Another big win earns share of Valley League basketball title for Lady Jags

The Valley Center varsity girls basketball team finished off the regular season with an impressive win, earned a share of the Valley League championship and advanced to the CIF playoffs this week.
The Lady Jaguars polished off Orange Glen in the season finale, earning them the league co-championship with Del Norte and the No. 7 seed in CIF Division III, which gave them a home game against Santana at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the first round of the post-season.
To get to the playoffs, the Lady Jags have been on a roll since mid-January, winning five of their last six games and eight of their last ten.
Finishing off the season at Orange Glen on Friday night, the Lady Jaguars dominated the first half and cruised down the stretch to take a 69–47 victory.
Lauren Gilster showed up in a big way for Valley Center, scoring the first 11 points of the game and leading the Lady Jaguars to a 13–9 lead after the first quarter.
Miriam Zabinsky took over for the Lady Jags in the second quarter, scoring 11 of Valley Center’s 28 points in the period, which extended the lead to 25 at halftime.
The Lady Jaguars pushed the lead out even further in the third quarter, even with the bench getting plenty of playing time, to put the Lady Patriots down by 28 heading into the fourth quarter.
Orange Glen played outstanding offense down the stretch, racking up 22 points in the final period, but the Lady Jags were solid inside and from the free throw line to hold on for the 22-point win.
Zabinsky’s 19 points led all scorers in the game, while Gilster added 18, Andie Wagner had 16, Sidney Reilly had seven, Vinessa Perryman had four, Kelli Imgrund had three and Darin Gilmore had two.
Valley Center finished the season with a 15–12 overall record and a 6–2 league mark. The Lady Jaguars will have played at home on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Santana in the CIF playoffs. The winner of that game will play again on Saturday against the winner of the game between Mt. Miguel and No. 2 La Jolla.
Be sure to check out the Valley Roadrunner’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/valleycenter for all the latest sports updates throughout the week.

Lady Jaguars win soccer season finale, host first round CIF playoff game

Valley Center’s varsity girls soccer team polished off an outstanding season with another win, making it four wins in the last six games for the Lady Jaguars, and earned a home game in the first round of the CIF playoffs this week.
With the win in the season finale, the Lady Jags earned the No. 6 seed in the CIF Division IV bracket, which means they will host No. 11 Mountain Empire (8–6–3, 4–3–2) on Wednesday night at 5 p.m.
The final game of the regular season was a home game against Orange Glen on Thursday, and a combination of consistent offense and solid defense led the Lady Jaguars to a 2–0 win.
Hannah Sanders scored in the first half on an assist from Michelle Nido to put the Lady Jags in front, then Amanda Nealis scored in the second half to put the game away. In goal, Taylor Yates made two key saves to get the shutout and the victory.
Valley Center posted a 10–6–2 overall record and a 4–3–1 league mark this season. The Lady Jaguars play at home against Santana on Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the first round of the CIF playoffs. The winner of that game will advance to play at No. 3 Francis Parker on Saturday at 5 p.m.

Lady Jaguars win big on senior night, ranked No. 4 in CIF Div. III playoffs

Valley Center’s varsity volleyball team sent off its seniors in style with a big 3–0 win over Del Norte on senior night at VCHS on Thursday.
The Lady Jaguars held on through a tough first game to dominate the final two for final game scores of 25–22, 25–17, 25–13.
Both teams traded points for the majority of the first game, with Del Norte finally taking a two-point lead at 9–7. But the Lady Jags came right back and took a two-point lead at 12–10, then built on the lead until they were up 17–13 on an ace by Laura Glennie. The Lady Nighthawks couldn’t make up any more ground and lost the game by three.
Valley Center came out on fire to start the second game, taking the first three points, but Del Norte responded and tied the game at six. Sidney Reilly got a spike that put the Lady Jags back in front, and they did not relinquish the lead in taking the game by eight points.
Del Norte jumped ahead early in the third game, putting Valley Center behind 7–1, but the Lady Jags stormed back to tie the score at nine. The teams battled to a tie at 11, but the Lady Jaguars went on an eight-point run to put the game out of reach and take the game by 12 points.
The big win puts the Lady Jaguars (17–12) in the No. 4 slot of the CIF Division III rankings, which means they will play tonight (Wednesday) at home against Olympian at 7 p.m.
The winner of tonight’s match will play again on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the second round.