Morningside Girls Beat Camarillo

The bus driver for the Camarillo High girls basketball team should have just kept the engine running Saturday night.

The Scorpions were paying a visit to an unfriendly host, top-seeded Morningside, in the first round of the CIF 4-A playoffs.

Morningside (26-1), the top-ranked team in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, outperformed Camarillo (13-9), the Marmonte League’s third-place team, in all phases of the game for a 87-45 victory.

The Lady Monarchs will play at Huntington Beach (16-8) in the second round on Wednesday. Huntington Beach advanced with a 44-34 win over Foothill on Saturday.

Camarillo was overmatched in its initial CIF playoff appearance. The Lady Monarchs, ranked 12th nationally in USA Today, held the Scorpions to five points in the first quarter while scoring 24.

Morningside’s 6-4 center, Lisa Leslie, shared game-high scoring honors with teammate Shaunda Greene, a 6-foot forward, both with 26 points.

Leslie also grabbed 13 rebounds before fouling out with 4:45 left in the game. Greene contributed 11 rebounds.

“My girls had no concept of what they were getting into,” said Camarillo Coach Jack Willard. “They just knew Morningside had two big players that were outstanding, because that’s what I told them.”