GIRLS BASKETBALL: Scotts Valley Defeats Santa Cruz in Early League Showdown

The Score: Scotts Valley 61, Santa Cruz 49

The Star: The game was over when senior forward Liz Munger sunk a layup on a breakaway with just shy of three minutes remaining, extending the Falcons’ lead to nine points.

The Turning Point: After the Cardinals shrunk their deficit to just five points late in the third quarter, the Falcons’ Tori McBride made a nice move to the inside and drove to the basket, sinking a layup that would give Scotts Valley a seven-point lead that the team would never relinquish.

The Quote: “I’m stoked! We’re 6-0 and I’m really excited to be undefeated. It’s a really exciting feeling to know that you’re the team to beat.” —Liz Munger, regarding her team’s big win.

What’s Next? The Scotts Valley Falcons will host the Soquel Knights on Tuesday.

Bottom Line: The Falcons’ big win over the previously undefeated Cardinals puts them in sole possession of first place in their division for the first time ever. They’re also now ranked 13th out of the 128 schools in the Central Coast Section. Undefeated in league play, the Falcons are looking very much like a force to be reckoned with.

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With their 61-49 defeat of the Santa Cruz High girls basketball team at home Tuesday night, the Scotts Valley High girls basketball team improved upon its already-impressive win-loss record early in the season.

Senior Liz Munger’s dominated in the paint.

Munger  racked up points and boards all night, helping the Falcons improve to 14-4 on the season and 6-0 within the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic league. This big win has Scotts Valley setting its sights on a league championship.

“Our program turned the corner about two years ago,” said coach Jim Hart. “This is a championship run we’re on. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Buoyed by clutch defense and layup-machine Munger’s impressive showing, the Falcons put up a big lead early and never let up. Ending up with a 10-point, 25-15, lead at the finish of the first quarter, the Falcons clearly came out with the passion necessary for a win in a game of this magnitude.

At two different points in the game, Santa Cruz cut the lead down to five, but Scotts Valley never let them back in the game after jumping out to a lead with its strong first quarter. The Falcons did not trail the entire game.

With only a six-point lead at the end of the third quarter, the Scotts Valley defense kicked into gear and shut down the Cardinals’ agility and accuracy based offense.

They allowed only 10 points the entire fourth quarter, three of which came from the Cardinals’ Ashley Claussen’s impressive buzzer-beating jump shot as time expired.

Despite the convincing win, there are still a few things Coach Hart and the Falcons want to improve upon if they want to realize their goal of winning a championship. Turnovers hurt the Falcons and allowed Santa Cruz to stay in the game well into the second half.

“They’re quick, you know? Those kids are athletic and they get a lot of steals. They’ll get you a lot of balls,” Coach Hart said, in reference to the agility with which the Cardinals play.

The Falcons showed up in both phases of the game and hustled their way to a much-deserved victory against a high-quality opponent. The stalwart defense that the Falcons have played with all season kept the game well within their control. Hart’s game plan worked convincingly.

“We thought, if we can just handle the pressure and get into a half court game with them that they were going to have great difficulty beating us.”