Lady Jags overcome slow start to win one of two in basketball

Valley Center’s varsity girls basketball team had a pair of slow starts in two games this week, but the Lady Jaguars managed to overcome one deficit to pull out a victory heading into the season’s final game.
The Lady Jags could only muster seven points in the first quarter of their game against Del Norte at home last Tuesday, and couldn’t find their stride on offense down the stretch in a 37–33 loss.
Despite the low-scoring opening period, the Lady Jaguars played solid defense and trailed by only three after the first quarter. They closed the gap to one point with a good second quarter, scoring ten points to trail 18–17 at halftime.
Sidney Reilly came through with seven points in the third quarter to lead Valley Center back out in front, 28–22, heading into the fourth.
But Del Norte clamped down on defense, holding the Lady Jags to just five points, while racking up 15 points of their own, to take away the win.
Reilly played an outstanding game to lead all scorers with 19 points, while Miriam Zabinsky added eight, Andie Wagner had four and both Vinessa Perryman and Lauren Gilster had one.
But the Lady Jaguars recovered for Friday’s game at San Dieguito, and a great defensive effort led to a 42–33 win.
Once again, the Lady Jags scored only seven in the opening period, but this time the defense held the Lady Mustangs to just four points in the first quarter. San Dieguito pulled back within two points at halftime, but Valley Center dominated the second half with 17 points in the third quarter and 12 more in the fourth to seal the win.
Zabinsky led the way with 14 points, while Wagner had ten, Gilster had seven, Reilly had five, and Victoria Navarro, Darin Gilmore and Perryman each had two.
The Lady Jaguars are now 14–12 overall and 5–2 in league play, with the final game of the regular season coming up on Friday at Orange Glen at 7 p.m.
And as a correction to our girls basketball article from last week, the Lady Jaguars honored four seniors before the game against Canyon Crest Academy: Navarro, Kelli Imgrund, Sophie Hernandez and Amy-Jo Lange. We apologize for the error.

(photos by Ray Flores)

Strong defense helps Lady Jags win two straight in basketball

Lauren Gilster (21) goes up for the opening tip-off against Canyon Crest. (photos by Ray Flores)

A suffocating defense an a balanced offense were the keys to a pair of Valley League wins for the Valley Center varsity girls basketball team this week.
The Lady Jaguars held their two opponents to a total of 52 points for the week, while racking up an average of 52 points on offense over those same two contests.
The first win came last Tuesday at home against San Dieguito Academy, as the Lady Jags clamped down on defense right out of the gate in taking a 51–29 win.
The Lady Mustangs couldn’t bury a basket to save their lives, especially in the first half, as Valley Center held them to just nine points in the two opening periods. The Lady Jaguars, meanwhile, patiently moved the ball around and scored eight in the first quarter and 12 more in the second to hold an 11-point lead at the break.
San Dieguito finally started hitting some shots in the third quarter and came up with 13 points in the period, but the Lady Jags scored 12 in the quarter and still held a ten-point advantage heading into the final period. In the fourth quarter, Valley Center outscored San Dieguito 19–7 to end any hopes of a comeback.
Miriam Zabinsky led all scorers with 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Sidney Reilly added 11 points and ten rebounds, Lauren Gilster had seven points and 12 rebounds, Vinessa Perryman had seven points, Andie Wagner had four points and seven rebounds, Sophie Hernandez had two points and Kelli Imgrund had one point.
The Lady Jaguars went on to host league rival Orange Glen on Friday, and this time turned up the defensive pressure in the second half to take a 53–23 victory.
In both of the first two quarters, the Lady Jags outscored the Lady Patriots 16–8, giving Valley Center a 16-point lead at halftime.
In the second half, the Lady Jaguars completely snuffed out any offense Orange Glen attempted to muster, holding the Lady Patriots to just seven points in the half. Meanwhile, the Lady Jags scored 13 in the third quarter and eight more in the fourth to put the game away.
Zabinsky once again scored 19 points to top the scoring, while Reilly added 11 points, Wagner had seven, Victoria Navarro had five, Gilster had four, Tyler Carr and Perryman each had three and Darin Gilmore had one.
Valley Center is now 12–11 overall and 3–1 in league. The next game is a home game against Canyon Crest on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Lady Jags battle back to win one of three in basketball

