GIRLS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Esperanza Shuts Down Cypress

Esperanza held the county’s leading scorer to 14 points under her average and shocked third-ranked Cypress, 62-51, in an Empire League game Thursday at Esperanza.

Jessica Eggleston, averaging 30.4 points, was held to 16 by the Aztecs. Cypress is ranked third in Orange County and the Southern Section Division II poll.

Esperanza (13-9, 4-4) trailed, 32-26, at halftime before taking a one-point lead entering the final quarter. The Aztecs outscored the Centurions, 23-13, in the fourth quarter.

Kristy Kierulff scored 15 points for Esperanza and Jodie Howard added 13. Julie Adams had a game-high 22 for Cypress (21-3, 7-1).

In other Empire League games:

Katella 53, Los Alamitos 40--Chris Carrillo made seven of eight free throws and Deborah Vargas made six of six free throws as host Katella made 24 of 28. Carrillo had 18 points. Vargas had 10 points and six steals.

El Dorado 72, Loara 30--All 14 players scored for El Dorado (16-6, 6-2) led by Shanna Renken’s 15 points. El Dorado is tied with Katella for second.

In the Academy League:

Connelly 42, South Gate South East Lutheran 6--Kirsten Cappel scored 20 points and 15 rebounds for Connelly (3-13, 2-4).

In the Freeway League:

Fullerton 58, Sonora 41--Nadia Hoerner had 29 points, including 11 in the first quarter, for host Fullerton (13-8, 6-2).

Troy 58, Buena Park 28--Troy (16-5, 8-0) clinched at least a tie for the league title with its home victory. Dinah Shah led the Warriors with 12 points and Becky How had 11.

In the Orange League:

Brea-Olinda 120, Western 17--The Ladycats reached a season-high point total. Dawn Metz led Brea-Olinda with 18 points. Nicole Erickson added 16 and Susan Rhodabarger 15. The top-ranked Ladycats (22-0, 8-0) have outscored their last two opponents, 232-40. Western is 9-14, 3-5.

Magnolia 48, Valencia 37--Magnolia (15-7, 6-2) took sole possession of second place with an 11-point victory at Valencia (11-7, 5-3). Barbara Matthews had a game-high 14 points for the Sentinels.

Anaheim 50, Savanna 32--Anaheim got its first league victory in seven years. Maricela Roque scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds for Anaheim (6-11, 1-7). Savanna is 4-15, 1-7.

In the Pacific Coast League:

Costa Mesa 42, Laguna Hills 39--Heather Robinson scored 20 as visiting Costa Mesa (14-7, 8-0) clinched at least a tie for the league title with Trabuco Hills’ loss.

Estancia 58, Trabuco Hills 44--Jenny Jennings had 21 points and Laura Czingula had 12 for Estancia (17-4, 5-3), which gained a game on second-place Trabuco Hills (12-11, 6-2). Sarah Warnick had 20 points for Trabuco Hills.

Century 54, Laguna Beach 30--Laura Zepeda scored 18 points to lead Century (11-10, 2-5) at Laguna Beach.

In the Sunset League games:

Edison 64, Fountain Valley 62--Marie Philman’s eight-foot jump shot with three seconds remaining gave Edison the upset over seventh-ranked Fountain Valley. The Chargers (15-8, 6-6 in league) upset fifth-ranked Marina, 66-59.

Edison trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half, but took its first lead, 58-57, on Philman’s three-pointer with two minutes remaining. Fountain Valley’s Jen Ludwicki evened the score, 62-62, setting up Philman’s final shot.

Philman scored 18 points in the final quarter, hitting on seven of nine field-goal attempts, and finished with 36 points and 14 rebounds.

Nicole Strange led the Barons (16-7, 8-4) with 28 points.

Ocean View 68, Huntington Beach 43--Farrah Magee and Becky Fraser each scored six points in the third quarter as visiting Ocean View outscored Huntington Beach, 21-11, to take a 46-30 lead. Magee finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds and Fraser had 14 points and 19 rebounds. Ocean View (19-4, 10-2) remained tied with Marina for first place.

Marina 52, Santa Ana 29--Shandy Robbins had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Marina (17-6, 10-2). Nancy Love had 10 points for Santa Ana (10-14, 2-10).

Westminster 61, Rosary 58--Westminster (10-15, 5-7) got 15 points from Narita Nguyen. Jennifer Chey had a game-high 19 for Rosary (10-9, 4-8).