Newbury Park Shows It’s Boss in the Marmonte League, 57-36

It could be a long year for the rest of the Marmonte League.

The Newbury Park High girls’ basketball team entered the season ranked 10th in the state and won six of its first seven games going into league play.

Simi Valley was to be the Panthers’ top challenger. However, Newbury Park dispatched the Pioneers with ease in a 57-36 rout Thursday night.

“They’re a darned good team and they took it to us tonight,” Simi Valley Coach Dave Murphy said.

Panther center Kara McKeown scored 14 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, but it was her defensive play that stood out.

McKeown, a 6-foot-1 senior, was assigned the unenviable task of covering Simi Valley’s Tawnee Cooper, Ventura County’s leading scorer as a sophomore last season.

Simi Valley’s outside game was cold throughout, allowing McKeown and the Panther defense to climb all over Cooper.

The junior forward was limited to eight shots and finished with as many fouls (four) as points.

“For us to be successful, we have to get Tawnee 15 shots and that didn’t happen tonight,” Murphy said.

There were plenty of shots to go around for Newbury Park.

Julie Wastell scored 12 points, while Jann Thorpe and Amy Berman each scored eight. Christine Arguijo added seven points.

Jamie Griffin scored 10 points for Simi Valley and Carrie Billone added six.

“Everyone played well,” McKeown said. “This was an important game for us to show we are a good team and that we can play with the great teams around.”

The Panthers made believers out of Simi Valley (8-2, 1-1 in league play), which trailed by as many as 28 points in the second half.

The Panthers (8-1, 2-0) have lost only to Alemany, the state’s second-ranked team.

But it wasn’t a rout all the way.

The Pioneers led, 10-6, before Newbury Park finished the first quarter with a 7-0 run.

Berman’s first of two three-pointers with two seconds left in the quarter broke a 10-10 tie and appeared to change the momentum.

The Panthers forced six turnovers in the first four minutes of the second quarter and extended their lead to eight points.

Newbury Park had a 28-16 halftime lead. An aggressive defense limited Cooper to three points and three shots in the half.