Freshmen Show Class and Simi Valley Wins

Freshmen Teresa Cooper and Sherice Gamble played like veterans down the stretch Friday night to help Simi Valley High hold off El Camino Real, 64-58, in a pool-play game of the Simi Valley girls’ basketball tournament.

Cooper hit a short jumper to give the Pioneers a 57-54 lead with 2:45 left in the game and her 15-footer gave them a 59-56 advantage with 1:59 remaining.

Junior Chrissy McClain of El Camino Real sank a 10-foot bank shot to cut Simi Valley’s lead to 59-58 with 1:45 left, but Gamble scored after rebounding Cooper’s miss to give the Pioneers a 61-58 lead with 1:32 remaining.

Jamie Sturdivant hit three of four free throws to help Simi Valley (6-1) pull away.

“It was nice to see [Teresa and Sherice] contribute like that,” Coach Dave Murphy of Simi Valley said. “They, and Jamie, really came through for us at the end.”

Murphy yanked the 5-foot-7 Cooper from the game early in the first quarter because she blew a couple of defensive assignments, but she came back to score 10 points in the second quarter and Simi Valley took a 33-27 halftime lead.

Cooper made four of six shots in the quarter and two of two from the free-throw line.

“I just told her that she had to do her job,” Murphy said. “We’ve got a very deep team that can go 11 or 12 players deep, so no one player is going to stand out every game.”

Gamble, a 5-10 center, had 15 points and eight rebounds for Simi Valley, the No. 5-ranked team in The Times’ regional poll. The Pioneers will play Saugus in a pool-play game at 7 tonight.

Senior Cara Blumfield had 27 points for El Camino Real (5-3), which went on an 11-0 run to trim Simi Valley’s lead to 55-54 with 2:52 remaining.

Blumfield scored six points during that run and eight in the quarter, but the baskets by Cooper and Gamble helped repel the Conquistadores’ charge.

Sophomore Christina Aguinaga scored 14 points for El Camino Real, which will play Saugus in a pool-play game at 4 p.m. Monday.

In other pool play:

St. Lucy’s 47, Canyon 41--Lisa Zarubick’s three-point shot broke a 38-38 tie with 1:45 left in the game and keyed an 8-0 run for St. Lucy’s (5-2).

Canyon (7-3) trailed, 38-32, with 4:18 remaining, but scored six consecutive points on baskets by Julianna Diaz and LaTricia Flemming and two free throws by Flemming.

Flemming had 14 points, 17 rebounds, five steals and five blocked shots for Canyon, the No. 9-ranked team in the region.

The Cowboys, who will play Grant at 8:30 tonight, trailed 22-11 at halftime after scoring two points on one of 17 shooting in the second quarter.

In other pool play:

St. Lucy’s 47, Canyon 41--Lisa Zarubick’s three-point shot broke a 38-38 tie with 1:45 left in the game and keyed an 8-0 run for St. Lucy’s (5-2).

Canyon (7-3) trailed, 38-32, with 4:18 remaining, but scored six consecutive points on baskets by Julianna Diaz and LaTricia Fleming and two free throws by Fleming.

Fleming had 14 points, 17 rebounds, five steals and five blocked shots for Canyon, the No. 9-ranked team in the region.