HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP : RAMONA DOES TURNAROUND IN SECOND HALF TO BEAT SAN MARCOS

The girls’ basketball game between Ramona and San Marcos Thursday night evolved into something resembling “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”

“It was like we were two different teams out there,” Ramona’s Kris Miller said after Ramona stormed back from a 29-9 halftime deficit to defeat sixth-ranked San Marcos, the Avocado League champion, 51-44.

“All week,” Miller said, “we were saying, ‘We’re not going to let San Marcos go undefeated in league.’ ”

But visiting Ramona (18-3, 12-2) came painfully close to missing deadline on the assignment.

San Marcos came out in the first half and denied Ramona the chance to shoot, rebound, pass and score, taking a 13-6 first-quarter lead and extending it in the second.

“We were just comatose in the first half,” said Miller, who was held scoreless before halftime but came alive, along with her teammates, after a brutal halftime talk by Ramona Coach Joe Bess to finish with 14 points.

“He usually never yells at us,” Miller said. “But we’ve never been down by that much, either.”

San Marcos (18-6, 13-1) was already assured of the league championship after Tuesday’s victory over Oceanside, which at the time was tied for second place with Ramona.

San Marcos’ Suzie O’Brien, the county’s leading scorer at just under 30 points a game, was effective in the first half, scoring 15 points and pulling down eight rebounds. But as the game wore on, Ramona chipped away at the Knights’ lead and that effectiveness.

O’Brien scored just 11 points (with two field goals) in the second half. Four of her seven second-half free throws came after Ramona had taken a 47-38 lead, cutting the deficit to 47-42.

Ramona took its first lead--39-38--with 4:26 remaining on Miller’s shot off her own rebound. The Bulldogs scored then eight more points in a row to end a 15-0 run.

“It’s so hard when you kill them in the first half,” O’Brien said. “I don’t know what happened. Nothing fell, and they played a great defensive game.”

Ramona slowed San Marcos with a second-half full-court press after playing man-to-man defense in the first half.

“They handled our press,” Bess said, “but we were able to get control of the tempo.”

In other Avocado League girls’ games:

Oceanside 61, El Camino 43--Mildred Conston (15 points, seven rebounds), Tonya Lee (15 points, seven assists, five steals) and Caryn Black (14 points) helped Oceanside (18-8, 11-3) build a 30-13 halftime lead at Oceanside. Katie Shankle-Chris led El Camino (4-15, 3-10) with 14 points.

Rancho Buena Vista 59, San Pasqual 44--Jenny Fellars (18) and Tischa Surface (12) led Rancho Buena Vista (15-10, 8-6) in scoring. Nicki Gannon scored 25 for San Pasqual, including five three-pointers. Rancho Buena Vista led, 41-23, at halftime.

Palomar League

Torrey Pines 50, Poway 30--Torrey Pines finished the first round of league play 1-5, but the Falcons’ upset of No. 6 Poway gave them a 5-1 record in the second round. Center Karyn Armstrong, who missed three games in the first round, scored 12 points, had 11 rebounds and five blocks and Tiffany Booth had 12 points and seven rebounds to lead Torrey Pines (14-8, 6-6). Kristy Fortney and Dawn Gigstad scored seven points each for Poway (17-9, 9-3). Torrey Pines led by just 20-17 at the half but held Poway to four points in the third quarter.

Mt. Carmel 48, San Dieguito 43--Vicki DeJesus (18 points) and Cassondra Tyson (15 points, 14 rebounds) made two free throws each with less than 30 seconds left to give Mt. Carmel (13-12, 6-6) the victory. Mary Silverman had 15 points for San Dieguito (8-14, 3-9). Mt. Carmel led at the half, 23-16, and increased its lead to 10 by the fourth quarter. San Dieguito rallied and took a 43-42 lead with 3:30 left.

Fallbrook 50, Orange Glen 42--Fallbrook (15-9, 6-6) got 13 points from Jennifer Tippet as the Warriors finished tied for third in league. Amy Westerlund and Yvonne Schwab also had 13 for Orange Glen (6-18, 1-11).

Metro Conference

Castle Park 67, Hilltop 34--Christina Murguia scored 19 points, and Lana Iuli added 14 as Castle Park (20-5, 13-1) finished in a first-place tie with Bonita Vista. Gloria Silva led Hilltop (6-14, 4-10) with eight points.

Bonita Vista 46, Mar Vista 36--Host Mar Vista outscored Bonita Vista, 17-3, in the third quarter to take a five-point lead but was outscored, 21-6, in the fourth. Torril Purvis led Bonita Vista (20-5, 13-1) with 15, Vivian Velazques had 15 for Mar Vista (11-11, 8-6). Bonita Vista won its eighth consecutive league championship.

Sweetwater 54, Montgomery 48--Meme Jones had 16 points, Nancy Magana 13 and Katrina Baca 11 to lead Sweetwater (6-13, 5-9). Montgomery is 7-14, 4-10.

Boys’ basketball

Avocado League

Escondido 65, Carlsbad 47--Brooks Barnhard scored a game-high 24 points to lead Escondido, which outscored Carlsbad, 21-4, in the first quarter. Carlsbad connected on six three-pointers but couldn’t match Escondido’s front line strength. Chris Heintschel added 13 for Escondido (12-11, 7-7). Carlsbad is 7-16, 1-13.