Girls’ Basketball: Barons, Oilers start strong

Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach launched their seasons with big victories Tuesday at the Hoops Challenge girls’ basketball tournament at Fountain Valley High.

The host Barons rolled past Long Beach Jordan, 57-35. Senior guard Jasmine Matar powered her way to 15 points and 11 rebounds and had seven steals. Senior guard Jocelyn Calvillo scored eight points and had five steals, senior forward Kelcie Mayott had six points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots, sophomore guard Ashley Masuda scored eight points with four steals, and senior forward Danielle Tran had six rebounds and four steals.

“We were able to control the speed of the game and get out in transition early and often,” said Cory Clarke, who won in his coaching debut at Fountain Valley. “We are excited about the season, but we will miss our captain and our leader, Amy Yoshinaga, due to a knee injury.”

Huntington was a 55-40 winner over Schurr of Montebello. Junior guard Stephanie Louie led with 13 points, junior point guard Paola Roa scored 11 and freshman Anna Bullock scored seven in her varsity debut.

“We started off playing very hard and played tough all game,” Huntington Coach Russ McClurg said. “We are very young and will continue to improve each game.”

The Hoops Challenge at Fountain Valley continues with four pool-play games starting at 3 p.m. Thursday. The tournament continues Friday and ends Saturday. The championship game is set for 2 p.m. Saturday. Twelve teams, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Tesoro, Esperanza, El Toro, Beckman, Valencia/Placentia, Kennedy, La Quinta/Westminster, Schurr and Costa Mesa, are vying for the tournament title.

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Brethren Christian: The Warriors dropped their season opener, 49-27, to Tarbut V’Torah Monday. Senior Annie Huie led BC in scoring with 15 points.

“The game served as a good experience for our six freshmen in their first varsity completion,” BC Coach Jeff Wallace said. “It allowed them to have the opportunity to shake the jitters and get that behind them. They can now look forward to growing as a player and a team.”

BC starts play Monday at the Orangewood Academy Tournament. The Warriors will face Calvary Chapel of Santa Ana in a first-round game.

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Edison: The Chargers (3-1) finished runner-up at the Century Tournament. In the tourney’s title game Saturday , the Chargers fell, 63-42, to Sunset League rival Los Alamitos. Senior point guard Geena Gomez scored a team-high 16 points.

Edison got the season and the tournament off to a great start by pounding host Century, 72-25, on Nov. 26. Gomez had a game-high 27 points and freshman guard Alyssa Atencio scored 10 points. Gomez had 23 points and junior forward Dolores Gomez 10 points in a 54-9 rout of Loara. In the semifinals, Geena Gomez poured in 32 points and freshman forward Justine Modde had 12 points in a 71-42 win over Irvine.

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Marina: The Vikings gave Coach Carol Osbrink a victory in her varsity debut by defeating host Katella, 49-33, in nonleague play on Nov. 21. Senior center Danielle Brown led Marina with 10 points. Junior guard Melissa Lindquist scored nine points and both senior guard Lauren Dorame and junior forward Natasha Mangham scored eight.

Marina then won four consecutive games to earn the championship at the 35th annual Downey Classic tournament. The Vikings defeated St. Matthias of Downey (55-18), Kennedy (51-46), and North Torrance (60-57), and took down Santa Fe of Santa Fe Springs, 49-30, in the title game on Nov. 29.

In the title game win, junior guard Melissa Lindquist had 12 points, 11 steals and four assists, junior forward Natasha Mangham scored seven points with 13 rebounds, and senior guard Lauren Dorame added nine points and six boards.

In the win over St Matthias, Mangham had 12 points and seven rebounds, senior center Danielle Brown eight points and six rebounds, and Dorame scored nine points. Mangham posted 10 points with 16 rebounds, Brown had nine points and six rebounds, and Lindquist and junior guard Madison Yutkins both scored seven points and had three assists and four steals.

Against Kennedy, Mangham had 10 points and 16 rebounds, Brown nine points and six rebounds and Yutkins and Lindquist each had seven points. In the three-point semifinal win over North Torrance, Mangham had 19 points and 21 rebounds, Brown 16 points and 15 rebounds, senior center Kasey Cutchshaw 10 points and five rebounds, Dorame and Yutkins had five steals each.

Mangham was named tournament MVP and Yutkins and Lindquist were selected to the all-tournament team.

“This is a team that has had three coaches in three years,” Osbrink said. “It’s so rewarding as their coach to see them come together as a team and achieve success through their hard work and dedication. I am so proud of them.”

Marina starts play Tuesday at the Ocean View Tournament. The Vikings face Tesoro at 7 p.m.

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Ocean View: The Seahawks (2-0) began play Monday at the Oxford Academy Patriot Tournament and pulled away in the second half to defeat Santa Ana Valley, 43-32. Senior guard Mari Shigemasa scored 14 points to lead the way.

michael.sciacca@latimes.com

Twitter: @MikeSciacca