Southwestern League Standings

School League Overall

Vista Murrieta 4-0 15-5

Murrieta Valley 3-1 16-4

Chaparral 3-1 13-7

Great Oak 1-3 7-7

Temecula Valley 1-3 4-11

Murrieta Mesa 0-4 12-8

Vista Murrieta looks dominant with senior combo guard Serafina Maulupe and freshmen Jaelyn Brown and Brittney Reed accounting for 40 points per game. They are on track for an undefeated season if they can get by defending champion Murrieta Valley again. The battle appears to be for second place between the mid-range and transition game of Murrieta Valley and the inside power game of Chaparral.

Vista Murrieta

Vista Murrieta’s pre-season 11-game win streak ended with a loss to the nation’s #8-ranked team Etiwanda. They are currently on a 4-game win streak in league play with an average score differential of 19 points. In the 61-25 win over Temecula Valley, freshman Brittney Reed had 14 points, 9 rebounds and five steals. Fellow freshman Jaelyn Brown had 15 points, 9 rebounds and 7 steals. A 17-6 second quarter helped Vista Murrieta to a 64-43 win over Great Oak. Alexis Rivas had 15 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals; Reed had 18 points, 8 rebounds; Brown had 10 pts, 15 rebounds. Their closest game was an overtime win against defending League Champion Murrieta Valley, 53-50. Despite a dismal shooting night, they won. The Broncos had lost their previous five meetings. Down five with six minutes left, Yuendie Guridi scored six straight in the fourth quarter; Southwestern League scoring leader Serafina Maulupe scored 10 in the final period and in overtime.

Murrieta Mesa played the Broncos to an 18-17 halftime score, but a 24-6 third quarter put the game out of reach, as Vista won 54-37. Maulupe had 18 points (4/5 three’s); Brown had 14 pts, 14 rebounds.

The Broncos traveled to Chaparral and hosted Temecula Valley this week, next week, they host Great Oak, Jan. 30, and play Murrieta Valley away, Feb. 1.

Murrieta Valley

The Nighthawks entered league play on a six-game win streak. They opened with Great Oak and a 17-0 run in the second half as well as seven free throws in the final period gave them a 48-40 win. Karen Wolf had 10 points, 16 rebounds; DeShea Wilkes had 9 pts, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 4 steals.

Against Murrieta Mesa, Aliah Marshall contributed 14 pts, 2 blocked shots and 3 steals in the 50-33 win. Ariana Hernandez had 12 points. The Nighthawks’ only loss was to Vista Murrieta, 53-50 in overtime. They committed 27 turnovers.

Wilkes had 18 points, and 10 rebounds; Hernandez added 13 pts and four rebounds. Brynn Dahmer’s double-double (15 pts, 10 rebounds) propelled the Nighthawks to their 57-40 win over Chaparral. Marshall and Wolf each had 12 pts; Wolf also had 8 rebounds.

Murrieta Valley had two away games this week: Temecula Valley and Great Oak; they are at home next week against Murrieta Mesa, Jan. 30, and Vista Murrieta Feb. 1.

Chaparral

The Pumas are led by 6’2" sophomore Kali Jones who is averaging a double-double (14.9 pts, 10.7 rebounds) and leads the league in rebounds (182). Chaparral opened with a 49-38 win over Murrieta Mesa. Jones had 14 pts, 16 rebounds and 3 blocks in the 46-37 win over Temecula Valley. Kelsie Saito had 11 points. A last second shot by junior guard Rosalindo Murillo won the game against Great Oak, 45-43.

Chaparral was unable to keep pace with Murrieta Valley, losing their first league game, 57-40. Jones had 16 points, junior Sydney Nanton had 13.

The Pumas hosted Vista Murrieta and were away at Murrieta Mesa this week; next week, they travel to Temecula Valley, Jan. 30, and then host Great Oak, Feb. 1.

Great Oak

Great Oak has two returning starters: leading scorer Katie Sherbert and leading rebounder Roya Rustamzada, but Sherbert has been out most of the season with a knee injury. The young team also two freshmen and a sophomore seeing significant playing time. Rustamzada has since become an offensive leader.

The Wolfpack opened with a tough 48-40 loss to Murrieta Valley, at one point missing 15 consecutive shots.

"We were trying to go too fast; that’s inexperience," said Coach Shannon Maurice.

Junior Abby Welch led the scoring with 11 points; Rustamzada had 9 pts, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists. Great Oak was outscored by 11 points in the second quarter against Vista Murrieta, losing the game 64-43. Rustamzada scored 18 points in the effort. A last second basket by Chaparral downed Great Oak, 45-43. Rustamzada hit a career-high 26 points (including four three’s) as Great Oak defeated Temecula Valley 60-34.

"We were coming off of a couple of losses," she said. "As team captain, I needed to do something to start and finish with energy and to keep the tempo up." Adrianna Carrillo had 11 points.

Great Oak was at home this week hosting Murrieta Mesa and Murrieta Valley. Next week they play at Vista Murrieta, Jan. 30, and at Chaparral Feb. 1.

Temecula Valley

The Golden Bears have two freshmen and three sophomores on their varsity roster. They opened with a 61-25 loss to Vista Murrieta and then played a tough game against Chaparral. The Bears sank three shots from the arc to open the game and the score was 20-19 at halftime, but a 15-6 third quarter by Chaparral and a TV shooting drought (1-of-16 three point attempts) led to a 46-37 loss.

Natalie Macias had 14 points; Tehya Burroughs had 10. Kamarria Rehn had nine rebounds. Against the Murrieta Mesa Rams, it was TV’s turn to go 15-3 in the third quarter as they overcame a 21-18 deficit, held the Rams off in the final period, and won 47-42. The Golden Bears then lost at Great Oak 60-34. Macias had 12 points, including two 3’s.

TV hosted Murrieta Valley then traveled to Vista Murrieta; next week, they are at home for two games, hosting Chaparral, Jan. 30, and Murrieta Mesa Feb. 1.

Murrieta Mesa

The Rams were on a roll in the pre-season with a 12-4 record and three sophomores on the roster. Senior Shayd Bowers (13.2 ppg) and sophomore Mikayla Greens (11.3) lead the team in scoring. At one point Bowers was shooting 60 percent from the 3-pt line (13/22).

The Rams opened league play at Chaparral and found themselves within four points at the beginning of the final period, but lost 38-49. Bowers had 21 pts; Jackie Pulatie had 10. Greens had 12 rebounds. The Rams then lost to defending league champion Murrieta Valley, 50-33. Bowers had 9 points; Greens had 10 rebounds. Mesa was outscored 15-3 in the third quarter by Temecula Valley, losing 47-42.

Bowers had 14 pts while Greens had 14 pts and 8 rebounds. The Rams were within one point of league leader Vista Murrieta at halftime (18-17), but the Broncos 24-6 third quarter led to a 54-37 rout. Bowers scored 15 points; Greens had 8.

Murrieta Mesa is at Great Oak (1/23) and then hosts Chaparral (1/25); next week they are away at Murrieta Valley (1/30) and Temecula Valley (2/1).