Capistrano Valley Works Out Jitters

Every longshot has to begin somewhere, and Capistrano Valley began in its home gym Thursday with a 19-point victory.

The Cougars’ 52-33 decision over Fontana wasn’t a classic, but it got the job done, getting the first round of the Southern Section Division I-AA playoffs--not to mention the jitters--out of the way.

On a team that has only two seniors, and only one player with any playoff experience, Capistrano Valley’s win was a big deal.

“It was really important to get the first game out of the way,” said Nicki Howard, who scored a game-high 18 and had eight steals. “We’re a real young team, and this will give us more confidence. A lot of us haven’t been in this situation before. We were a little bit nervous.”

Howard, the only senior who gets any appreciable playing time, was the only Cougar with playoff experience, having played two games last season at Dana Hills.

Capistrano Valley (18-9), the third-place team from the South Coast League, will play at Century, the Empire League champion, as second-round games continue Saturday. Fontana, third place in the Citrus Belt League, finished 14-15. Century had a first-round bye and will have had 10 days off between games.

“It’s a relief,” said junior guard Lindsay Peloza, who scored 14, including 12 in the first half as Capistrano Valley built a 31-15 halftime lead. “It was kind of nerve-racking--we didn’t know what to expect.”

The Cougars forced 25 turnovers, benefiting from Howard’s quick hands, while committing 13 turnovers, but only three in the first half. Freshman Jessica Voisard, though she scored only four, blocked six shots, and another freshman, Hallie Steube, had five points and seven rebounds while guarding Fontana’s best player, Misha Bonds. Though four Fontana starters averaged double-digit scoring, only Bonds (nine points) scored more than six.

The Cougars made 22 of 42 from the field. Junior Sarah Flanagan scored 11 on five-of-five shooting.

“It would be nice to get to [second-seeded] Lynwood [in the third round], just to show the kids what it’s going to take to have a chance to win this thing,” said Capistrano Valley Coach Pete Belanto, who knows next year is the one many expect the Cougars to challenge for a title.

And what do the players think?

“We’re just going to take it one game at a time,” Howard said. “But you have to have confidence you can win it all. . . . but not too much confidence.”

In other Division I-AA games:

Esperanza 95, Redlands East Valley 15--The fourth-seeded Aztecs (21-6) opened a 27-0 first-quarter lead. Four players scored in double figures, led by Bethany Blair’s 19 points. Esperanza will play the Bell Gardens, a 60-45 winner over Glendale.

Lakewood 56, Saddleback 51--Point guard Lorena Adame, who had 10 assists, fouled out with two minutes remaining and the score tied at 51-51 and the Roadrunners didn’t score again. Denise de la Rosa had 28 points and 13 rebounds for Saddleback (14-11).

Ontario 54, Aliso Niguel 34--Julia Pederson led Aliso Niguel (14-13) with 17 points and six steals. Ontario (20-9) will play at Westminster.

Chino 48, Santa Ana 11--The Cowboys (13-13) held a 30-6 halftime lead over Santa Ana (5-20).

Santa Ana Valley 63, San Bernardino San Gorgonio 47--Crystal Davis (20 rebounds) and Carina Martinez (11 rebounds) each scored 17 points as Santa Ana Valley (18-7) won its first playoff game. The Falcons next face top-seeded Chino Hills Ayala.