Midway through the fourth quarter against Hart, Valencia girls basketball’s Nicole Weatherman sank a 3-pointer, then nabbed a steal on the Indians’ ensuing possession and scored on a layup.
It was plays like this that helped the Vikings to a 55-41 win over the Indians on Tuesday night at Valencia.
“I feel like it was more of a team effort,” Weatherman said. “We all decided to come back into the game. We all hustled. Really it was kind of just personally trying to hustle and get the ball and try to come back.”
Hart held a 23-21 lead over Valencia at halftime. When the second half started, the Vikings were ready to answer the call.
Chyanne Pagkalinawan and Skylar Ingram combined for 14 points in the third quarter, then Pagkalinawan combined with Weatherman in the fourth for another 15.
MORE: Foothill League boys hoops roundup: Hart prevails in OT against Valencia
Defensively, Valencia had their sights set on limiting the Indians’ Annie Christofferson, a natural shooter who is known for her ability to find the basket on any given night.
The Vikings, however, limited her to nine points.
“She can score quickly and from far out,” said Valencia coach Jerry Mike. “No matter what ‘D’ we’re in, we want to know where she is all the time and try to make her beat us off the dribble more than set shots.”
Pagkalinawan ended the night with a total of 19 points and Weatherman followed with 13. Hart’s Trudy Larkins, who was also key on defense, finished with 10 points.
“I think they fight every night,” said Hart coach Terra Palmer. “They’re undersized every night, but they have a lot of heart and they’re willing to battle.
“I’m proud of the way they battle every night. I think that they fought hard tonight, we just came up short.”
Saugus 66, West Ranch 27
Libbie McMahan led the Centurions (17-6, 3-4) with 17 points. Danny Diaz added 10 and Monique Febles chipped in nine.
Saugus travels to Golden Valley on Friday and the Wildcats (11-11, 1-6) will play at Valencia on the same day at 5 p.m.
Canyon 74, Golden Valley 24
Three players recorded double-doubles for the Cowboys (21-4, 7-0). Rachel Bowers scored 26 points and pulled down 15 rebounds, Selasi Mawugbe had 14 points and 15 rebounds and Talia Taufaasau had 12 points and 10 assists. Ellie Villavicencio added 11 points.
Canyon will be at Hart on Friday at 5:30 and the Grizzlies, who are 11-11 and 0-7, host Saugus on Friday at 5:30.