Proving Her Point

She averaged 26.2 points, 12.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 6.4 steals and 2.7 blocked shots this season, and 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds during her four-year varsity career at Moorpark High.

Yet Damaris Hinojosa, The Times’ Ventura County player of the year for the second consecutive season, says those sparkling statistics pale in comparison to being part of a Musketeer team that won the Marmonte League girls’ basketball title this season.

“We definitely had a goal to win the Marmonte League,” said Hinojosa, a 5-foot-11 guard. “We felt that a lot of people didn’t think we’d be able to do that. It’s always been so hard for the Moorpark girls’ basketball team to get some respect, so it was nice to prove everyone wrong by winning league.”

Moorpark (25-3), the No. 3-ranked team in The Times’ final regional poll, won or shared the Frontier League title in each of the Pepperdine-bound Hinojosa’s first three seasons. But the Musketeers’ move to the Marmonte League created skeptism whether they could match their average of 24 victories in each of the previous three seasons.

Moorpark responded by posting the second-highest victory total in school history, going 11-1 in league play and advancing to the semifinals of the Southern Section Division II-AA playoffs.

The Musketeers opened league play with a 55-49 victory at Simi Valley and followed that with victories over Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Westlake, Agoura and Royal to finish the first round with a 6-0 record.

They started the second half with a 41-39 victory over second-place Simi Valley and won their next four games before losing to Royal, 68-57, in the regular-season finale.

The loss prevented Moorpark from an undefeated league record, but Hinojosa says that playing in several close games helped the Musketeers in the playoffs.

“There had basically been no competition, except for Nordhoff, in [the Frontier] league,” she said. “So we won a lot of games by blowouts. This year, we were much better prepared for the playoffs. We were more focused.”

Although No. 2-seeded Moorpark lost to No. 3 Santa Ana Foothill, 41-35, in the playoffs, Hinojosa did not consider it a disappointment.

“I didn’t expect to go that far in [the playoffs],” she said. “I’m really proud of the fact that we got as far as we did, and that we won the Marmonte League.”

Hinojosa is looking forward to playing for Pepperdine next season.

The Waves (21-9) tied Santa Clara for the West Coast Conference regular-season title, and Hinojosa says Coach Mark Trakh has told her she will be part of a nationally ranked top-10 team by the time she graduates.

“Hopefully, we’ll [become a top-10 team] quickly,” she said. “On an individual level, I’d like to be an All-American at some point.”

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ALL-VENTURA COUNTY GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

Second Team

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Pos. Name School Yr. Ht. C Ashley Biggins Santa Clara So. 6-3 G Lisa Donahue Camarillo Sr. 5-7 C Kristine Gleisberg Ventura Jr. 6-1 C Courtney LaVere Buena Fr. 6-2 F Memory Rhone Oxnard Jr. 5-11 G Tina Samaniego Oxnard Sr. 5-7 F Monique Taylor Channel Islands Jr. 5-9 G Tawny Thorp Westlake So. 5-8 G Annmarie Turpin Simi Valley Sr. 5-9 G Tawni Yamauchi Newbury Park Sr. 5-5

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ALL-VALLEY GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

First Team

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Pos. Name School Yr. Ht. PLAYER OF THE YEAR F Omelogo Udeze Harvard-Westlake Sr. 6-2 G Kate Beckler Alemany Jr. 5-8 G Cara Blumfield El Camino Real Sr. 5-6 F Markia Derby North Hollywood Sr. 5-8 F LaTricia Fleming Canyon Jr. 6-0 F Sinnamonn Garrett Crescenta Valley Jr. 5-9 C Briana Kentfield Hart Sr. 6-2 F Christine Lambert Paraclete Sr. 6-2 G Vonetta Lanier Palmdale Sr. 5-9 G Brooke Porter Harvard-Westlake Jr. 5-5

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Second Team

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Pos. Name School Yr. Ht. G/F L’Tanya Robnett Harvard-Westlake Jr. 6-0 G Mania Houspian Glendale Sr. 5-7 G Sierra Hauser-Price Notre Dame So. 5-8 G Megan Wiser Louisville So. 5-7 F Karina Siam Alemany So. 5-11 G Christina Aguinaga El Camino Real So. 5-4 G Tashean Thomas North Hollywood Sr. 5-5 G/F Jennie Lee Greslie Village Christian Sr. 5-10 G Kristie Umemoto Crescenta Valley Jr. 5-6 G Alexis Weatherspoon Grant So. 5-8

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