It was an up and down week for the Valley Center varsity girls basketball team, as the Lady Jaguars struggled on offense in a big loss on the road to start the week, nearly came back from a big deficit to suffer a two-point loss in the middle of the week, then bounced back for a dominating win at home to finish off the week’s action.
The Lady Jags started out on the road at Westview last Tuesday, and despite taking an early lead, faded down the stretch in a 55–26 loss.
Valley Center started strong on offense, scoring 11 points in the first quarter and taking a two-point lead through the opening period. But the Lady Wolverines came roaring back with 11 points in the second quarter, while holding the Lady Jaguars to just four, giving Westview a five-point lead at halftime.
It was more of the same in the second half, as Westview scored 18 in the third and 17 in the fourth, while the Lady Jags could only muster 11 points in the final two periods combined.
Miriam Zabinsky led Valley Center with seven points, while Andie Wagner scored six, Vinessa Perryman had four, Kelly Imgrund scored three and Victoria Navarro, Sidney Reilly and Darin Gilmore each scored two.
On Thursday, the Lady Jaguars traveled to Ramona, and got a boost from the return of the injured Lauren Gilster. But after falling behind early, the Lady Jags couldn’t come all the way back and lost, 44–42.
Both teams played well in the first quarter, but the Lady Bulldogs came out with a one-point lead after the opening period. In the second, however, Ramona found a slight edge and scored 16, while holding Valley Center to just nine, to take an eight-point lead at the half.
The Lady Jaguars cut into the lead with an outstanding defensive effort in the third quarter, as they limited Ramona to just four points in the period. Valley Center could only score eight points in the quarter, however, and the Lady Bulldogs still led by four heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Jags started connecting on their shots down the stretch and wound up with 15 points in the final period, but Ramona stayed patient and hit its free throws to score 13 in the quarter and hold on for the win.
Wagner had a great game with 12 points, while Zabinsky scored eight, Gilster scored seven, Navarro had five, Reilly and Perryman each had four and Imgrund had two.
The solid effort of Thursday’s game carried over into Valley Center’s next game, at home against El Capitan on Friday, as the Lady Jaguars scored early and often to take a 57–28 win.
It was clear right out of the gate that the Lady Jags were in control of this game, as they scored the first 16 points of the game and didn’t allow a point to El Capitan until more than five minutes into the game.
After building a 19–7 lead in the first quarter, the Lady Jags moved the ball around very well and dominated the second quarter, 16–1, giving Valley Center a 35–8 lead at halftime.
El Capitan came back with a solid third quarter, but the Lady Jaguars kept pace and extended the lead to 47–19 through three periods. Down the stretch, coach Tony Casillas made sure all of his players saw some playing time, and the Lady Jags cruised to the big win.
Zabinsky took over the game from the opening tip and finished with 20 points on the night, while Reilly added 11, Gilster scored six, Navarro, Perryman, Wagner and Sophie Hernandez each scored four and Gilmore and Imgrund each had two.
Valley Center is now 9–10 overall and plays again on Friday at Del Norte at 5:30 p.m.

Lady Jags beat Fallbrook, fall to Escondido in basketball

Sidney Reilly blocks a shot against Escondido.

Valley Center’s varsity girls basketball team started off the week with a key defensive win, but the Lady Jaguars couldn’t keep momentum rolling in a big loss to finish off the week.
The Lady Jags started off with a game at Fallbrook on Wednesday, and the combination of a solid offense and a stifling defense led to a 46–30 win.
Valley Center practically flew out of the gate, scoring 14 points in the first quarter, while holding the Lady Warrriors to just four, to take an early ten-point lead. It was more of the same in the second quarter, as the Lady Jaguars racked up ten points and held Fallbrook to just six to take a 14-point lead at halftime.
The Lady Jags added 12 more points in the third quarter, while once again limiting Fallbrook to just six, which increased the lead to 20 points heading into the final period. Valley Center’s coaches made sure that the subs got plenty of playing time down the stretch, and even though the Lady Warriors scored 14 in the fourth quarter, the Lady Jaguars tacked on ten points of their own to seal the win.
Miriam Zabinsky dropped 22 points to lead all scorers, while Andie Wagner added seven, Sidney Reilly, Sophie Hernandez and Vinessa Perryman each scored four, Victoria Navarro and Kelli Imgrund each scored two and Tyler Carr scored one.
But Valley Center couldn’t match the defensive effort of Wednesday’s win in Friday’s away game at Escondido, and the Lady Jaguars were handed a tough 60–39 loss.
The Lady Jags started out on a positive note, scoring 12 points in the first quarter and taking a two-point lead through the opening period. But the Lady Cougars roared back with 16 points in the second quarter, while holding Valley Center to just seven, to pull ahead by seven at halftime.
The teams played a mostly-even third quarter on both sides of the ball, but Escondido started creating points off of turnovers late in the period to total 18 points in the quarter and hold a 12-point lead heading into the fourth. Down the stretch, the Lady Cougars kept the pedal to the metal and outscored the Lady Jaguars 16–7 in the final period to ice the 21-point win.
Navarro and Reilly each scored ten points to lead the Lady Jags, while Zabinsky and Wagner each scored eight and Perryman scored three.
The Lady Jaguars are now 9–7 overall and play two more games this week, starting with an away game at Ramona on Thursday, followed by a home game against El Capitan on Friday. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m.
Andie Wagner takes a baseline jump shot at Escondido.