LJ g BB: Playoff game story

By Ed Piper

Alex Caceres, La Jolla's girls basketball coach the past two years, was looking at his phone. "It looks like we're league co-champions," Caceres said after the Vikings' 48-41 win at home over University City Feb. 11.

"I've been checking San Diego High's score, and they should win it (in a separate game). They were leading (comfortably)."

The beauty of sharing the league title with the Cavers, besides being champions, is that LJHS was rewarded with a home game in the opening round of the CIF playoffs Tues., Feb. 15.

Freshman Reagan Bennett (18.5 points per game in limited statistics), senior Tasi Anae (5.3 ppg), and gang hit a buzz saw, though, when they played host to visiting El Cajon Valley in the first round.

Coach Carlos Moss and leaders Aniah Deloatch, a 5'3" junior guard and Ruth Taulanga, 5'9", a bruising junior underneath, and their teammates were in active mode from the beginning, applying pressure on the younger Vikings.

But much to their credit, the La Jollans, gifted with a home game to start the playoffs but also facing a Braves team that wanted to prove the travel from East County was an affront, stayed within reach in the early going.

Drew Bennett, the other twin, aggressively led the Viking offense and pursued loose balls. With four minutes left in the opening stanza, La Jolla only trailed 4-3.

The Vikes came back from 8-3 down to 8-7 down with 1:27 left in the first quarter.

The El Cajon bulge quickly expanded to 13-7. Both sides were pressuring the ball coming up court, but the Braves, with Moss prowling the sidelines--coaches on both sides disputing seemingly each call--began to put things together.

The two teams went to 16-10 with 5:44 on the clock in the second quarter, in front of a small playoff crowd (fans had to buy "cashless" tickets online, none available at the site).

The Vikes' Audrey Walton, a 5'7" junior, and senior Chloe Gross, 5'9" closer to the basket, also figured prominently in the early effort.

The El Cajon advantage reached 20-10 with 2:48 left in the half.

Moss's crew maintained their edge, going away to win safely, 40-30. The Braves advance in the Division 4 playoffs to play at San Ysidro Fri., Feb. 18. San Ysidro narrowly defeated Southwest (El Centro), 47-43.

Meanwhile, the Vikings' co-champion, San Diego High, defeated Orange Glen handily 53-35. The Cavers move on as the fifth seed; Orange Glen was seeded number 12.

Against El Cajon, Reagan Bennett was hot. She hit two shots in the first quarter, then three more in the second quarter for 17 points in the first half. No Vikings hit a three-pointer in the first half.

The only other Vikings who scored in the opening quarter were Drew Bennett, with a basket, and Tasi Anae, charting a free throw.

All the other La Jollans were shut out in the scoring column in the second period outside of Reagan.

For El Cajon, Aniah Deloatch totalled 10 points in the second quarter.