EMPIRE LEAGUE GIRLS’ BASKETBALL : No. 3 Cypress Handles Second-Place Katella

Third-ranked Cypress strengthened its grip on the Empire League girls’ basketball race Thursday, beating second-place Katella, 82-60, at Cypress.

Cypress (20-2, 6-0 in league), which now has a two-game lead, had a difficult time with Katella (10-6, 4-2) the first time they met, beating the Knights, 62-56, in overtime.

The Centurions had no such trouble Thursday, taking a quick 6-0 lead on the way to a 44-25 halftime lead.

“We shot a lot better this time,” Cypress Coach John Selbe said. “They shot real well, too, but we were just able to get the second chances.”

Cypress outscored Katella, 28-14, in the second quarter, with Julie Adams’ 12 points and Jessica Eggleston’s nine leading the way.

In the second half, the Centurions dominated the boards and kept the game out of reach. Eggleston finished with 31 points and nine rebounds and Adams 27 points and 15 rebounds.

“We expect that, and need that from them,” Selbe said. “It seemed like there were times when we would just be getting the rebounds and really running the ball up the floor well, and that’s what we need to do.”

The closest Katella got in the second half came after an 8-0 run, which cut Cypress’ lead to 58-44.

Susan Flaming, who finished with 15 points and 12 assists, provided Cypress with some outside scoring.

Deborah Vargas had 15 points and eight rebounds for Katella. Khaliah Fountaine had 12 points and Cris Carrillo finished with 11.

“We feel confident know,” Selbe said. “If we lose this game we’re tied for first and things get tight. So, this was a big game for us.”

In another league game:

Esperanza 59, Loara 40--Kristy Kierulff had 17 points and Jeanine Cherney added 10 points for visiting Esperanza (12-8, 3-3).

El Dorado 50, Los Alamitos 33--Shanna Renken had 15 points for visiting El Dorado (14-6, 4-2), which is tied for second with Katella. El Dorado outscored Los Alamitos, 17-11, in the second quarter.