WINTER SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS : Grant Girls, Down to Three Players, Lose to Birmingham, 76-48

Reduced to just three players, the Grant High girls basketball team was defeated by Birmingham, 76-48, Friday night in a West Valley League game at Birmingham High. Grant’s seven-player roster dwindled in the fourth quarter when Marissa Benetua, Kecia Edwards and Christa Smith fouled out and Alicia Horace was ejected for pushing.

Birmingham’s Tenita Bennett also was ejected and four of her teammates each played with four fouls.

Birmingham (9-4, 2-1) led by two at halftime, 27-25, and went ahead by 15 midway through the third quarter when the Braves outscored Grant, 25-15.

Grant played the final four minutes of the game with sophomores Erika Sato, Cathy Franks and Melissa Sullivan. It was Sullivan’s first varsity game.

Grant Coach Susan Sweet said Birmingham stationed a player near its own basket in the fourth quarter, ensuring easy scoring opportunities.

“They left their starters in when we only had three players and they were cherry-picking,” Sweet said. “And they were ahead by 25 points. The game seemed like it lasted forever.”

Birmingham Coach William Coates said his team scored on at least six fast-break baskets in the final quarter. Four Birmingham players scored in double figures: Shagarro Lattin, 22; Amy Rubenroit, 18; Gloria Cannon, 12; and Alex Marrodan 10. Grant (1-5, 0-3) was led by Smith and Benetua, who each scored 16 points. GIRLS BASKETBALL

North Hollywood 47, Taft 44--With the score tied at 36 and three minutes remaining in the game, North Hollywood scored three unanswered baskets to take the lead for good in the West Valley League game. Debbie Herz and Sandrine Rocher each scored 18 points for North Hollywood (8-2, 3-0).

Cleveland 40, El Camino Real 36--Denice Lyke scored 10 points and Nicole Hanchett had 12 rebounds for Cleveland (3-4, 2-1). Kerri Marshall led El Camino Real with 15 points and 15 rebounds.

San Fernando 39, Poly 8--Tonetta Cooper and Blanca Del Toro each scored eight points for San Fernando (3-4, 3-0) in the Pac 6 League game at San Fernando.

Monroe 57, Verdugo Hills 20--Annette Robinson scored a game-high 27 points for Monroe in the Pac 6 League game at Monroe (3-3, 3-0). Teammate Sonya Boozer added 10 points. Verdugo Hills is 0-3 and 0-7.

Providence 50, Buckley 44--Senior center Ann Yusko scored a game-high 24 points as Providence rallied from a 31-21 halftime deficit to beat Buckley in the Delphic League game. Mary Alafetich scored 8 of her 12 points in the second half. Junior forward Laura Kirkpatrick had 23 points for Buckley (3-8, 2-3).

Reseda 47, Canoga Park 40--Dana Jones and Angie Smith each scored 12 points to lead Reseda to the West Valley League victory. Cheryl Hightower added 10 points for Reseda (6-1, 2-1). Smith had 14 rebounds and Aggie Garcia had 12 rebounds for Reseda. Canoga Park (0-3) was led by Julie Burmester, Caryl Lee and Roz Linton, who each scored 11 points.

First Lutheran 64, Holy Martyrs 57--Jenny Nelson scored 29 points to keep First Lutheran (9-0) undefeated. Holy Martyrs (8-2, 2-1 in Liberty League) was led by Ayline Amirayan, who scored 32 points.

Newbury Park 57, Westlake 32--Julia Johnson had 16 points and 15 rebounds and Amy Tellesen had 10 points for Newbury Park (10-6, 5-1) in the Marmonte League game. Erica Brycie had 15 points and Casey Salmina 10 for Westlake.

Burbank 58, Schurr 43--Christine Rumfola had 22 points and 19 rebounds and teammate Christy Calderon had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Burbank (9-5, 2-1). BOYS BASKETBALL

Simi Valley 76, Channel Islands 54--Simi Valley (17-1, 5-0) easily won the Marmonte League game as both Shawn DeLaittre and Don MacLean had 19 points. MacLean added 13 rebounds. Victor Caro and Gerald Boyd had 12 points each for Channel Islands (1-3 league).

Westlake 78, Newbury Park 61--Paul Kennan had 29 points and 11 rebounds for Westlake in the Marmonte League game at Newbury Park. Dave Pepsin led Newbury Park with 29 points and 15 rebounds.

Camarillo 45, Royal 41--Royal (0-13) led briefly in the fourth quarter but let Camarillo (2-12) force an overtime. Chris Sorich scored 19 points, including two of his team’s five in the overtime for Camarillo. Royal’s Roger Greene had 12 points in the Marmonte League game.

Hart 72, Alhambra 52--Hart shot 63% to win the Foothill League game. Steve Valenzuala had 18 points and Eric Arnold had 15. Hart (9-7, 3-0) had five players with five rebounds each. Loren Corradi had 17 points for Alhambra (12-5, 1-2).

Fairfax 86, Reseda 54--Fairfax had an 18 point-lead after the first quarter, then coasted. Chris Mills had 26 points, J.D. Green added 23, and Sean Higgins scored 22 points for Fairfax (6-0 in Valley League). Reseda (4-8, 0-5) was led by Steven Field’s 13 points and Robert Stepner’s 13 rebounds.

Granada Hills 56, Chatsworth 45--Todd Lytle scored 16 points and Sam Puathasnanon had 13 for Granada Hills in the West Valley League game at Chatsworth. For Chatsworth (4-7, 0-3), Kendell McDaniel scored 17 points.

North Hollywood 62, Verdugo Hills 45--Dominic Nappi scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the first quarter for North Hollywood (4-5, 2-1) in the East Valley League game. Other Huskies scoring in double figures were Alan Breslauer (14), Cory Davidson (13) and Peter Nappi (10). Ralph Topps had 15 rebounds for North Hollywood.

