GARDEN GROVE LEAGUE GIRLS’ BASKETBALL : Rancho Alamitos’ Guarantee Looks Good

When Janet Neuman saw the quote by her coach, Pete Pyle, in the newspaper last week, she had reservations about his guarantee that Rancho Alamitos would win the Garden Grove League title.

“I was a little scared at first,” Neuman said. “I thought it would look bad if we didn’t win; it put more pressure on us, but he told us that he said it and it motivated us more.”

Rancho Alamitos, in danger of losing its first league title since 1990, grabbed a share of first place by defeating 10th-ranked La Quinta, 69-51, Tuesday at La Quinta. Rancho Alamitos (18-6, 12-1) finishes the season Thursday against fifth-place Santiago; La Quinta (18-5, 12-1), league champion from 1982-90, plays at third-place Kennedy.

Neuman, who has made 20 three-point shots this season, was five for five from behind the arc--and added three free throws after she was fouled attempting another.

Neuman’s 18 points were only part of the mix as Rancho Alamitos avenged a 64-60 loss three weeks ago. Akilah Rodgers scored 28 points and had 16 rebounds. Sally Vasquez added 12 points, including eight in the second quarter, when Rancho Alamitos overcame a 10-point deficit.

But the main difference, Pyle said, was the defensive presence of Michelle Frank, who missed the first meeting because of a sprained ankle. La Quinta’s Linda Rodriguez scored 33 points in the previous game, but had 24 Tuesday, including four three-pointers; her 10 first-quarter points helped the Aztecs take an 18-10 lead.

Rancho Alamitos’ defense also limited Rhonda Gondringer to 15 points, 10 fewer than in the previous meeting of the teams.

Rancho Alamitos, which had made 32% of its three-pointers before the game, made nine of 16, including seven in the second half, after holding a 28-27 lead. The Vaqueros opened the third quarter with an 11-1 run--two three-pointers by Neuman, a three-pointer and a follow by Rodgers. The best La Quinta could do was pull to 49-45 with 6 minutes 16 seconds left, but three of the Vaqueros’ next five baskets were three-pointers.

“That La Quinta loss was the best thing that happened to us,” Pyle said. “Except for the game against Pacifica, when we were a little flat, we haven’t had a better five games.”

In other Garden Grove League games:

Garden Grove 57, Los Amigos 25--Michol Murray scored 27 points, Gina Huizar added nine and Amanda Hall eight to lead visiting Garden Grove (10-12, 8-5). Carmela Zavala scored eight points for Los Amigos (1-21, 1-12).

Kennedy 53, Bolsa Grande 20--Heather Cunningham had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Erryn Gutjahr added 12 points and 10 rebounds for host Kennedy (16-9, 9-4).

Pacifica 33, Santiago 32--Holly Pawlowski’s two free throws with 10 seconds left gave visiting Pacifica (8-14, 4-9) its first lead. Pawlowski led the Mariners with 11 points. Jennifer Morris had 14 points for Santiago (7-16, 4-9).