GIRLS’ BASKETBALL / THOUSAND OAKS TOURNAMENT : Torrid Hart Advances to Title Game, 53-32

Only 10 days ago, the Hart High girls’ basketball team was 2-3.

After Thursday night’s 53-32 victory over Cabrillo in a Thousand Oaks tournament semifinal, the Indians are 9-3.

And it wasn’t difficult for the Indians to pinpoint the reason for the turnaround.

“It’s defense,” said Hart Coach Dave Munroe, whose team will meet Chino tonight for the championship.

All-Valley point guard LaCresha Clark credits Munroe with the improvement.

“He came up with some weird defense,” said Clark, who had 18 points and six steals. “I didn’t even understand it at first, but it seems to be working.”

Indeed.

Hart led, 11-8, after one quarter, then forced seven Cabrillo turnovers at the outset of the second quarter to trigger an 18-0 run and a 29-8 lead.

Center Jaclyn Kuptz contributed 11 points and nine rebounds, while Jamie Broneer added nine points.

The Indians, who staggered early in the season, rebounded to win the consolation title in last week’s Simi Valley tournament before taking Thousand Oaks by storm.

In three games, they have outscored their tournament opponents, 184-94.

Chino 42, Thousand Oaks 35--Rasheeda Clark scored 15 points to lead Chino (9-3) in the other semifinal.

Teammate Jean Clark added 13 points.

Nicki LaSala paced Thousand Oaks (7-6) with 12 points, while Jenn Detmer added nine points.

Crescenta Valley 65, Clovis Buchanan 43--Freshman Michelle Greco scored 25 points for Crescenta Valley (11-4) in a consolation semifinal.

Channel Islands 48, Las Vegas Basic 29--Kristina Portillo scored 14 points for the Raiders (7-6) in the other consolation semifinal.