from the semifinal round of the Christian Schools Athletic Conference playoffs.

Alex Porter and Pat Nash each scored 16 points to lead Christian Church. Porter, a junior, also had 16 rebounds. Forward Paul Smith had 12 rebounds to go along with his 9 points. Senior guard Jim Myers sparked the Christian defense with three steals and had seven assists.

Chris Bingman led Hillcrest with 12 points.

The win improves Christian’s record to 11-0 in league and 12-2 overall, while Hillcrest finishes the year with a 6-5 league record.

Simi Lutheran 60, Cal Chr. 55

Jonathan Doering scored 24 points and Dan Randles added 19 to lead Simi Lutheran in a Heritage League playoff game.

Simi Lutheran will meet Pilgrim on Saturday to determine the team that will be ranked No. 2 in the Southern Section playoffs.