Bulldog girls outscore Mission Hills, Valhalla in basketball tournament
By Bill Tamburrino
The Ramona High School girls basketball team got off to another great start in its second tournament of the season as the girls beat Mission Hills and Valhalla high schools in the North County Classic Tournament before losing to Vista on the road.
The Lady Dawgs are now 7-3 on the season as they have two non-league games this week before entering the biggest tournament in the county, the Kiwanis Tournament starting Dec. 19.
Coach Dan Marshall’s Lady Bulldogs beat Mission Hills 68-55 in a physical contest in the Dawg House. Katherine Mauldin led the team in scoring and rebounding as she registered a double by scoring 19 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. Kailey Hill and Niki Spring also scored in double digits. Hill scored 13 points and Spring added 12 to the book. Julie Ward (9), Christina Barrameda (6), Hannah Farhat (5), Macaela Fields (2), and Kylee Scheib (2) also scored in the victory.
Marshall, however, was more impressed with the defensive play and rebounding of his team than its offensive production. Ramona forced 36 turnovers and had 13 steals on defense. Mauldin forced eight turnovers. Barrameda had seven boards and three steals. Hill had eight boards and blocked two shots as Ramona grabbed 44 rebounds in the game.
“Every girl played hard on defense and every girl that played grabbed a rebound,” Marshall said.
The Lady Bulldogs continued their winning ways by beating Valhalla 69-47 at the Dawg House. Hill and Mauldin shared scoring honors as each scored 16 points by dominating the paint on the offensive end of the court in a game where 10 Lady Dawgs scored. Farhat came off the bench to score a season high 9 points as she teamed with Scheib to harass the Valhalla offense while playing pressure defense. Scheib and Fields contributed 6 points apiece. Ward, Barrameda, and Spring scored 4 points each while Ashlyn Savage and Mackenzie Griffin scored 2 points apiece. Ward led both teams with seven assists. Spring and Fields each had four assists.
The Bulldog girls played solid, aggressive, pressure defense. Spring had six steals and Hill blocked five shots. Ramona forced 24 turnovers. Griffin and Farhat both forced five turnovers.
The Lady Bulldogs lost to Vista High School 69-43 on the road. They got off to a low start and trailed 20-9 going into the second quarter. At half, the score was 36-19.
Marshall had praise for his junior guard and three-sport athlete Kailey Hill as she finished an outstanding week on the hardwood.
“While we lost to a better team, Kailey Hill outplayed everyone they threw at her. Her 18 points and seven rebounds were a bright spot on a tough evening at Vista,” Marshall said.
Hill was the only Bulldog to score in double figures against the Panthers. Ward (4), Barrameda (3), Spring (5), Fields (3), Mauldin (8), and Savage (2) also scored in the game.
Mauldin had a solid game on the boards as she tied Hill for the rebound honors with seven. Ward had five boards. Barrameda, Spring, Scheib, and Savage all hauled in three boards apiece. Barrameda and Hill had three defensive steals apiece.