Moving Up
Christina Aguinaga was the new kid in school, a situation that has caused anxiety in more than a few students over the years.
“I was kind of worried because I didn’t know if I would fit in,” said Aguinaga, a senior who transferred to Taft High from West Valley League rival El Camino Real last summer.
Oh, she fits.
Acceptance comes rather quickly when one has a good jump shot.
Aguinaga, an All-Valley guard and one of the region’s top outside scorers, has helped transform the Toreadors from a struggling program into one of the area’s best.
It’s no coincidence that Aguinaga is averaging 18.7 points and the Toreadors (15-0) are among only three undefeated teams in the region.
Tonight, Aguinaga can help Taft take a giant step toward winning its first league championship since 1994-95.
The Toreadors (4-0 in league play) host three-time defending champion El Camino Real (11-4, 4-0) for sole possession of first place.
“She’s been a great asset to our team,” Taft guard Schquay Brignac said. “She’s helped put the puzzle together for us.”
Last season, the Toreadors were 8-15 and 2-8 in league play.
Taft played a less-than-rigorous nonleague schedule this season, and league play was supposed to be the true gauge of the Toreadors’ strength.
Aguinaga, 5 feet 5, has averaged 23.4 points and made 19 of 37 three-point shots in West Valley League games, including a 24-point performance last week in a 76-56 rout of defending league co-champion Chatsworth.
“It’s great to know we have a scorer like that who can spread defenses out and play smart,” said Coach Mark Drucker.
“The girls know what she can do for them and look to find her the ball.”
Aguinaga, Brignac and Denisha McCoy, all seniors, form one of the region’s top three-guard combinations. Brignac and McCoy each average 11 points.
But the spotlight is clearly on Aguinaga, who has scored 1,164 career points and has a 23-1 career record in league play.
She averaged 15.4 points as a sophomore and 19.3 as a junior for El Camino Real.
Aguinaga, who lives in the Taft attendance area, attended El Camino Real under open enrollment.
Her abrupt departure to Taft was a shock to the Conquistadores.
“She played a couple of summer league games for us, then she disappeared,” Coach Lori Chandler said.
Aguinaga says it was a family decision.
“My mom and dad thought the best place for me to be was at Taft,” she said.
El Camino Real would like nothing better than for Aguinaga’s place to be second.
“The kids have been waiting a long time for this game,” Chandler said. “We definitely have a game plan and they need no motivation for this one.”
It’s just another challenge for Aguinaga, who overcame academic ineligibility as a freshman and a torn anterior cruciate ligament as a sophomore.
“I’m looking forward to playing [El Camino Real],” she said. “I’m just mentally preparing to play my game, and I don’t really think they’re gunning for me as much as our whole team because this is for first place.”