SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES : Girls’ 1-A and Small Schools : Valley Christian Wins Title Again

Valley Christian High School of Cerritos won its second straight Southern Section girls’ 1-A basketball championship with a 60-39 victory over Santa Clara of Oxnard Friday night at Cerritos College.

Center Rolynn Rienstra had 21 points, and forward Tonya Zwaggerman added 19 for Valley Christian (25-2), which advanced to next week’s state tournament.

Gina Duarte had 8 points to lead Santa Clara (21-7).

Nicole Crandall had 15 points and 13 rebounds to help Trona ( 21-4) win the Southern Section girls’ Small Schools championship with a 46-45 victory over Lone Pine (21-4) at Bishop High School.

The Tornados, who split two games with the Eagles during the season, jumped out to an eight point lead in the first quarter, but were outscored 17-5 in the second as the Eagles rallied back to lead at halftime, 27-23.

The Eagles kept the 7-point advantage going into the fourth, but began to crumble under a half-court press in which Trona took advantage of several turnovers and outscored Lone Pine, 13-5, to win the title by a point.

Lone Pine (21-4) was led by sisters Mary and Kasey Wuster, who scored 12 and 14 points respectively.