Palmdale Hitting Stride Just in Time

With a challenging nonleague tournament schedule, Coach George Corisis of Palmdale High said his girls’ basketball team would be in for a rocky start this season.

So he wasn’t surprised when the Falcons struggled at the Jasper Place tournament in Edmonton, Canada, and at the Tournament of Champions in Santa Barbara.

But with their 68-45 victory over Westlake on Thursday to claim third place in the Thousand Oaks tournament, the Falcons (9-6) appear to be rounding into form.

“We’re peaking now, which is where we should be at the end of the [nonleague] season,” Corisis said. “You want to be playing your best going into league and the playoffs.”

Corisis credits the resurgence to strong senior leadership from players such as Lanetta Lanier, Brandy Smith and Summer Hoban.

The three combined for 48 points against the Warriors (5-7). Lanier scored 19 points, Hoban had 17 and Smith added 12.

“You expect your seniors to lead by example and that’s what they did [Thursday],” Corisis said.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that Westlake dressed only seven players for the game.

That worked against the Warriors as the game progressed.

Westlake jumped to a 13-11 lead after one quarter before Palmdale used its quickness to surge ahead for good.

Behind Hoban and Smith, the Falcons opened a 31-23 halftime lead and it only got worse from there for the Warriors.

Sophomore guard Tawny Thorp scored 18 points for Westlake.

“I think our quickness hurt them as far as our running game,” Corisis said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game for us but we we ready for them.”

In other tournament games:

Grass Valley Bear River 57, Oxnard 52--After a three-point victory over Palmdale the previous night, winning the tournament title wasn’t supposed to be that difficult for Bear River.

But the Lady Bruins (7-4) had difficulty putting away the Yellowjackets (5-10).

Bear River appeared in control when Josselyn Korell made a steal and a layup for a 42-21 lead with 4:28 left in the third quarter.

Oxnard closed its deficit to 45-32 by the end of the third quarter and went on a 19-4 run to pull to within 51-49 on a jumper by Esmer Martinez with 2:38 remaining.

But Becca Hobbs put an end to the comeback with a three-point basket the next time down the court and added a driving layup with 1:14 remaining to make it 56-49.

Tina Samaniego of Oxnard scored 11 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter, and Sara Wilkins had 18 points. Martinez finished with 11.

Samaniego made three three-point baskets in the game, including two in the fourth quarter.

“These kids are warriors,” Coach Lyle Lynch-Cole of Oxnard said. “They’re fighting all the time out there.

“At halftime, we just made some good adjustments defensively and starting guarding people differently. It really made a big difference.”

Jessica Picard scored 16 points, Jane Boyer had 14 and Hobbs added 12 for Bear River.

Thousand Oaks 58, Apple Valley 50--Guard Jennifer Carver scored 13 points and the Lancers took fifth place.

Renee Moro finished with nine points and Laura Stone eight points for Thousand Oaks (8-4).

The Lancers were even, 17-17, after one quarter but outscored Apple Valley in the second quarter, 15-6, and didn’t trail again.

Camarillo 69, Highland 31--The Scorpions opened a 23-6 lead after one quarter and coasted past the Bulldogs (6-9) in the seventh-place game.

Lauren Ferreira finished with 16 points for Camarillo (7-8), Leshelle Sargent had 12 and Tanya Wismann 10. Ferreira scored 11 points in the first half, when the Scorpions built a 40-11 lead.