Not Even Injury Loosened Rose’s Grip on Victory

The hero took a fall Friday night at Calabasas High, but things turned out fine anyway.

Calabasas forward Nicole Rose was released from Humana Hospital-West Hills early Saturday morning after sustaining a concussion in the Coyotes’ 48-47 victory over Fillmore. She emerged from the hospital with a headache and a smile.

Fillmore missed a free throw with seven seconds remaining, and as Rose pulled in the rebound, she was cornered by several Fillmore players. Four seconds ticked away before Rose was knocked down, landing hard on her head. Groggy but conscious, Rose was removed from the game.

Fillmore was awarded possession with three seconds remaining, but Calabasas intercepted the inbounds pass to seal its first Frontier League victory in four seasons.

Seconds after the game ended, Rose (11 points, 14 rebounds) blacked out on the bench and was taken by paramedics to the hospital, where she was diagnosed as having a concussion.

“She didn’t even remember how the game ended until about 1 in the morning,” Coach Casey Allen said. “She definitely saved the game for us. . . . If they’d gotten that rebound, we’d have been in trouble.”

BURL’S WORLD

Brian Burleson became an instant celebrity among classmates when he made a three-point basket at the buzzer that lifted Highland to a 63-62 victory over rival Littlerock two weeks ago.

Burleson’s classmates probably don’t remember the other two three-point baskets made by Burleson earlier this season, but they won’t soon forget his last.

“Since then the whole school has been out there shooting three-pointers,” Coach Tony Scurto said. “Kids were all emulating his shot in P.E. classes, and so were the players in practice.”

Even the school’s top gun revered the game-winning shot. “The school principal mentioned Brian’s shot when he went around to all the classes to talk about school pride,” Scurto said.

OPPORTUNITY CLANKED

Saugus’ Chris Hernandez missed a breakaway two-handed dunk last week against Quartz Hill. But more importantly, he missed a chance to reverse the momentum of the Golden League game.

With the Centurions trailing by eight points in the fourth quarter, Hernandez made a steal and embarked on a breakaway. His attempt to ignite a rally with a thunderous dunk, however, failed when he slammed the ball against the back of the rim, sending it ricocheting skyward.

Worse, Hernandez was whistled for a technical foul for hanging on the rim.

Hernandez was immediately benched by Coach John Clark. But the mistake was soon forgotten.

“I pulled him out just to let him know that I noticed it,” Clark said. “He’s dunked before and it’s given us a lift. That’s all he was trying to do. It wasn’t like he was loafing or making mistakes, he was just trying to play at a high level. I can live with that.”

Quartz Hill won, 69-56.

YOUNG GUNS

If anyone knows how much scoring help Thousand Oaks needed, it is senior guard Andrew Borg.

Borg, an All-Marmonte League selection last season, was the Lancers’ lone consistent scoring threat during their 5-5 start this season. But Thousand Oaks’ younger players have adjusted to the varsity level, and the Lancers have opened Marmonte League play with five consecutive wins.

Junior Paul Foster and sophomore Jason Hartman were 15 for 20 from the field and scored 38 points during Thousand Oaks’ 88-66 win over Agoura on Friday.

“In the preseason (Hartman and Foster) were young, but we knew they were players,” Borg said. “The experience from preseason is paying off. They’re realizing what they can do against players who are older.”

BUILT FOR SPEED

When Buena Coach Glen Hannah implemented his run-and-gun offense in 1987, he feared the wild style would lead to as many as turnovers as shots.

But in winning its first five Channel League games, Buena (11-4) has proven it can handle the up-tempo style. In three league games, the Bulldogs have had less than 10 turnovers; they have averaged 12.4 a game this season.

“It would seem that the faster you go, the more you’ll turn the ball over,” Hannah said. “But we’ve turned the ball over less than we ever have. I think it’s because we’re looking for quicker shots. Our field-goal percentage went down, but our turnovers went down too.”

GONE SOUTH

A once-promising season seems to be slipping away for Glendale. After a 10-5 start, the Dynamiters have lost four of their past five games. They dropped their first three Pacific League games before beating Arcadia, 74-58, Tuesday.

They also lost two players for the season last week--most notably talented sophomore Edgar Perkins--leaving the roster at eight.

Perkins, a 6-foot-5 forward with college potential, abruptly moved to Tennessee because of family troubles.

“That really hurts us because we were planning on building our whole team around him in a couple of years,” Coach Bob Davidson said.

The loss of 6-5 junior Ryan Blatchley because of a season-ending stress fracture of the shin didn’t help either.

Said Davidson: “We’ll just have to work our way out of this--fast.”

MINUTE MAN

Phil Hernandez needs a breather. But he won’t get one playing for Burroughs.

One of only eight players on the Indians’ roster, Hernandez has played every minute of 10 consecutive games, a streak of at least 320 consecutive minutes, entering Tuesday night’s Foothill League game against Burbank.

Hernandez hasn’t wasted any time. He is averaging a team-high 16.1 points.

“He’s probably tired, but he never gripes about it,” Coach Art Sullivan said. “I just can’t afford to take him out.”

THE SHOWDOWN

With the loss of Marion Jones because of a broken wrist, the Thousand Oaks girls’ basketball team looks a little more vulnerable heading into a league showdown against host Westlake on Thursday at 7 p.m. Thousand Oaks (15-1, 5-0) and Westlake (13-5, 5-0) shared the league title last season.

“Our chances to win are definitely better with Marion out,” Westlake Coach Nancy Bowman said. “But I still have tremendous respect for the other players they have.”

Bowman said the game will probably come down to defense and which team does the better job against the other’s standout player, Michelle Palmisano of Thousand Oaks and Westlake’s Lauren Goldstine.

Vince Kowalick and staff writers Steve Elling, Paige A. Leech, T.C. Porter and Jeff Riley contributed to this notebook.