Nerves, North Hollywood Fail to Stop Van Nuys Girls

The Van Nuys High girls’ basketball team on Wednesday fired more errant missiles than are launched from Cape Canaveral, missing its first 15 shots.

Call it nervous tension. In a game matching undefeated Mid-Valley League teams, the Wolves felt uncomfortable playing for a possible championship at North Hollywood.

“I was so nervous because this game meant so much to me,” said Van Nuys center Stacie Toon, who missed her first six shots. “We’re playing for first place and I was scared.”

Toon settled down to register 26 points and 16 rebounds as the Wolves overcame a 12-point deficit to beat North Hollywood, 70-58.

The Wolves (16-3, 6-0 in league play) have not won a league championship since 1983, the year they lost to Granada Hills in the City Section 3-A Division title game. And just last season, North Hollywood (9-6, 5-1) whipped them twice by 20 points.

But Van Nuys is a different team with a more mature Toon in the lineup. The Wolves, who trailed, 16-4, in the first quarter, got their first break early in the second when North Hollywood point guard Suzi Shimoyama picked up her fourth foul.

Van Nuys outscored North Hollywood, 23-8, in the pivotal second quarter and held a 32-24 halftime lead. That margin grew to 18 points as Toon scored 13 points in the third quarter.

Jacinda Sweet had 36 points to pace North Hollywood.