Golden Valley and West Ranch freshman guards duel in league opener, plus scores from around the Foothill League
Tuesday’s night Foothill League opener between Golden Valley and West Ranch was a shootout between two freshman guards in Mia Vallas of West Ranch and Brighton Blythe of Golden Valley, as both led their teams in scoring in the game at West Ranch High School.
By the final buzzer, the Wildcats took home the victory over the Grizzlies, 26-20, and secured their seventh win in the new season.
“We battled the whole game. We played great defense and worked really hard,” West Ranch head coach Paul Gross said. “Everyone was playing, aggressive and attacking, and I liked it.”
Vallas, who scored 16 points in the win along with two 3’s from beyond the arc, led all Wildcats (7-1, 1-0) in scoring.
After the game, Gross credited her performance to her teammates finding her when she was open to getting the shots and Vallas scoring when she had the ball.
“She did a great job, you know. I think a lot of the other girls did their job in getting her open and she hit the shots at the end of it,” he said. “She plays her butt off and, you know, she had a real good defensive game.”
As for Golden valley (4-3, 0-1), the Grizzlies open the Foothill League with a loss but had a positive performance in Blythe, who led all Grizzlies in scoring with 13 points on 6-for-13 shooting.
The Grizzlies will have a bye in the second round of Foothill League action on Friday and return on Tuesday at home against Castaic but will play in the Triumph Charter and Viewpoint in the Northeast Valley tournament at Vaugh High School Thursday and Friday.
Seven different Wildcats scored in the win with freshman forward Arianna Corona being the second leading figure with 12.
And although the offense was clicking in the win, Gross was quick to point out how the win was a total team effort and that the Wildcats’ defense was executing when it need to as West Ranch outscored Golden Valley across all four quarters.
“We got a great group from one to 12 of girls that just play hard all the time,” Gross said. “So, we just wanted to start out the league strong, and you know it’s a tough league and got a tough game ahead, but I like the start.”
The Wildcats hit the road on Friday against the Castaic Coyotes with tip-off scheduled for 5 p.m.
After Tuesday’s night games, here are scores from around the Foothill League:
Saugus 73, Castaic 32: EvaMarie Rios led her Saugus Centurions (5-1, 1-0) to victory over the Castaic Coyotes (1-4, 0-1) on Tuesday as the senior point guard recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 assists. Rios also tallied eight rebounds and seven steals in the win.
The Centurions’ Samanta Cortez and Jasmine Garcia also had 16 points combined with both players recording eight points.
On Friday, Saugus hosts Canyon for the next round of league action as Castaic hosts West Ranch.
Canyon 56, Hart 27: Sophomore guard Darby Dunn led all Cowboys (3-4, 1-0) in scoring in the win over the Hart Hawks (1-5, 0-1) with 27 points and shooting 46% from the field.
Dunn ended the night with a double-double as she also had 11 rebounds, along with five assists and four steals.
Canyon senior guard Shannen Wilson was second in points scored for her team as she recorded 17 points in the win.
In the next round of Foothill League play, Canyon hits the road and matches up against Saugus while the Hawks travel to Valencia High School to take on the Vikings, who didn’t play Tuesday due to their scheduled bye.
Photo gallery below from West Ranch girls’ basketball win over Golden Valley:
