The Vista Murrieta girls basketball team added another win to their 19-5, 7-0 record as they defeated Great Oak 69-45 on Jan. 30. The Broncos jumped out of the starting gate with a 23-7 quarter and again after halftime with a 25-15 quarter.

"We started strong," said Broncos’ Coach Chris Jones, "but we didn’t run our offense well. Some individuals did well. That #23 for Great Oak (Mikayla Williams) is a player."

Junior Yuendie Guridi led all Bronco scorers with a career-high 21 points; she also had two rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Senior combo guard Serafina Maulupe added 14 points, four rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal. Sophomore point guard Leitasi Cravens slashed her way to the basket for back-to-back games with 12 points.

Freshman Jaelyn Brown went four-for-13 and ended with 10 points, 16 rebounds, three blocks, four steals and three assists.

Great Oak’s Roya Rustamzada was four-for-six and finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Williams, who was at Great Oak for half her freshman year, arrived back at Great Oak this Christmas for her sophomore season playing in only her second game for the Wolfpack. She scored 17 points (of her 20) in the second half.

"We are learning to go out and play for each other, play for pride," said Williams. "There is a good dynamic on this team and lots of potential."

Williams formerly played on the same travel ball team with Vista Murrieta’s Brown.

Vista Murrieta girls varsity basketball team extended their win streak to nine with a 61-51 win over #2 Murrieta Valley (6-1).

Despite Karen Wolf’s tenth double-double of the season, the Murrieta Valley Nighthawks were unable to overcome an eight-point halftime deficit (30-22). Wolf shot 73 percent from the paint finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Aliah Marshall (11 pts), Ariana Hernandez (9 pts), and DeShea Wilkes (7 pts) had a tough night, shooting 8-of-31 on the night.

Both teams struggled from the free throw line with only 28 successes on 49 attempts. Murrieta Valley was 12-of-23; Vista Murrieta went 16-for-26.

The Broncos’ Maulupe led all scorers with 21 points, including three from beyond the arc. She also contributed five rebounds, three steals and three assists. Brown added 20 points, 13 rebounds, five steals, two blocks and two assists. Fellow freshman Brittney Reed, back after sitting out the Great Oak game with an injury, was five-of-seven from the floor and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe to end with 16 points. She also had 12 rebounds and a block.

Vista Murrieta closes out their season at home against Chaparral (5-2) on Feb. 7.

JV action: Great Oak came back from a seven-point third quarter deficit to defeat Vista Murrieta 47-44.

"After four home games, we let the crowd get to us and the refs get to us," said Wolfpack Coach Sadiki Ellis. "We came back by getting down to basics: sitting down and playing sound defense."

The Great Oak team is still undefeated in both pre-season and league play and faced their toughest opponent, Temecula Valley, on Tuesday, Feb. 5.