Valley High School Roundup : Simi Valley Press Earns Victory

Simi Valley High forced La Reina into 47 turnovers en route to a 77-35 victory Monday night in a quarterfinal game of the Simi Valley tournament.

Simi Valley’s full-court press defense caused La Reina to commit 10 turnovers in the first quarter and 13 in the second quarter. The Pioneers took a 37-14 halftime lead.

“We are not a strong team inside, so we have been a traditional pressing team,” Simi Valley Coach Dave Murphy said. “We are also averaging 61 points a game and that’s pretty good for a girls’ high school team.”

La Reina (3-2) took its only lead of the game, 6-5, with 2:46 left in the first quarter on a basket by Tara Deukmedjian. Simi Valley (5-2) scored 10 unanswered points to finish out the quarter and the rout was on.

Forward Shannon Solway had 16 points and 6 rebounds for Simi Valley. Andrea Pavlik and Caline Kosanke came off the bench to score 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Simi Valley faces Hart in the semifinal round Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.