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NEWS AND NOTES FROM PRESS ROW Cerritos girls hoopsters remain on top of Suburban League with fifth straight win

By Loren Kopff

@LorenKopff on Twitter

The hottest girls basketball team in the Suburban League continues to be Cerritos High, which routed Norwalk High 71-36 this past Wednesday. The Dons improved to 10-8 overall and 4-0 in the circuit and remains the lone league team with a winning overall record.

Cerritos never trailed and after it led 12-8 midway through the first quarter, it began to pull away with runs of 7-0 and 8-0 in the first half. The league leaders then blew the game wide open by going on a 15-0 to begin the second half to hold a 53-21 advantage.

All but one player scored for the Lady Dons, led by senior Ifeoma Okoli (17 points, 13 rebounds). Junior Tracy Nakamura and sophomore Lindsay Fujihiro each added 10 points while Fujihiro also had five assists and senior Cailey Vitug another four assists. Sophomore Areanna Arrayga was solid off the bench with four rebounds, two steals, a bock and an assist in the second half.

Cerritos also picked up a 53-38 victory over Peninsula High this past Monday in a tournament held at Whitney High. Vitug paced the Lady Dons with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals while Okoli had 12 points, 14 rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Cerritos will host John Glenn High tonight and entertain La Mirada High on Monday to end the first round of league play. Cerritos will then visit Bellflower High on Wednesday.

Norwalk (7-9, 1-3) got 14 points from senior Crystal Lambey and six more from senior Destiny Hurtado as the Lady Lancers will visit Bellflower tonight and be home to Glenn on Monday. Norwalk will also host Artesia High on Wednesday.

In other girls basketball action, Artesia was 6-10 overall and winless in four league games prior to its road game at Glenn this past Wednesday. The Pioneers will host second place Mayfair High tonight. Glenn (1-13, 0-3) will host La Mirada on Wednesday.

Whitney has lost two straight Academy League games. First, the Lady Wildcats fell to Crean Lutheran High 45-34 last Saturday night as senior Nicole Lee and sophomore Christine Hamakawa each scored 11 points and had four steals. Then Whitney (10-7, 3-2) was dominated by Sage Hill High 59-32 this past Tuesday night. Whitney will end the first round of league play at Oxford Academy tonight before travelling to Brethren Christian High on Thursday.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Artesia remained in a good position to grab one of the top four automatic playoff berths from the Suburban League following a 61-44 win over Glenn (1-16, 0-4) this past Wednesday. The Pioneers moved to 12-7 overall and 3-2 in league, good enough for fourth place. The Pioneers will round out the first half of league play with a home encounter against Mayfair High tonight.

Cerritos led Norwalk by as many as 20 points and held on for a 71-60 victory this past Wednesday to move its mark to 8-11 overall and 3-1 in league play. Junior Jyvonnte Moore had his best game with a career-high 25 points while junior Destin Flucas added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Only four players scored for Norwalk (6-12, 0-4), led by senior David Balderas, who posted a career-high 20 points. Senior Jordan Volpei added 16 points and senior Desmond Johnlouis came off the bench to score 15 points. Junior Cris Cecenas rounded out the scoring with nine points.

Whitney (11-10, 2-3) has dropped a pair of league games, first a 43-69 decision to Crean Lutheran last Saturday night, then a 70-42 affair to Sage Hill this past Tuesday night.

BOYS SOCCER

Artesia snapped a three-game skid with a 5-0 shutout over Glenn this past Wednesday. The Pioneers improved to 8-10 overall and 2-3 in the Suburban League while Glenn dropped to 1-9-1 overall and 0-3-1 in the circuit.

Cerritos lost its fifth straight game after getting blanked by Norwalk 2-0 this past Wednesday. The Dons dropped to 3-9-2, 0-4 while the Lancers improved to 7-4-1, 2-2.

Valley Christian routed Village Christian High 6-0 this past Wednesday in a make-up game. The Crusaders have won five straight games, all shutouts, and are now 9-6-1 overall and 3-0 in the Olympic League. Valley Christian is scheduled to host Maranatha today.

GIRLS SOCCER

Just like the boys did, the Artesia girls picked up a 5-0 road win over Glenn this past Wednesday to move its mark to 6-7-2 overall and 2-3 in league while the Lady Eagles remained winless in 10 games.

Cerritos posted a 3-0 win over Norwalk to even its league mark at 2-2 while going to 9-3-1 overall. The Lady Lancers saw their mark go to 6-5-3, 0-4.

Valley Christian improved to 11-3-3 overall and 3-0 in the Olympic League following a 4-0 win over Whittier Christian High this past Tuesday night. The Lady Crusaders have not lost since Dec. 16 and have outscored their opponents 26-3 since then. V.C. is scheduled to visit Maranatha today.