With just one returning starter in the line-up, the Chula Vista High School girls basketball team has continued to grow as the 2018-19 season has progressed.
The Spartans improved to 8-0 in South Bay League play, 17-6 on the season, after defeating host Castle Park, 42-29, on Monday. It was the seventh consecutive win for Chula Vista and the second win in as many games over the Trojans.
“The team is really improving,” CVHS coach John DeJesus said. “We’re kind of a young team. We had a lot of girls in the line-up graduate last year.”
The Spartans have been impacted by one returner to the program, senior forward Lajaei West, who had previously played for the team as a freshman before transferring to another school (and transferring back to Chula Vista).
West earned player of the game honors in Monday’s win after scoring 13 points and collecting 10 rebounds.
“She’s really helped the team in rebounding,” DeJesus said.
Monday’s game capped a two-game sweep by the Spartans between the two neighborhood rival schools.
The teams played last Friday at Chula Vista High School as the host Spartans prevailed by a score of 37-17. Chula Vista shut out Castle Park, 15-0, in the second half after leading 22-17 at halftime.
Chula Vista faced a determined Castle Park team in Monday’s rematch and had to fight back from an early 3-0 deficit.
The first half featured a lot of missed shots by both teams that resulted in a rather low scoring affair, with the visitors holding a 20-10 advantage.
The third quarter was low scoring again, with Chula Vista out-pointing the hosts 8-6. The teams opened it up in the fourth quarter, with the Spartans owning a 14-13 scoring edge.
Chula Vista was fairly balanced with 20 points in the first half and 22 points in the second half while Castle Park scored 19 of its 29 points in the second half.
Junior guard Frida Caballero dropped in 13 points while collecting six rebounds and six steals to help pace the visiting Spartans.
Caballero paced Chula Vista with 10 points in last Friday’s win while junior forward Alexandra Lozano dropped in eight points and West tallied seven points in the low-scoring victory by the Spartans.
Chula Vista is bidding for a top four seed in the upcoming San Diego Section Division III playoffs. The Spartans were eliminated in the opening round of last year’s division playoffs by El Capitan and lost in the first round to Coronado two years ago.
“We hope to finish up (strong), win league and get a high seed in the playoffs,” DeJesus said. “We’ve lost in the first round of the playoffs the last couple years, so we’d like to go farther with this year’s team.
“I think they’re starting to gel as a group.”
The Spartans host Hilltop on Feb. 8 to end regular season play. The game could be pivotal in the outcome of this year’s league standings. The Lancers improved to 8-1 in league play, 17-8 overall, after defeating visiting Southwest, 44-20, on Monday.
Entering the week, Chula Vista trailed top-ranked Mission Vista (13-2), second-ranked San Dieguito Academy (16-5) and third-ranked Calvin Christian (12-2) in the division rankings.
With the loss, Castle Park dropped to 5-4 in league play, 6-16 overall. The Trojans sit in the middle of the 20-team Division IV rankings.
Chula Vista defeated host San Ysidro, 56-15, on Wednesday to improve to 9-0 in league play.
Additional photos:
The Castle Park High School band and drill team entertained fans during breaks in Monday’s game:
Basketball Standings
2018-19 Girls Season
Mesa League
Mater Dei Catholic 7-0, 18-5
Bonita Vista 6-1, 14-9
Olympian 4-3, 14-10
Montgomery 2-5, 9-14
Otay Ranch 1-6, 15-9
Eastlake 1-6, 10-14
Wednesday, Jan. 30
Mater Dei Catholic 67, Montgomery 34
Bonita Vista 63, Otay Ranch 40
Olympian 54, Eastlake 33
Friday, Feb. 1
Olympian at Bonita Vista, 6 p.m.
Otay Ranch at Mater Dei Catholic, 6 p.m.
Eastlake at Montgomery, 6 p.m.
South Bay League
Chula Vista 9-0, 18-6
Hilltop 8-1, 17-8
Mar Vista 6-3 ,11-14
Castle Park 6-4, 7-16
Sweetwater 2-7, 5-18
San Ysidro 1-8, 10-13
Southwest 0-9, 2-12
Monday, Jan. 28
Chula Vista 42, Castle Park 29
Hilltop 44, Southwest 20
Wednesday, Jan. 30
Chula Vista 56, San Ysidro 15
Castle Park 41, Sweetwater 36
Friday, Feb. 1
Mar Vista at Chula Vista, 6 p.m.
San Ysidro at Sweetwater, 6 p.m.
Southwest at Castle Park, 6 p.m.
Basketball Standings
2018-19 Boys Season
Mesa League
Mater Dei Catholic 6-1, 14-9
Montgomery 6-1, 20-3
Otay Ranch 4-3, 14-10
Bonita Vista 3-4, 9-15
Olympian 2-5, 16-7
Eastlake 0-7, 7-16
Wednesday, Jan. 30
Olympian 45, Eastlake 38
Otay Ranch 58, Bonita Vista 57
Montgomery 64, Mater Dei Catholic 62
Friday, Feb. 1
Mater Dei Catholic at Otay Ranch, 6 p.m.
Bonita Vista at Olympian, 6 p.m.
Montgomery at Eastlake, 6 p.m.
South Bay League
Sweetwater 9-0, 18-6
Southwest 8-1, 19-6
San Ysidro 7-2, 17-7
Chula Vista 3-6, 7-18
Hilltop 3-7, 7-19
Mar Vista 3-7, 10-13
Castle Park 0-10, 2-20
Monday, Jan. 28
Chula Vista 63, Castle Park 31
Southwest 54, Hilltop 38
Tuesday, Jan, 29
Southwest 73, High Tech High Chula Vista 40
Friday. Feb. 1
Sweetwater at San Ysidro, 6 p.m.
Chula Vista at Mar Vista, 6 p.m.
Castle Park at Southwest, 6 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER:
Eastlake defeated visiting Olympian, 1-0, on Tuesday to improve to 8-1 in Mesa League play, 11-6-5 overall. The Titans remained in first place in the standings in front of Bonita Vista (7-1-1 in league play, 13-4-2 overall).
BOYS SOCCER:
Hilltop defeated visiting Mar Vista. 7-0, on Tuesday to improve to 3-1-3 in South Bay League play, 17-4-4 overall. The Lancers are second in the San Diego Section Division IV power rankings behind Mission Bay (11-1-1).
