Santana Girls Advance in 3-A

Santana High School girls basketball Coach Wade Vickery said his team didn’t play very well but its performance was good enough to beat Sweetwater, 56-50, in the first round of the CIF San Diego Section 3-A playoffs Wednesday night at Santana.

The win sets up a semifinal game against Fallbrook (19-4) on Saturday at Mira Mesa.

“We’re going to have to play much better against them,” Vickery said. “They’re a much better team.”

Santana (23-0) was led by Chris Sherman, who scored a game-high 25 points, and Sheri Johnson, who had 16.

Sweetwater (16-6) was led by Paula Thompson, who scored 12 points. Karen Taeatafa and her sister Carolyn, scored 10 points each.

In another girl’s 3-A playoff game:

Mt. Carmel 69, Bonita Vista 66--Michelle Wilkes scored a game-high 25 points but the Barons were eliminated in a first-round game played at Bonita Vista.

Mt. Carmel (17-7) was led by Tina Williams, who scored 17 points. Sandy Horst and Dina Gutierrez scored 11 points apiece, and Geraldin Kemp had 10. Bonita Vista (17-6) also had scoring help from Terri Turner, who scored 18 points.

In girls 2-A playoff games:

San Marcos 55, Lincoln 50--The Knights (21-6) advanced to the second round by defeating the Hornets (9-6) at Lincoln. San Marcos will face El Camino (24-1) in a semifinal game on Friday night at Mira Mesa.

Hilltop 55, Crawford 41--The Lancers (19-4) filled the remaining semifinal spot in the division by beating the Colts (16-6) in a game played at Hilltop. University (20-3) and Hilltop will play Saturday night at Serra.