Inexperience Catches Up to Valencia

It wasn’t difficult to determine which team was making its 13th consecutive postseason appearance and which was making its debut.

Thousand Oaks High, a longtime girls’ basketball power, calmly handled Valencia’s frantic full-court press, while the Vikings consistently threw away first-quarter passes against only moderate pressure.

In the end, it was the savvy Lancers who threw upstart Valencia right out of the Southern Section Division I-A playoffs with a 49-33 victory Saturday night at Thousand Oaks.

“I think [experience] was a big factor,” said Thousand Oaks Coach Chuck Brown, whose team benefited from 29 Valencia turnovers, including 15 in the first quarter.

Valencia (18-8), in its third season at the varsity level, finished a strong second to Hart in the Foothill League to qualify for the playoffs for the first time.

“I’m proud of these girls,” Viking Coach Greg Hayes said. “There’s now a tradition they’ll have to leave behind. They played their hearts out tonight.”

Thousand Oaks (18-6), ranked No. 10 in the region by The Times, advances to the second round on Wednesday, when it will meet Marina, which routed Glendora, 73-26.

The Lancers added at least one game in the storied career of Brown, who has announced he will retire at the end of the season.

Brown, who won section titles with the Lancers in 1991 and 1992, has a 320-112 record in 16 seasons.

“He’s an awesome coach,” said senior forward Amy Haslam, who scored 10 points. “We’re happy to be winning for him, but we’re also winning for ourselves.”

Thousand Oaks, which has won three consecutive Marmonte League co-championships, has been described as a team with heart, a group with no specific go-to player.

The Lancers are getting tired of it.

“They’ve taken exception to it,” Brown said. “It’s coming across to them like everyone is saying that T.O. doesn’t have any good players.”

Against Valencia, the Lancers showed they are solid, if not overpowering.

After a week of practicing against the freshman boys’ team, the Lancers handled Valencia’s speed and pressure defense with little difficulty.

Guards Sara Pederson and Nicole Vasquez regularly found forwards Haslam and Katie Stanulis at the offensive end for layups and short-range shots.

Stanulis matched Haslam with 10 points, forward Elena Salvador had nine points and Vasquez added eight points, including two three-pointers.

“Deep down, we know there isn’t really a superstar on this team, that we all have to pull together,” said Haslam, who scored nine points in the first half as the Lancers took a 28-14 lead into intermission.

Tiffany Morgan scored eight points for the Vikings, all in the first half. Kelly Warden had seven.