When Bonita Vista High School senior Shyla LaTone set a San Diego Section single-game scoring record with 76 points in a 99-26 win over host Hilltop on Jan. 19, it elevated the Lady Baron basketball player to celebrity status.
The notoriety has paid off in terms of college recruiting. It also produced something rather unexpected: an offer to play for the Harlem Globetrotters.
Last Friday’s winter sports assembly on campus featured the usual cheers and squeals from students as the school’s various winter sports teams received recognition. It started with roller hockey, progressed to soccer, girls water polo and ended with basketball.
The girls basketball team took the stage last, but the assembly didn’t end there.
A special guest entered the gym: Harlem Globetrotter player Orlando Melendez, otherwise known as El Gato.
Melendez, who made appearances in the NCAA Division I Final Four with the North Carolina Tar Heels in 1998 and 2000, is the first Puerto Rican-born basketball player to play for the renowned Globetrotters, who will make their San Diego tour stop with a pair of upcoming dates at the Valley View Casino Center: Friday, Feb. 16, and Feb. 23.
As he approached the stage, it became apparent to LaTone that she was the guest of honor in actuality.
“We’re always looking for talent,” El Gato casually announced to the large teenage crowd.
La Tone gasped as Melendez challenged her to a three-point shooting contest in front of all her peers.
Each made one shot.
The surprise visit was prearranged with school administrators, of course. But LaTone was kept in the dark until the last moment.
“It was unexpected, I had no idea,” she said. “It took me off-guard. I don’t have words for this. It’s all a big dream.”
But it happened in living color in front of the whole student body.
Bonita Vista girls hoops coach Tristan Lamb called the surprise visit to honor LaTone a “great experience” for the Lady Baron scoring wizard.
“She deserves the recognition for the great season she’s having and all the hard work she’s put in,” he said.
All that hard work by LaTone and her teammates will continue in the upcoming San Diego Section playoffs.
The Lady Barons defeated Hilltop, 95-35, on Tuesday to improve to 10-1 in Mesa League play, 22-6 overall, and clinch outright possession of this year’s league championship.
Bonita Vista entered Thursday’s regular season finale at Olympian with a two-game lead over both Eastlake (8-3 in league play, 18-6 overall) and Mater Dei Catholic (8-3 in league play, 15-12 overall).
The playoffs tip off Wednesday, Feb. 21, for girls teams.
All three teams will be vying for berths in the Division I field.
La Tone entered the week averaging 37.9 points per game. She’s scored 40 points or more 11 times this season and has scored 50 or more points on four occasions.
