La Jolla Country Day girls basketball refuses to lose

It doesn't get much better than when the two top teams meet in the middle of the season as did the best CIF-SDS girls teams – No. 1 La Jolla Country Day and No. 2 San Diego — in a San Diego Elite Tournament encounter Monday at Hoover High.

The top-ranked Torreys (15-3) squeezed out a 52-42 victory over the Cavers (14-5) in a game that was closer than the final score indicates.

"It was about a three-point game all the way through," noted San Diego coach Lonnie Jones. "There were six lead changes and four ties. LJCD is a very mature, disciplined team and we gave up too many second-chance points."

Sophomore Kelsey Plum, daughter of Helix High Parade All-American quarterback Jim Plum, led the way for La Jolla Country Day with 23 points and seven rebounds. Kelsey is a pinpoint shooter hitting better than 63 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free throw line.



"Plum killed us down the stretch by hitting a 3-pointer, two free throws and another 3 in the final three minutes," Jones said.

Maya Hood added 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Torreys, while her sister Malina Hood blocked four shots and collected eight rebounds against LJCD.

Tia Dixon paced San Diego with 21 points.

"La Jolla Country Day sat in a zone," Jones said. "If we could have gotten them out of that and forced them to play man it might have been a different outcome."

EL CAMINO OVERMATCHES CHOL, HOOVER
Six-foot-9 Hoover senior Angelo Chol, the national record holder for blocked shots, pounded down 27 points and corralled 12 rebounds, yet the No. 2-ranked Cardinals came up on the short end of a 75-68 loss to El Camino (Oceanside) in the San Diego Elite 8 Tournament. Jacob Snow paced the No. 3-ranked Wildcats (18-1) with 24 points.

"The sum of El Camino's parts is better than any individual," Hoover coach Ollie Goulston told The North County Times. "They shoot very well, and they hit tough shots. They're very well coached. They buy into what they're trying to accomplish."



El Camino's 6-7 Mookie Beard battled Chol in the post, finishing with eight points, 10 rebounds and three blocks while surviving foul trouble. Beard fouled out with 91 seconds remaining and the Wildcats leading by six points.

PERRIS SWATS AWAY MOUNT MIGUEL'S MILLER
Mount Miguel senior Danielle Miller, arguably the best player in the CIF-SDS, realized that lonely feeling even though she scored a game-high 32 points in Monday's (Jan. 17) MLK "I have a dream" Showcase at Horizon High School.

"Even when I score that many points it doesn't really mean anything when we lose," Miller said after the Matadors succumbed to the Perris Panthers 62-48.

"I really don't know what happened," Miller added. "It just seemed like we didn't want to come out and play hard. We didn't put up much of a fight."

That's surprising, considering Perris and Mount Miguel are both CIF Division III teams and could well again meet in the SoCal Regional playoffs.

Miller nailed 12 of 25 shots from the field and 8 of 13 free throws as she broke the 30-point plateau for the third time this season. Mount Miguel (11-7) held two brief leads that added up to a combined total of 10 seconds.



A basket by Myishia Watkins gave the Matadors a 12-10 edge with 6 seconds left in the first period. Perris countered on a banked 3-pointer by Aniya Baker to close the quarter with a one-point advantage. Baker finished with 19 points including a trio of treys.

A bucket by Miller put Mount Miguel back in front 14-13 but after that Perris was burning and led 30-21 by halftime.

Miller scored 10 of Mount Miguel's 11 second-quarter points. She continued to have the hot hand in the third quarter, scoring six points to pull the Matadors within 33-27 with 6:13 remaining in the period.

After that Perris took off again and led by as many as 19 points before sealing the victory.

The key difference between the two teams was on the boards where Perris (12-6) claimed a 47-28 advantage.

IT'S NO QUESTION: RANCHO BUENA VISTA'S DEE IS MR. 3
Rancho Buena Vista's Johnny Dee leads North County in scoring at 33.5 points per game. He has scored more than 40 points four times – with a career-high 47 last week against Army-Navy – and has seven other games of more than 30 points. He leads the CIF-SDS with 59 3-pointers.



Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}CALVIN CHRISTIAN GIANT IS A TRIPLE THREAT
Six-foot-8 senior Daniel Stout of Calvin Christian is averaging 18.4 points, 14.9 rebounds and six blocks per game for the Crusaders (13-3).

OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES
* Six-foot-3 Madison junior Corey Oswalt registered a game-high 28 points, including seven 3-pointers, as the Warhawks toppled the Christian Patriots in a Central League game 56-45. He was 10-for-13 on field goal attempts.

* Foothills Christian's 6-foot-6, 215-pound sophomore Jamal Aytes knocked down 27 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked six shots against University City.

* Poway senior guard Katie Kuklok punched in 52 of her team's 100 points, ringing up 28 in a win over El Camino and 24 in a loss to La Costa Canyon.

* Escondido senior center Heather Thompson generated a triple-double in a 61-48 victory over Eastlake, finishing with 18 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocked shots.

* Six-foot-5 El Camino junior Dayton Boddie cashed in 60 points, including a career high 38, in a rout of San Pasqual and romp over Poway.



* Fallbrook's Alex Askew, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, produced double-doubles in victories over Carlsbad and Oceanside, including a 17-point, 10-rebound performance against the Oceanside Pirates.

* Six-foot-6, 215-pound Horizon senior Tyler Cross scored 27 points against Poway.

* Morse's Deonte Flowers, a 6-2 senior guard, tallied 22 points against Torrey Pines.

* Junior guard Amanda Darouie of Mission Hills converted eight 3-pointers in victories over Valley Center and Torrey Pines.

* Six-foot-3 senior Danny Bashara of Fallbrook connected on 50 three-pointers after 18 games for the Warriors.

COMING ATTRACTIONS
The keys games in the San Diego Section involve league games at this point in the season. On Wednesday two boys battles are intriguing – No. 6 Torrey Pines (San Diego) (11-4) at Westview (San Diego) (13-5) and No. 8 ranked Army-Navy (Carlsbad) (12-3) at Parker (San Diego) (11-5). The top tiff on the girls side matches No. 6 Poway (15-2) at Mt. Carmel (San Diego) (13-4).



More interesting contests are on tap for Friday where the No. 3 ranked boys of El Camino (18-1) travel to No. 5 La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) (15-3) and on the girls side No. 2 ranked San Diego (12-5, 2-0) tackles host Henry (San Diego) (11-6, 2-2).

DICKENS' DEALINGS
The dilemma of a skilled player on a poor team is probably more than the majority of teenagers can deal with. If you are the kingpin the choices have to be confusing. Should I pass or should I go?

Sure the coach of a lopsided team beckons his/her ace to distribute the ball to the so-so teammates. If you are that good player, however, you probably believe the more points and stats you compile the more attractive you will be to college scouts.

That is, of course, not completely true. What the scouts are seeking is potential. Nonetheless it's hard to sell that to a player, where numbers speak louder than promises.

If I'm a senior I cannot help be somewhat selfish if my goal is to land a college scholarship.

This is a tough call, one that makes me glad that I am not a coach.