Oilers off to good start in league play

Through the opening week of the Sunset League girls’ basketball race, two teams — Huntington Beach and Marina — sit alone atop the league standings.

Huntington went to 2-0 in league Tuesday by winning, 60-31, at Fountain Valley. Senior guard Paola Roa scored 12 points and sophomore guard Sammy Gray added 10 points as the Oilers, ranked fourth in CIF Southern Section Division 1A, improved to 15-2.

“We had a lot of balance in our offense with nine girls scoring,” said Huntington Coach Russ McClurg, whose team ran its win streak to six games.

Huntington’s two losses, both coming at the Arizona Nike Tournament last month, are by a combined seven points.

Guards Martine Caponera and Ashley Masuda scored five points apiece to pace Fountain Valley (7-12, 0-2). Post players Emily Krause (four points) and five Mikaila Pacis (three points) combined for 12 rebounds.

“Huntington Beach is well-coached and talented at every position,” Barons Coach Cory Clarke said. “They combine athleticism, size and quickness, with great effort and execution on offense and defense.

“We kept the game close for about 12 minutes, only being down seven (points), but they went on a run late in the first half to put us down 15 at half. We finished the game with 26 turnovers and we gave up 23 offensive rebounds. We have to find a way to stick together through this five-game losing streak and stay mentally focused on getting better.”

In league openers Jan. 9, Huntington overwhelmed visiting Newport Harbor, 73-27, and Fountain Valley fell, 47-33, at Los Alamitos. Roa scored a game-best 18 points, freshman forward Frankie Wade-Sanchez had 16 points and senior guard Stephanie Louie scored 14 points in the Oilers’ win. Junior guard Ari Jacobsen scored 13 points for Fountain Valley in its loss at Los Alamitos.

Marina went on the road Tuesday to Los Alamitos and knocked off the Griffins, 66-46. Senior guard Danielle Kennedy led the scoring with 19 points. Senior forward Natasha Mangham’s double-double included 16 points and 15 rebounds, senior guard Madison Yutkins had 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists, junior forward Kydell Pearson had 10 points and six rebounds, and senior guard Melissa Lindquist four points, six rebounds and five assists.

The Vikings, ranked No. 15 in CIF-SS Division 2AA, ran their league record to 2-0 and overall mark to 11-7.

“The kids really turned it around in the second half,” said Marina Coach Carol Osbrink, whose Vikings trailed by eight at halftime. “We changed some things at the half and the kids came out fired up. They played hard and really believed we could win.”

Marina’s start to the league season turned out to be a memorable night for the Vikings on Jan. 9, as they defeated visiting Edison, 60-48. Kennedy posted a game-high 22 points and Lindquist scored 11 points as the Vikings defeated Edison for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

Edison evened its league record (1-1) Tuesday by defeating host Newport Harbor, 53-29. Sophomore guard Jennie Kwok scored a game-high 12 points and guards Jasmyn Winters and Marlies DeJong both scored eight points for the Chargers (9-7 overall).

In the 60-48 loss at Marina, sophomore forward Justine Modde scored 18 points and senior forward Loli Gomez had 12 points for the Chargers.

Ocean View, the No. 10 team in CIF-SS Division 3A, began its bid for the 2014 Golden West League title Tuesday by defeating visiting Loara, 39-27. Sophomore guard Danelle Almiranez hit four three-point shots and led all scorers with 15 points.

First place in the Sunset League is on the line at 7 p.m. Thursday when Marina pays a visit to Huntington. Also in Sunset play, Edison hosts Los Alamitos (7 p.m.) and Fountain Valley travels for a 6 p.m. game at Newport Harbor. Ocean View hosts Santa Ana in a 7 p.m. Golden West League game Thursday.

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Boys’ Basketball

Brethren Christian won two games in the past week. First, they scored a 63-39 win at Cerritos Whitney in an Academy League opener Friday. On Saturday, they edged Riverside Christian, 68-66, in the Small School Showcase hosted by BC.

Sophomore forward Cameron Griffin poured in 23 points, including the winning basket with 11 seconds left, in Saturday’s win over Riverside Christian. Griffin was named the Showcase Player of the Game for his performance. Caleb Keller contributed 19 points and Brandon Bryson again had a balanced stats line with nine points, five rebounds, seven assists and nine steals.

BC, 13-2 and ranked No. 5 in CIF-SS Division 5AA, defeated Riverside Christian for the second time this season. The Warriors scored an 82-66 win Dec. 30 in the championship game of the MaxPreps Holiday Classic.