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By Loren Kopff
@LorenKopff on Twitter
It has been a very long season for the John Glenn High and Whitney High boys basketball teams, combining for six wins in 43 games entering their matchup this past Tuesday night. Something had to give as one of them would pick up their first 605 League win and it went to the visiting Eagles.
Glenn (3-20, 1-4) never trailed and led by as many as 14 points midway through the fourth quarter as it held on for a 46-37 win. It was the fewest points the Eagles have yielded this season. Glenn led 18-8 after the first quarter and built a 13-point lead less than a minute into the second quarter before the Wildcats cut their deficit to eight points with 3:01 left before halftime after a three-pointer from senior Joshua Chung.
But the Eagles scored the final five points of the half, then outscored the hosts 6-5 in the third quarter to lead 33-21 after 24 minutes. After Whitney (4-18, 0-5) scored five straight points to begin the fourth quarter, Glenn went on a 10-4 run over the next 4:21 seconds to put the game away.
Glenn was also dominant on the glass, collecting 48 rebounds to 21 from the Wildcats. Junior Chris Saucedo led the Eagles with 12 points and 15 rebounds while senior Joseph Angulo added 10 points and eight rebounds. Senior Chris Lujan chipped in with nine points and nine rebounds.
Whitney was paced by Chung, who posted a career-high 17 points, and junior Victor Ufondu, who added eight points.
Prior to the game, the Whitney girls ended a mini two-game slide with a 49-29 win in a lackluster effort. The Lady Wildcats shot 24 percent from the field and missed 14 free throws. After Glenn scored the first basket of the game, Whitney (16-6, 3-2) reeled off 21 straight points that lasted almost two minutes into the second quarter. The hosts led 32-8 but shot six of 31 from the field in the second half.
Senior Justine Wu led Whitney with nine points and had four rebounds while senior Kiana Sanchez and sophomores Julianna Lee and Makenna Yokoyama all added eight points. Whitney was also able to pick up 22 steals with nine players getting at least a steal.
Glenn (7-16, 1-4) was led by junior Dominique Harrison, who scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds. Sophomore Karina Flores added eight rebounds and half a dozen points.
Both Glenn teams will visit Pioneer High tonight before hosting Cerritos High on Tuesday while the two Whitney squads will host Cerritos tonight on Homecoming night and entertain Artesia High on Tuesday. In addition, the Whitney girls will be home to South Gate High on Monday.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Gahr High evened its San Gabriel Valley League mark after four games following a 59-56 win against Paramount High last Friday. The Gladiators (13-9 overall) traveled to Downey High this past Wednesday and will go to Dominguez High tonight and Lynwood High on Wednesday.
Norwalk High fell under .500 for the first time since Dec. 10 with losses to Mayfair High (58-56) and La Mirada High (46-38) this past Monday and Wednesday respectively. The Lancers, who are 11-12 overall and 1-3 in the Suburban League, hosts Bellflower High tonight before going to Mayfair on Wednesday.
Valley Christian High lost to Maranatha High 58-53 this past Tuesday and will take its 10-10 overall mark, 1-3 in the Olympic League, into a Jan. 17 contest against Heritage Christian High. The Defenders will also play Arcadia High on Monday and travel to Village Christian High and The Webb Schools on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Artesia remained the lone winless in 605 League action after falling to Pioneer 82-20 this past Tuesday night. The Lady Pioneers (12-11, 0-5) have lost eight straight games as they will host Oxford Academy tonight and travel to Whitney on Tuesday.
Cerritos has lost two straight games for the first time this season, first falling to Orange Lutheran High 43-32 last Saturday in the Matson Classic, then getting crushed by 605 League frontrunner Oxford Academy 63-30 this past Tuesday.
Against Orange Lutheran, the Lady Dons (12-8, 3-2) rallied from a 10-point lead nearly half a minute into the second half to take a 28-27 lead going to the fourth quarter. But Cerritos made just one field goal in the final stanza. Seniors Lindsey Fujihiro and Iris Lee each had seven points while senior Alyxe Tamaki added six points and freshman Halyne Buycks grabbed nine rebounds as the Lady Dons will travel to Whitney tonight, face Canyon High on Monday in the Martin Luther King Shootout and visit Glenn on Tuesday.
Gahr snapped a seven-game losing streak when it smashed Paramount 63-37 last Friday, but then fell to Downey 73-30 this past Wednesday to drop to 5-15 overall, 1-4 in the SGVL. The Lady Gladiators will visit Dominguez High tonight, face Millikan High in the Lindahl Extravaganza at Long Beach Jordan High on Saturday and go to Lynwood on Wednesday.
Norwalk fell to Mayfair 63-47 this past Monday to see its record fall to 10-9, 2-1. The Lady Lancers host Bellflower tonight before going to Mayfair on Wednesday.
V.C. lost for the sixth straight time after a 64-29 setback to Maranatha High this past Tuesday. The Lady Defenders (5-17, 0-4) hosted Heritage Christian on Jan. 17 and will travel to Village Christian on Tuesday.
BOYS SOCCER
Add another shutout to the resume of the 2018-2019 Artesia team as it blanked Pioneer 4-0 this past Tuesday to improve to 12-1-2 overall and 5-0 in league play. The Pioneers, who remained the No. 2 team in the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 poll, have eight shutouts this season, all coming in their last 11 contests. Artesia visits Oxford Academy today and is home to Long Beach Poly High on Monday and Whitney on Tuesday.
The streaking Lancers of Norwalk improved to 12-0-2 following a 5-0 win against Mayfair this past Monday. The Lancers, who are the top-ranked team in Division 4, host Bellflower on Friday before going to Mayfair on Wednesday.
V.C. remained on top of the Olympic League after tying host Maranatha 1-1 this past Tuesday. The Defenders (10-3-1, 3-0-1). The Defenders travelled to Heritage Christian on Jan. 17 and will host Village Christian on Tuesday.
GIRLS SOCCER
The surprise team this season is Gahr, which blanked Dominguez 2-0 this past Wednesday to improve to 7-6-2 overall and 4-1 in the SGVL. This is the best season the Lady Gladiators have had since the 2006-2007 season when that team went 11-5-2 overall and 6-4 in league. Gahr will be seeking its first trip to the playoffs since 2003 as it hosts Lynwood on Tuesday and visits Warren High on Thursday.
V.C. is nearing another Olympic League championship following a 5-0 win at Maranatha this past Tuesday, improving to 12-5 overall and 3-0 in league play. The Lady Defenders, with three straight shutouts, hosted Heritage Christian on Jan. 17 and will entertain Sage Hill High on Wednesday.
