The Bonita Vista High School girls basketball team breezed through pool play at last week’s second annual Bonita Vista Lady Barons Gold Crown Holiday Tip-Off tournament. That was not unexpected.
The Lady Barons topped Morse by a 96-27 score in their pool opener on Dec. 27, then sped past Chula Vista, 91-22, on Dec. 28 and defeated Lincoln, 82-47, on Dec. 29.
The playoffs, which took place Dec. 30, brought on the meat of the competition. Bonita Vista slipped past Mira Mesa, 76-66, in the semifinals before bowing, 74-63, to The Bishop’s School in the championship game.
The Lady Barons finished tournament play 4-1 to extend their season opening record to 12-4.
Bishop’s, which finished 5-0 in tourney play, improved to 15-3. Bonita Vista gave the Lady Knights their toughest challenge in the four-day event.
“We had some girls who were out of the lineup for various reasons, so we weren’t at full strength,” second-year BVHS head coach Tristan Lamb said. “We did the best we could with what we had. The competition got more challenging as we moved into in the playoffs.”
Senior Shyla LaTone remains the team’s showpiece regardless of who is in the lineup.
LaTone, who is averaging 37.8 points per game, earned selection to the all-tournament team. She poured in 55 points in the win over Morse, added 47 points in the win over Chula Vista, dropped in 33 points in the win over Lincoln, scored 39 points in the win over Mira Mesa and led the team with 30 points in the championship game loss to Bishop’s.
Her shooting percentage is 56 percent on the season. It was near 100 percent during the early minutes of the championship game. Just about anything she touched — from anywhere on the court — dropped in.
While LaTone remained a definite force to be reckoned with throughout the game, the Lady Knights paraded out their own lethal weapons.
Junior Melissa Chang poured in 27 points to earn selection on the all-tournament team.
Freshman Jada Davis-Mack dropped in 25 points. She was a constant nemesis under the basket.
Bishop’s led, 20-16, after the first quarter and 40-34 at halftime. But the Lady Knights provided some separation between the teams by engineering a 16-8 run during the third quarter to lead 56-44.
The Lady Barons cut the deficit to 64-59 in the latter stages of the fourth quarter but couldn’t complete the comeback.
LaTone finished the tournament with 204 points in the five games — exactly half of her team’s 408 points in those games.
“She’s a great player,” Lamb said. “She works hard. She scores a lot. But she’s always looking to get her teammates involved.”
Those teammates included Emma Schroeder and Anneth Grijalba, who each contributed nine points in the win. Meanwhile, Emma Rand had six points while Jaylean Arenas had five points, and Laryssa Kure had four points.
Grijalba led the hosts with 11 rebounds while LaTone topped the team with six assists and five steals.
The Lady Barons, who recorded a runner-up finish in the 2016 Division II finals, expect to be competitive in their upcoming league games and in their playoff division.
Bonita Vista tipped off Mesa League play Friday at Mater Dei Catholic, last year’s Division I champion, with an 81-76 win. LaTone wore out the basket with 50 points.
She added six rebounds and four assists in the keynote win.
Marissa Sanchez paced Mater Dei Catholic (6-8) in the loss with 30 points while teammate Chloe Webb dropped in 17 points.
Friday’s win has to make a statement after the Lady Barons failed to advance past the first round of last year’s Division I playoff field.
“We should go deeper in the playoffs (this year),” Lamb said in regard to the potential fortunes of this year’s BVHS team.
Mesa League Scoreboard
Girls Basketball
Friday, Jan. 5
Bonita Vista 81, Mater Dei Catholic 76
Eastlake 67, Hilltop 22
Montgomery 50, Otay Ranch 32
Boys Basketball
Friday, Jan. 5
Montgomery 83, Otay Ranch 81
Eastlake 96, San Ysidro 72
Mater Dei Catholic 89, Bonita Vista 65
Wednesday, Jan. 3
Otay Ranch 94, San Ysidro 67
Montgomery 84, Olymipan 67
