Female cagers win 2, lose 1 in classic
By Bill Tamburrino
Ramona High’s girls basketball team beat Vista and Mission Hills and lost to Canyon Crest Academy in the North County Classic. The Lady Dawgs are now 7-3 on the season, and Coach Erin O’Connor is pleased with the play of her team.
“We are playing well as a team,” said O’Connor. “I like our chemistry and attitude. We are playing good team defense and communicating well on the court. We have played good competition that will get us ready for the Palomar League.”
The Lady Bulldogs used a fourth quarter rally to beat Vista 43-37 in the Dawg House. Ramona had to battle back on several occasions to pull out the victory.
Vista jumped out to a 6-0 first quarter advantage, but the Lady Dawgs went on an 8-2 run to tie the score at the quarter. Ramona outscored Vista by 1 point in the second period and took a 16-15 lead into the locker room at intermission.
Vista controlled the tempo in the third period and led 25-23 with eight minutes left in the game. Coach O’Connor’s charges then dominated all phases of the game in the final period and outscored the Panthers 20-12 to win the game.
Paige Conroy scored 6 of her 8 points in the fourth quarter. She also contributed greatly to the defensive effort as she had six steals in the game.
Niki Spring and Kim Whelehon hit clutch 3 point shots to pace the Lady Dawgs’ comeback.
Whelehon took the scoring honors by putting 12 points in the book. RaeAnne VanTol registered a double-double by scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
VanTol controlled the offensive boards with nine rebounds.
Spring had 5 points overall. Kailey Hill (2), and Tiana Zuniga (6) also scored for the Lady Dawgs.
Ramona used the same formula that worked against Vista to beat Mission Hills on the road 61-52. The ladies from the Valley of the Sun trailed 14-13 after the first eight minutes but had a huge second quarter to put the game away. Ramona outscored the Grizzlies 23-15 in the second period to take a 36-29 lead that they would not relinquish.
VanTol led Ramona with 18 points. Conroy and Whelehon also scored in double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Spring (3), Hill (7) and Zuniga (9) scored in the victory.
The Lady Dawgs finished their busy week by traveling to Canyon Crest Academy. Ramona lost to the Ravens (4-1) 57-48.
Ramona trailed 37-29 at intermission and closed the gap to 44-41 going into the final quarter. The Ravens then put the game away by outscoring Ramona 13-7 in the final eight minutes.
VanTol finished the week with her third straight game in double digits. The senior post player scored 14 points. Spring (6), Conroy (5), Hill (7), Buckley (2), Julie Ward (5), Zuniga (5) and Mauldin (4) also scored for the Lady Dawgs.
The Lady Bulldogs will host San Pasqual High School on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Dawg House.