Girls’ Basketball: Oilers ring in new year with wins
The Huntington Beach High girls’ basketball team has opened the New Year with a bang, registering two victories before heading into the start of the Sunset League season.
The Oilers on Tuesday routed visiting Mission Viejo in a nonleague matchup, 56-13. Junior guard Frankie Wade-Sanchez paced the scoring with 14 points and junior guard Kaylyn Nakaji added 10 points.
Huntington shut out the Diablos in both the first and fourth quarters in running their winning streak to seven games.
The Oilers previously took part Saturday in the Mater Dei Matt Denning Classic and defeated Santa Margarita, 48-43. Nakaji made three consecutive three-point shots during the fourth quarter to spark the Oilers who defeated the Eagles for the second time this season. Nakaji finished with 15 points and Wade-Sanchez scored 14 points.
Also during winter break, the Oilers won the Costa Mesa Christmas Classic for the seventh consecutive year by overpowering Buchanan, 60-30, in the championship final Dec. 30. Wade-Sanchez poured in 18 points and was named MVP of the tournament, and senior guard Sammy Gray had 12 and was named all-tournament.
“I am very proud that the girls are 15-3 and playing very hard from start to finish,” Huntington Coach Russ McClurg said. “We expect a very tough Sunset League and I know the girls will continue to play hard.”
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•In another nonleague game Tuesday, Fountain Valley got off to a slow start against visiting Westminster, couldn’t recover and lost, 73-44. Senior guards Ruth Nguyen and Kaylee Amimoto both scored 10 points for the Barons (1-16).
The Barons previously earned their first victory of the season Dec. 30 by rolling past Los Angeles Rivera, 70-18, at the Larry Doyle/Dan Wiley Tournament of Champions. Esther Rodriguez had four steals for the Barons.
“The team is starting to work together and play competitive basketball just in time for Sunset League play,” first-year Fountain Valley Coach Barry Migliornini said.
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•Edison and Marina also contended for the title of the Larry Doyle/Dan Wiley Tournament of Champions which was won by Clovis West.
The Chargers went 2-2 at the tournament and finished in fourth place. They dropped their finale to Foothill, 66-56.
Senior forward Jackie Bento was named all-tournament for the Chargers who are 6-8 overall.
“We played well, overall,” Edison Coach Sara Brown said. “The tournament threw some great teams at us and it helped us improve, especially our ball movement. We have improved in specific areas every game and hope that our tough preseason schedule has set us up for success in league play.”
Marina played for the consolation championship title and lost, 69-57, to Cerritos. Senior guard Jomira Velasquez scored 27 for the Vikings.
In a nonleague game Tuesday, Marina (6-9) lost at Woodbridge, 61-45.
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•Ocean View was in Orlando, Fla. over winter break for the Disney KSA Events Holiday Tournament and won the consolation championship title. In their final game, the Seahawks beat Ponte Vedra (Florida), 68-45. Senior guard and all-tourney selection Danelle Almiranez got her game-high 18 points on six three-point shots for the Seahawks who went 2-1 at the tournament and improved to 8-6 overall.
League races in girls’ basketball get underway starting Thursday and Friday. At 7 p.m. Thursday, Edison travels to Los Alamitos and Fountain Valley goes to Newport Harbor in a pair of Sunset League contests. Four other local teams are involved in a boys’ and girls’ league doubleheaders Friday. At 5:30 p.m., Marina entertains Huntington in an Oil vs. Water Sunset League matchup, and Ocean View travels for a Golden West League opener at Segerstrom. At 6 p.m., Brethren Christian is at Downey Calvary Chapel for an Academy League opener.
