ALEMANY TOURNAMENT : Palmdale Girls Survive Bout of Cold Shooting

The brick gymnasium at Alemany High was the perfect venue for the cold-shooting North Hollywood and Palmdale girls’ basketball teams in a first-round game Thursday night.

Palmdale, ranked 16th in the state by California Magazine, prevailed, 54-50, after squandering most of an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Karee Bonde of Palmdale and Jacinda Sweet of North Hollywood, two of the area’s top shooters, epitomized the poor marksmanship. Bonde, who averaged 15.3 points last season, finished with nine, sinking three of 22 field-goal attempts. Sweet made 11 of 32 shots for a game-high 25 points.

Holding a 48-30 lead, Palmdale (2-0) managed only one field goal during the final four minutes.

Sweet, who missed her first 10 shots, warmed up in the fourth quarter with 15 points. Her reverse left-handed layup completed a 14-4 spurt and cut the Huskies’ deficit to 50-47.

After a technical foul, Bonde sank one of two free throws with 18 seconds left and Kim Schiekle made two more after being fouled three seconds later. North Hollywood fell to 1-2.

In another first-round game:

Thousand Oaks 68, Hart 65--Thousand Oaks scored four unanswered points in the final minute to post a dramatic win over the defending Southern Section 5-A Division champions.

Hart led, 65-64, with 1:20 left, but Thousand Oaks’ Anna Hysell stole the ball and passed to teammate Suzanne Nelinger, who made a layup with 57 seconds to play.

After Hart was called for traveling on its next possession, Michele Palmisano made two free throws with six seconds left to win it for the Lancers. Palmisano led Thousand Oaks with 27 points and Nelinger scored 17. Hart’s Anjanette Dionne, who made five three-point shots, scored 30 points.

Camarillo 59, Glendale 39--The Scorpions parlayed a 9-2 run into a blowout. Senior guard Nichole Victoria scored a game-high 28 points to pace the Scorpions (2-0) and Lisa Whitley added 10. Kristin Benson had seven points and 11 rebounds.

Alemany 49, Canyon 41--Sophomore Sarah Guziel scored a game-high 16 points to lead Alemany (1-2).