5-AA GIRLS : Fountain Valley Uses Its Size to Top Keppel

Fountain Valley girls’ basketball Coach Carol Strausburg was worried that Keppel’s shorter lineup would throw the Barons off stride in their first-round game in the Southern Section 5-AA basketball playoffs Wednesday night.

Strausburg was right, in part. But in the end, her worries were unnecessary, as the Barons’ superior inside play and rebounding propelled them to a 54-32 victory at Keppel

Fountain Valley (19-7) advances to a second-round game Saturday night against Lakewood, a 68-25 winner over Eisenhower. Keppel finished 12-11.

The Barons were forced to switch from a man-to-man defense to a zone early in the game because Keppel’s quicker players kept getting inside. And when Fountain Valley went to a zone, the change allowed Keppel to shoot open perimeter shots.

But the Aztecs, which was dwarfed by an average of 4 1/2 inches per player, made just 24% of its field goal attempts, compared to the Barons’ 34% shooting.

“I never underestimate the size of any team,” said Strausburg, whose starting lineup averaged 5-foot-10. “They (the Aztecs) were getting plenty of opportunities to shoot outside, they just weren’t making them.”

Fountain Valley forward Jennifer Barbaro scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds in the first quarter. Barbaro didn’t score the rest of the game, but finished with 16 rebounds. Julie Murdent, a 6-1 freshman post player, came off the bench and led the Barons in scoring with 11.

Keppel, which never led in the game, trailed 14-9 late in the first quarter before Fountain Valley went on an 8-1 run. The closest Keppel came thereafter was 10 points early in the third quarter, 29-19.

“Size dominated this time,” Strausburg said. “But not because we got the ball into the post. (It was) just offensive rebounding and we monopolized on that.”

In another 5-AA game:

Don Lugo 68, Santa Ana Valley 59--Francesca Rumps scored 18 points and Brenda Robertson scored 17 for host Santa Ana Valley (13-9). Don Lugo outscored the Falcons, 26-18, in the fourth quarter, in part because Santa Ana Valley lost Nelda Valdez and Robinson on fouls.