Girls Basketball Storms Past Valley Center

Pom Poms swayed, students chanted, and the biggest crowd turnout of the season for San Dieguito contributed to an ecstatic energy that never faded. This capped off what turned out to be an overpowering 56-33 victory for San Dieguito over Valley Center during the Division IV CIF semi-final match, Wednesday.

“We all played really well together and we brought a lot of energy to the court which was nice to see,” said sophomore Josie Willard. “I’m super excited [to be going to CIF finals] because we’re a super young team so I hope we get to keep going for more years to come.”

Sophomore Addison Werbelow led San Dieguito (11-15) to a dominating scoreboard presence early in the game against Valley Center (10-16). Werbelow’s skillful dribbling down that baseline snuck her past the Jaguar defense to score a layup on four different first-quarter occasions. Werbelow accounted for 10 of her game-high 23 points in the first quarter of the game, bringing the Mustangs to a quick 16-6 lead in the first eight minutes.

“I’m just glad my teammates had their head up and looked for me. I tried to make good passes as much as I [could], but it’s fun leading the team,” said Werbelow. “But at the end of the day it’s all about teamwork.”

The attack slowed going into the second quarter with both teams pressing well defensively. In efforts to regain the first quarter momentum, freshman Skylar Pavlovich nailed two bank shots and a layup for a six point run. Three additional points by Werbelow put San Dieguito at a 25-12 halftime lead; more than double the score of the Jaguars.

“At the beginning we were all super nervous and we got an early lead,” said Willard. “But then we sort of relaxed and that’s when they started to come back. But I thought that we handled it well and pulled back ahead again.”

Valley Center came in with a stronger offensive effort second half, but was unable to match San Dieguito’s speed of play. Unanticipated breakaways and quick combination plays tore down the Jaguar defense in the last 16 minutes. Freshman Antonia Billante took advantage of several long overhead passes to sneak past the last Jaguar defender and contribute to her 8 second-half points.

The game consisted of only two 3-point baskets for the Mustangs, which were scored second half by sophomore Jacqueline Sedlock and Werbelow.

With the win, San Dieguito advances to play Castle Park in the CIF championship game at San Marcos High School Saturday at 1pm.