Saugus 63, Palmdale 44--Rusty Morse scored 12 points to lead Saugus (12-6, 3-0) in the Golden League game.

San Fernando 76, Monroe 55--Charles Thomas had 17 points and 23 rebounds and Shelton Boykin had 15 points and 11 rebounds for San Fernando (8-6, 2-1) in the Northwest Valley League game. John Johnson had 14 points for Monroe.

Harvard 55, Salesian 54--George Song made his only basket of the game with three seconds remaining to give Harvard the Santa Fe League win. Mike Lowe had 26 points and 16 rebounds for Harvard (9-3, 6-0) and Steve Green and Andy Bell each added 12 points.

Chaminade 59, Cathedral 58--Kevin Black scored 30 points and had a season-high 17 rebounds to keep Chaminade (9-5, 5-0) unbeaten in the Santa Fe League. Scott Stuber scored 10 points and had 12 rebounds, and John Carolan had five assists for Chaminade. Gus Martinez scored 19 points to lead Cathedral (8-7, 3-2).

L.A. Baptist 61, Village Christian 55--Mike Null scored 20 points, and Mike Wise and Steve Kim added 11 each to lead L.A. Baptist in the Alpha League game. for Village Christian (6-5, 2-2), James Bohn had 13 points.

Notre Dame 58, St.Francis 56--Josh Oppenheimer hit a layup with three seconds to go and finished with 22 points as Notre Dame (3-2) came back from a 35-31 halftime deficit. Greg Forrest had 24 points for St.Francis in this Del Rey League game.

Poly 72, Van Nuys 47--Poly (8-5, 2-1) had 12 team steals and Carlos Ortiz had 16 points with Mike Ornelas adding 15 points in this East Valley League game. Rache Dorsey had 13 points for Van Nuys (1-2 in league).

Burroughs (Ridgecrest) 66, Canyon 61--Burroughs’ Todd Stephen had 17 points in the Golden League game. For Canyon (13-5, 2-1), Greg Paskwietz had 20 points and Stuart Sayre had 21 points and 15 rebounds.

Grant 65, Sylmar 52--Danny Enowitz had 18 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists while Jason Schirn had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Grant (7-6, 3-0) in the East Valley League game. Sylmar’s Marc Cisneros led all scorers with 22 points.

Grace Community 58, Newbridge 44--Grace Community (6-6, 3-0) was down by 10 points at the half but Scott Lechuga’s 25 points and 10 rebounds helped keep Grace Community undefeated in the Westside League. Tony Saccaro added 17 points and 6 rebounds for Grace Community.

Faith Baptist 52, Providence 38--Rich Leon had 14 points and Shaik Nabi had 13 for Faith Baptist (6-7, 3-2) in the Delphic League game at Faith Baptist. Faith Baptist, which shot 63% from the floor, never trailed in the game. Rich Campus scored 13 points and Mike Ross had 12.

Montclair Prep 69, Western Christian 64--Craig Handschu and Jeff Light scored 15 and 14 points respectively for Montclair Prep in an Alpha League game.

Camp Kilpatrick 85, Ribet Christian 55-- Vaughen Harper had 21 points and 12 assists and Albert Champagne had 16 points for Camp Kilpatrick (9-5) in a nonleague game. Lloyd Reid scored 14, Dwight Myers had 12 and Eddie Walker had 10 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocked shots for Camp Kilpatrick.

South Bay Lutheran 81, Highland Hall 67--Forward Wes Parrish had 24 points and 11 rebounds, center Kory Kipp had 22 points and 14 rebounds and guard Dax Tobin had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Highland Hall in the Westside League game at South Bay Lutheran.

Highland Hall (3-6, 2-3) trailed by three at halftime, but South Bay Lutheran used a full-court press to outscore Highland Hall 26-8 in the third quarter.

Campbell Hall 62, Buckley 58--Donnie Sakaida had 18 points and Tim Sutton had 10 points and 12 rebounds for Campbell Hall (9-6, 4-3) in the Delphic League game at Campbell Hall. For Buckley, Rob Dickenson and James Tweedie had 14 points each and Kevin Corbett had 12 points.

Oakwood 66, Cal Prep 35--Mitchell Butler scored 31 points and had 12 rebounds for Oakwood (9-5, 5-0 league) as it led for the entire Liberty League game. Dave Casey had 15 points for Cal Prep (7-6, 4-3).

Holy Martyrs 65, Windward 46--Viken Tchorbajian scored 30 points and had 7 assists for Holy Martyrs (9-4, 4-1 in Liberty League). Armen Abramian added 15 points and blocked four shots. Harmig Soukiassian had 15 rebounds. Jeff Laff led Windward with 22 points.

Carpinteria 81, Moorpark 48--Justin Lauer had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Dave Miller had 20 points and 9 rebounds and Todd Hodgins scored 19 points for Carpinteria in the Tri-Valley League game. For Moorpark (1-11, 0-5), Scott D’Angelo had 11 points and Dave Romero had 10 points. BOYS SOCCER

Canyon 3, Santa Ana 1--Senior striker Ron Fernie scored two second-half goals for Canyon (12-7, 2-0) in the Century League game at Santa Ana (10-2-1, 0-1-1). Junior striker Jesse Florez scored the first Canyon goal with 15 seconds remaining in the first half. Canyon goalkeeper Jimmy Frize had seven saves.

Harvard 4, Pater Noster 0--Sophomore Martin Holly scored three goals and senior midfielder Dave Galas had one goal for Harvard (3-4-2, 3-2) in the Santa Fe League game.