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Vincent Memorial High's Irene Aranda dribbles down the court in a Manzanita League game against Julian High on Wednesday in Calexico. (FERNANDO ACOSTA JR. PHOTO / February 13, 2013) |
The Manzanita League girls’ basketball title was on the line Wednesday night, as the reigning champion Scots of Vincent Memorial Catholic High hosted the Eagles of Julian High in Calexico.
The last time these two met was Jan. 18 in a game that Julian snagged, 39-35. On Wednesday, they met as equals, with matching league records of 5-1.
Ultimately, the Scots came away with the victory, winning their sixth consecutive ML title, 33-23.
“The last time we played (Julian), we had a bad game,” said senior phenomenon Irene Aranda, 18. “We’d been thinking about it ever since, so (Wednesday) we were ready to go hard and beat them. We have been league champs for the past five years and we didn’t want to lose that legacy.”
Nevertheless, the home team came out looking somewhat disjointed, giving up seven points and eight minutes of the first period before they managed to get on the board.
“It’s been like that all year for us,” admitted head coach Jesús González, “up and down. Sometimes we have trouble with our focus, but our bench came out and gave us a little spark and we started taking advantage.”
Julian relied mainly on the talents of senior point guard Hannah Elliott, who oversaw a more fast-break, improvisational style of play. By contrast, the Scots, once they had settled down, played more methodically and patiently. With a solid supporting cast and both speed and size in Aranda and junior center Yolanda España, Vincent was able to rally and overshadow its opponents.
“The only thing I would say is that we need to learn how to play four complete quarters of basketball,” said González, who has led his Scots to six league championships and two CIF Finals appearances in his 18 seasons at the helm. “But I think we’ve earned the respect we deserve.”
España was Wednesday’s top scorer, with 15 points, while Aranda finished with 13.
Aranda — who averages 24.4 points per game and, with Wednesday’s win, has scored an impressive total 550 points thus far — is being pursued by the basketball programs of New York University, NYU Polytechnic and Baruch College. Anticipating the game against Warner and the playoffs, she said simply, “I just wanted to finish my senior year in a way that they’ll remember me.”
The Scots will conclude their season on Friday, as they travel to take on Warner High School of Warner Springs.
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