HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : University City Girls Clinch City Western Title

University City beat Kearny by two points in overtime in the season opener. Kearny beat University City by two points for the championship of the Ramona Tournament. So when the time would come for these two girls’ teams to decide the City Western League title, they both had an idea what would separate them.

Two points.

The Komets, however, had no idea how much the Centurions would improve. The No. 5 Centurions, dominating the boards and showing some late-season muscle, routed Kearny, 49-35.

The No. 8 Komets led once, 4-2, on Michele Haines’ jump shot in the game’s opening moments. The closest they could get to UC after that was within three points in the fourth quarter.

Down by as many as 12 points in the third quarter, Kearny pulled to within 34-31 on a fastbreak layup by Shona Jones with 6:22 left. Jenny Gross (game-high 16 points) quickly answered with her third three-pointer and UC outscored the Komets, 15-4, the rest of the game.

The Centurions improved to 20-2 and 7-0 in the Western League, clinching the championship. Kearny is 18-5 but 4-3 in the Western League. Both have one league game left.

“They’ve gotten better,” Kearny Coach Joe Hernandez said of UC. “They’ve become a very physical, aggressive team. They were getting two and three shots at a time, and the key to the ballgame was rebounding.”

Hernandez had to be concerned coming in. After the Komets lost to the Centurions, 45-43, in overtime and beat them, 58-56, in nonleague games they got hammered, 60-49, by UC in their first league encounter.

To have a chance at even a co-championship with UC, Kearny needed a big night from top scorer Melissa Krause, who came in averaging 16.6 points a game. Krause finished with one point--a free throw.

“We’ve gotten better,” said UC Coach Steve Vukojevich. “I thought Kearny played well in the first half, but we played exceptional defense.

“My girls have been a joy to work with. This is the epitome of a team. Each year you try and coach it, ‘All for one and one for all.’ But this group has typified that.”

Shonda Edwards had 12 points and Jessica Birchler eight for the Centurions. Haines and Shelli Krause led Kearny with 10 each, while Jones added eight.