HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

“It shouldn’t have happened,” said Coach Lori Chandler of El Camino Real after a 61-41 loss Wednesday to Taft in a West Valley League girls’ game. “We just didn’t execute.”

The Conquistadores repeatedly turned the ball over and failed to make a basket for six minutes in the third quarter.

El Camino Real (11-5, 4-1) knew it would have its hands full with the host Toreadors (16-0, 5-0). The Conquistadores beat Chatsworth, 52-50, earlier in league play and Taft handled the Chancellors, 76-56.

After a fast-paced first quarter left Taft with a 15-14 lead, El Camino Real appeared able to handle the high-pressure, man-to-man defense used by the Toreadors. The Conquistadores continually worked the ball inside for high-percentage shots but were unable to consistently convert.

El Camino Real managed to get Taft into foul trouble, which backfired when Toreador Coach Mark Drucker went to a 2-3 zone early in the third quarter that trapped the Conquistador guards as they crossed half court. Taft extended a 26-23 lead to 45-28 early in the fourth quarter.

“[Coach] told us to keep on pressuring them and the turnovers would come,” said Christina Aguinaga, a Times’ All-Valley selection at El Camino Real last season before transferring to Taft.

The victories over Chatsworth and El Camino Real put Taft in position to win its first league title since 1994-95.