Moreno Valley girls basketball holds off Carondelet to win sixth straight entering Nike Tournament of Champions semifinal matchup with unbeaten Ridgeline

MESA, Ariz. – One Mills sibling presented enough of a challenge Thursday for the Carondelet High girls basketball team at the Nike Tournament of Champions, but both sisters provided a big lift for Moreno Valley in the quarterfinal matchup in the Joe Smith Division.

Alaysha Mills, a sophomore, had 16 points and 13 rebounds, with senior Leiayjah Mills contributing 14 points – including three 3-pointers – to help Moreno Valley produce a 55-46 victory at Mountain View Mesa High.

The Vikings (10-4) won their sixth in a row, advancing to Friday’s semifinals against Ridgeline High of Utah (10-0), which prevailed by a 43-33 margin against La Jolla Country Day behind 21 points and 15 rebounds from Duke signee Emilee Skinner.

Bella Medina added 10 points for Moreno Valley, which used a 16-point first-half run to contribute to a 25-23 halftime lead.

Moreno Valley girls basketball | Jerome Reed photo

Carondelet (8-2), which received 12 points each from Layla Dixon and Janel Nevares, tied the score at 34-34 with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter.

But the Vikings responded with 12 unanswered points during a three-minute stretch to regain momentum.

Niylah Christopher contributed nine points for the Cougars, who cut the deficit to 47-43 with three minutes left, before Moreno Valley used another timely eight-point surge to secure the victory.

Carondelet is scheduled to square off Friday against La Jolla Country Day (6-3) in a fifth-place semifinal matchup.

In other Joe Smith Division games:

Ridgeline (Utah) 43, La Jolla Country Day 33: The Torreys (6-3) fell behind 18-6 early in the second quarter in their quarterfinal showdown and never recovered, as Ridgeline remained unbeaten in 10 contests this season and extended its overall winning streak to 32 in a row since last season.

La Jolla Country Day received a combined 13 points from junior guards Mei-Ling Perry and Safiyah Sugapong one day removed from the dynamic duo accounting for 53 points in a 69-54 opening-round victory against Cherry Creek High of Colorado.

Emilee Skinner had 21 points on 5-of-19 shooting for Ridgeline, in addition to 15 rebounds and four assists, but the Duke commit made 11 of 12 free-throw attempts, including all four in the fourth quarter to hold off a potential comeback effort by the Torreys.

La Jolla Country Day held Skinner without a field goal for more than 18 minutes, but was unable to pull closer than seven in the second half.

Abby Munford contributed 10 points and nine rebounds for the Riverhawks, who will square off against Moreno Valley in Friday’s semifinals.

Atlanta Bass-Sulpizio led the Torreys, who were also hurt by shooting just 6 of 14 from the free-throw line, with 11 points. 

Desert Vista (Arizona) 45, Villa Park 34: After going unbeaten in their first nine contests, the Spartans dropped their second straight game to open the event at Mountain View High.

Bailey Roczey and Lauren Wolfe both scored 10 points each for Villa Park, which trailed 22-18 at halftime.

Desert Vista (4-4), led by 21 points from Cheri Hatter, extended its advantage to 32-26 entering the fourth quarter.

Sabina Patel and Olivia Sturdivant both scored five points for the Spartans, who play Friday against Pinnacle High of Arizona (10-3) in a 13th-place semifinal showdown.