Los Amigos girls’ basketball beats Estancia to extend winning streak to five
Los Amigos High girls’ basketball coach Nate Werdel took the long view when he took over the program three years ago.
Through his first two seasons at the helm, the Lobos won a combined eight games. After a couple of developmental years, it appears that Los Amigos is ready to resurface.
Eleven players scored for Los Amigos in a 38-10 win over Estancia on Wednesday in a Premier Flight game of the Hawk Holiday Classic at Liberty Christian School.
“As a program head, I kept some players intentionally down on [the junior varsity team] to get a lot more game experience,” Werdel said. “These are the ones that we brought up and had high expectations for. They’ve definitely been fulfilling the roles that they have been taking on for our coaching staff.”
The players that Werdel gave more time to develop at the lower levels included senior center Marisol Salinas, junior small forward Rachel Luciano, and sophomore forwards Honey Morales and Vanessa Robledo.
“Watching them come along and develop in our program has been critical,” Werdel said. “Now, we figure we have put together the best team possible to take us to the heights that we want to go to.”
Los Amigos (5-2) has won five in a row, its longest winning streak since the 2016-17 season, when the Cheryl Caldera-led Lobos rattled off 14 straight victories after a season-opening loss.
Caldera was a senior center then, and the recent success of the Lobos has also been keyed by strong play in the post.
Junior center Leilani Cooley had game-high totals of six points and 10 rebounds, adding three steals and two blocked shots. Salinas also had seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
“I know that my team is really important to me, and they’re the ones that are always giving it to me and helping me out with getting those shots,” Cooley said. “Being able to create those passes inside and getting it into the post is what has really helped my game. I’m able to get those shots and not have to work as hard.”
Cooley was red in the face after the high-energy play she provided in the paint, but she is working hard with one goal in mind. She hopes that the Lobos will “make a splash” by qualifying for the CIF Southern Section Division 5A playoffs this season.
Lizbeth Garduno had five points for the Lobos. Angereen Mejia, Kathleen Nguyen, Robledo and Luciano each had four points.
“I feel like it’s a team effort,” Luciano said. “Whenever [Werdel] subs people, we each individually bring something out to the court. We each have our strengths.”
Estancia (2-5) beat Santa Ana Valley for the second time on Tuesday in its tournament opener, defeating the Falcons 36-33 in overtime. It marked the only time this season that the Eagles have scored at least 30 points in a game.
Coach Judd Fryslie saw moral victories for his Eagles, such as a well-executed play at the end of the first half. Pamela Cabezaz passed to a cutting Iris Aguilar, who was fouled and converted a free throw to send Estancia into the halftime locker room down 17-3.
“The last three days that we had in between the two tournaments, we were working on moving without the basketball,” Fryslie said. “I had to make sure that my whole team understands that when you do something good like that after you practice it for three days, then you have to cheer them on. You have to use that.
“That’s when the younger kids are going to realize, ‘OK, well I can do that, too.’”
Hawk Holiday Classic
Pool play
Los Amigos 38, Estancia 10
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Estancia 0 – 3 – 4 – 3 — 10
Los Amigos 6 – 11 – 10 – 11 — 38
E – Aguilar 2, Villalpando 2, Sihabouj 2, Hernandez 2, Diaz 2.
3-pt. goals – None.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
LA – Cooley 6, Garduno 5, Mejia 4, Robledo 4, Nguyen 4, Luciano 4, Lopez 3, R. Nunez 2, Vasquez 2, Morales 2, L. Nunez 2.
3-pt. goals – Garduno 1, Lopez 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
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