Just Another Rout for Newbury Park

It was just one step toward a much bigger goal for the Newbury Park High girls’ basketball team, but if you asked Fullerton, it felt a lot more like a stomp.

The No. 1-seeded Panthers dominated Fullerton in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section Division III-AA playoffs on Wednesday and came away with a 68-21 victory.

However, it wasn’t even that close.

Newbury Park took a 31-3 lead midway through the second quarter en route to its region-best 21st consecutive victory.

“They deserve every accolade they get,” Fullerton Coach Marty Perez said. “They could have made it a lot worse if they wanted to.”

Ever since last February, the Panthers (26-1) have had their eyes on the championship game, a goal they fell a basket short of last season, when they lost to Newport Harbor in the semifinals.

The teams are on another collision course this season. Newbury Park, ranked No. 1 in the state among Division III schools, will Redondo, a 44-38 winner over La Habra, on Saturday in one semifinal. Newport Harbor, a 60-36 winner over Rim of the World, will play Bishop Montgomery in the other semifinal.

“It would be a big achievement for us to get past the semifinals,” said Newbury Park guard Julie Wastell, who scored 14 points and sparked a defense that forced 22 turnovers.

Forward Jann Thorpe scored 20 points and had 13 rebounds. Center Kara McKeown added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Newbury Park outrebounded Fullerton, 43-20, and committed only seven turnovers.

“I’ve been blessed with a very balanced team,” said Panther Coach Nori Parvin, who in 21 seasons still awaits the opportunity to take a team to the finals.

“We stayed focused tonight, shot the ball well from the outside and inside, and ran the ball as well as we ever have.”

Fullerton center Nadia Hoerner, who was averaging 18 points a game, scored six against the Panthers.