High School Basketball : Simi Valley Girls Overcome Lethargy

Before Simi Valley’s first-round game in the Thousand Oaks girls’ basketball tournament Friday night against Righetti, Coach Dave Murphy said he didn’t know how his team would perform. “We played and won a tough and draining game against Buena last night,” he said.

Simi Valley came out flat and played a mistake-filled first quarter but proceeded to cruise to a 69-40 victory as senior forward Shannon Solway scored a game-high 16 points.

“We were definitely thinking about the Buena game. We could not establish ourselves,” Murphy said.

It is no wonder Simi Valley wanted to savor the memories of the previous night’s victory--Buena is a Southern Section power and the game marked the first time the Bulldogs had lost 2 in a row.

Righetti, to the Pioneers’ relief, is not a power. Simi Valley forward Tammy Pacheco contributed 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals, and senior guard Keira Irwin added 10 points.

Junior center Ashley Whitten paced Righetti with 12 points.

Simi Valley plays Las Vegas Rancho High in a second-round game at 4:30 p.m. Monday at Thousand Oaks High.