Southern Section Girls’ Basketball Playoffs : Thousand Oaks Eases Past Warren

Thousand Oaks High had not played a game for more than a week and a half and starting forward Lina Mascarenas had been fighting the flu, but an hour before the game the Lancers were relaxed, playing pick-up games and joking around.

Overconfident? No, that’s just the way Coach Chuck Brown likes his team to prepare for games, even in the postseason.

“We take a nice easy warmup and then try to come out strong and emotionally fired up when the game starts,” Brown said. “I’ve preached that to them all year.”

True to form, the Lancers kept their cool and put together a well-balanced team effort. Thousand Oaks bolted to an early 20-4 lead and coasted to a 61-29 win over Warren in a 4-A Division game Saturday at Thousand Oaks.

Thousand Oaks center Barbara Tanner led a balanced attack with 18 points. Forward Cindy Wiley added 14 points and guard Amy Chandler had 12.

The Marmonte League champions dominated Warren in every way. The Lancers (24-3) forced 28 turnovers with a full-court press and outrebounded Warren, 39-28. Thousand Oaks limited the third-place representative from the San Gabriel Valley League to single-digit scoring in each quarter.

The team effort allowed Thousand Oaks to cruise despite only six points from Mascarenas, who played half the game. Kris Pederson, who played on a sore ankle, was held to seven points.

“Everybody talks about our big post scorers,” Brown said. “But people need to notice our team play. The outside girls make the plays so the inside girls can score. And when the inside girls can’t score, the outside girls pick it up for them. They all worked together as a team.”

Warren (17-7) was led by center Erica Coffey (10 points).