Arredondo’s 51-Point Effort Is Los Alamitos Scoring Record

Allison Arredondo, Los Alamitos High School’s 6-foot-2 center, scored a school-record 51 points and grabbed 25 rebounds as the Griffins defeated Kennedy, 70-58.

Two days later, Arredondo, The Times’ Athlete of the Week, outscored the entire Magnolia basketball team with 36 points and 17 rebounds in a 59-31 victory.

Her coach, Al Gragnano, is used to Arredondo’s exploits. As a freshman last year, she averaged 13 points and nine rebounds.

Of course, the coach wishes he had more players like Arredondo, who is not only extremely talented but also four inches taller than his next-tallest starter.

“We have a young, small team,” Gragnano said. “We’re starting kids at 5-6, 5-5, 5-8 and then there’s Allison.

“Obviously, she has to (carry the team),” he said. “The few times we’ve had to try to play without her (because of foul trouble), we weren’t very successful.”

Arredondo has been blessed with both speed and coordination--she was the Empire League’s frosh-soph 100-meter champion and ran on the varsity 400-meter relay team, which placed second in league.

She said she likes running track, but basketball is her sport. She practices year-round, attending camps and playing for all-star teams in the summer.

And Arredondo receives plenty of competition at home. Her brother, Jeff, a junior, is on the Los Alamitos varsity basketball team.

“We’re good competition for each other,” she said. “I’ve had more experience--I started when I was in sixth grade and he started when he was in eighth. But he’s 6-7 and so big, it’s easier for him to block shots. But I’m smaller so I can get around him. We play one-on-one. I can beat him . . . sometimes.”

Because of her height, she was a star on her junior high school volleyball team, but Arredondo said she was not keen on the sport.

“I played (volleyball) for three years,” she said. “But when I got to high school, I kind of wanted to do my own thing, so I quit volleyball and still ran track and played basketball.”

Her “own thing” also includes a 4.0 grade-point average.

“I just make the time and get my priorities straight,” she said. “I know academics come first, so if I were to be struggling in a class, I’d have to stop basketball. But that hasn’t happened yet.”

TOP PERFORMERS

Kim Campbell scored five of Canyon’s seven goals in a second-round shutout of Loara in the Cerritos girls’ soccer tournament Saturday. Campbell, a freshman, has 11 goals in three games; the school record for goals in a season is 22.

Jenny Koenig, a right forward for the Dana Hills girls’ soccer team, scored both goals in the Dolphins’ 2-1 victory over El Toro Saturday in the Irvine tournament championship game. Shawn Viloria, who scored 11 goals in four tournament games, scored for El Toro.

Melisa Sortino led Marina with 21 points and six assists in a 67-45 victory over Davis Friday in the semifinals of the Ceres basketball tournament. Saturday, Sortino scored 17 points against Ceres in the Vikings’ 58-36 championship victory.

Jinelle Williams had 24 points and 13 rebounds in Brea-Olinda’s 75-55 victory over El Toro in the Irvine tournament championship game. Williams, a junior center, was named the tournament’s most valuable player after Wednesday’s game, which gave the Wildcats their third consecutive Irvine tournament title.

Allison Arredondo

Los Alamitos High School

* Position: Center

* Height, Weight, Class: 6-2, 150, Sophomore

* Last Week: Arredondo scored 51 points in the Griffins’ 70-58 victory over Kennedy Tuesday and 36 points in a 59-31 victory over Magnolia Thursday.

* Season: Arredondo has scored 133 points in five games.