El Capitan girls basketball team holds off late Rocklin run to prevail in So Cal Holiday Prep Classic WNBA Silver Division final

LAKESIDE – Keira Heinricy wasted little time surpassing the career 1,000-point barrier Monday for the El Capitan High girls basketball team, with the junior guard connecting on a 3-pointer in the first quarter of the WNBA Silver Division final of the So Cal Holiday Prep Classic.

Vaqueros coach Dylan Curtis was thankful for the 20 first-half points that Heinricy produced, because host El Capitan needed all of them to hold off a frenetic fourth-quarter surge by Rocklin.

Post-game interviews

Despite being held scoreless in the final quarter, El Capitan managed to survive 14 unanswered points down the stretch from Rocklin, capturing the title with a dramatic 46-45 victory, extending the longest home winning streak in program history to 17 in a row.

Paige Worthem, a senior, was selected MVP after scoring six points for the Vaqueros (14-2), who built a 36-16 halftime lead and stretched the advantage to 21 in the third quarter against Rocklin (8-5).

Heinricy, an all-tournament selection, connected on three early 3-point field goals – becoming just the sixth player all-time in the program to eclipse the 1,000-point mark with one of her 3-pointers to give the Vaqueros a 12-2 lead – and has accumulated 1,013 points in 74 career games for El Capitan.

Heinricy finished with 57 points in four tournament contests, including playing limited minutes because of illness in a 37-point victory Friday against Poway.

Keira Heinricy of El Capitan | Erik Boal photo

Bianca Slone, an all-tournament honoree, scored seven of her team-high 11 points as part of the fourth-quarter rally for Rocklin, which nearly fought back from a 22-6 deficit following the opening quarter.

Gisele Negueloua added 10 points, Cara Murphy contributed eight points and Kameryn King had six points for the Thunder.

Lilly Williams scored eight points, with Emily Sample and Madison Zarzan both producing six points apiece for El Capitan, which won its eighth consecutive game following a 64-20 loss Dec. 10 to La Jolla Country Day.

Williams had 44 points in the tournament, with Worthem contributing 40 points for the Vaqueros, who return to competition Jan. 7 against Cathedral Catholic (8-1).

Corona 49, Peninsula 39: Freshman Alex Flores scored 10 of her game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter for Corona (15-3) to help secure the WNBA Bronze Division title Monday at Canyon Hills High.

Alex Flores of Corona | Erik Boal photo

Flores made 13 of 16 free throws for Corona, in addition to collecting three steals, to earn division MVP honors.

Flores accumulated 58 points in three tournament contests for Corona, including 27 points in a 51-44 victory Saturday against Holy Names Academy from Washington.

Sophomore Ava Liaga, who received all-tournament recognition for Corona, had four points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Fia Liaga added 11 points and seven rebounds, with Aissis Ascensio contributing 10 points and nine rebounds for Corona, which scored the final five points of the third quarter after Peninsula (7-7) cut the deficit to 29-27 with 1:25 remaining.

Taylor Yee, an all-tournament selection, helped Peninsula close to within 37-35 following her basket with 4:20 left, but Corona responded with six consecutive points – including four free throws by Flores – to regain momentum.

Yee had a team-high 11 points to go along with five rebounds, with Melanie Punsalan scoring 10 points for Peninsula, which trailed 23-15 at halftime.

Lyzel Dudikoff added seven points and seven rebounds, Yunji Kim contributed six points, 15 rebounds and four steals, and Charlotte Fast had five points and five rebounds for Peninsula.

Corona, which made 21 of 26 free throws as a team, won its fourth in a row since a 67-55 overtime loss Dec. 17 to Beaumont.

Cardinal Newman 66, Sequam Secondary (British Columbia) 35: The Cardinals (10-3) produced a run of 18 unanswered points and held their Canadian opponent scoreless in the second quarter to capture the NAIA Premier Division championship Monday at Canyon Hills High.

Kate Schat, a Santa Clara signee, had 15 points – including a pair of 3-pointers – to earn division MVP honors for Cardinal Newman, which built a 33-8 halftime advantage.

Kate Schat of Cardinal Newman | Erik Boal photo

Macie Flores, a sophomore, hit five 3-point field goals for the Cardinals to finish with 15 points, receiving all-tournament recognition.

Cardinal Newman connected on 12 3-pointers for the contest, in comparison to four made by Sequam Secondary (6-1).

Kate Blanchard and Avery Vinson both scored nine points apiece, with Saundra Jordan adding eight points and Valor Queen contributing five points for the Cardinals, who stretched their advantage to 37 points late in the third quarter.

Syra Toor had 11 points and Camryn Tait contributed eight points, both earning all-tournament honors for Sequam Secondary.

Schat finished with 65 points in the tournament and Flores had 31 points in three contests for Cardinal Newman, which outlasted JSerra by a 54-53 margin in Friday’s opening round and produced a 57-41 victory against The Bishop’s School in Saturday’s semifinals.