Girls Basketball: Broncos and Nighthawks Win; Rams Fall Again

The battle to improve their standings in the Southwestern League had girls varsity basketball teams from Murrieta and Temecula hitting the courts once again Wednesday night.

Here are the game recaps:

Vista Murrieta

The Broncos sputtered in the opening 8 minutes and gave Chaparral a glimmer of hope as the Pumas jumped out to a 10-9 lead in the first period. That hope did not last long as the Broncos slammed the door shut and put reality back into place as play began in the second period.

Vista Murrieta got its game on and thoroughly overwhelmed and dominated the Pumas for the rest of the game.

The Broncos led 32-18 at the half. They then proceeded to outscore the Pumas 40-15 in the final two periods, winning 72-33.

Freshman Jaelyn Brown was named the Broncos' player of the game by Coach Chris Jones. Jaelyn recorded her 11th double-double of the year with 18 points and 13 rebounds. She also had 3 steals. Serafina Maulupe also had 18 points and Brittney Reed followed with 15.

Yuendie Guridi scored seven points, Tatiana Navarro five, Leitasi Cravens four, Alexis Marshall three and Alexis Rivas two.

The Broncos, now 5-0 in league and 17-5 overall, host Temecula Valley Friday night.

Murrieta Valley

Led by Deshea Wilkes’ 19-point, five-rebounds and three-steal performance, the Nighthawks coasted to a 55-41 wins over Temecula Valley. Wilkes was battling a cold but managed to spark MVHS with her hustle and grit. She was named the player of the game by Coach Scott Richards.

Murrieta Valley never trailed and was up 28-22 at halftime. They outplayed and shut down the Golden Bears 27-19 in the second half and coasted to their fourth league win.

The Nighthawks, 4-1 in league and 17-4 overall, trail Vista Murrieta by one game in current Southwestern League standings.

Ariana Hernandez scored 10 points, Karen Wolf seven and Aliah Marshall three. Also for the Nighthawks, Alex Morrison scored six, with Julia Cardenas adding five.

MVHS will travel to Great Oak to take on the Wolfpack Friday night.

Murrieta Mesa

The Rams are still looking for their first Southwestern League victory. They lost to Great Oak 59-43 Wednesday. Tied 13-13 at the end of the first period, things unraveled for Murrieta Mesa after that.

The difference in the game was in the second and third periods, when the Rams were outscored 36-12.

Mikayla Greens was the top Ram scorer with 13 points. Shayd Bowers was next with 12 and Octavia Williams ended up with eight. Breanna Hernandez and Jackie Pulatie both scored four while Aimee Santiago had two.

The Rams, 0-5 in league and 12-9 overall, will be at home Friday to face a tough Pumas team. Chaparral is currently 3-2 in league play, having only lost to league-leading VMHS and MVHS. Coach Robert Gergins’ Rams lost to the Pumas 49-38 earlier this year and they will need to step up their game if they want to claim that first league win.

All games are at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25. Come out and support your favorite team.