Granada Hills girls basketball dominates paint in win over Kennedy

SANTA CLARITA — The Granada Hills girls basketball team could not be denied in the paint on Saturday.

The Highlanders scooped up over a dozen offensive boards in their 66-50 tournament win over their crosstown rival, the Kennedy Cougars, at the Newhall Church of the Nazarene.

All five Granada (10-4) starters finished with two or more offensive rebounds, leading to the Highlanders’ steady lead throughout the Reason For The Season tournament contest.

Granada Hills was led by sophomore Isabella Valvidia with 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and five steals.

Four Highlanders starters grabbed rebounds off the offensive glass in the first quarter, leading to several second-chance points. For Granada coach Rai Colston, that’s just how his team plays, along with high-defensive effort.

“I liked our effort,” Colston said. “Defensively, we were locked in. They had a couple girls who we keyed in on, so I thought we did a good job of trying to know where they were. … We’re still trying to get our feet under us. We just had finals all last week, so we haven’t had much practice. We’ve only had about two or three practices over the last week and a half, so we’re trying to find ourselves right now. So another impressive win. I thought it was good.”

Sophomore Alana Yeck added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Highlanders. Granada HIlls forward Araceli Gomez added 10 points, five boards and two steals.

Once Kennedy (6-5) started attacking the rebounds more aggressively, Granada responded by  spacing the floor and making numerous 3-pointers.

All of the team’s buckets from behind the arc came off the bench, a group heavily utilized by Colston, including a trio of triples from senior Alyssa Badua, who finished with 11 points and three steals.

“We try to get everybody some run when we can, especially in a game like this and coming off a break when we had a lot of days off,” Colston said. “I don’t want to have girls just log in long minutes right now just from a conditioning standpoint. I want to make sure everybody’s feeling good when they’re out there on the court.”

Kennedy cleaned up its play in the third quarter, following Granada’s 20-point second, but didn’t cut the deficit to single digits until the fourth. The Highlanders held off Kennedy thanks to a strong three-steal, six-point quarter from Valvidia.

“Isabella works hard, so when she’s out there playing, she’s able to do a lot of different things,” Colston said. “She can affect the game with her speed. She can affect the game with her defense. So just having her on the floor for us is a bonus, always.

A 3-ball from Cougars senior Natalie Herrera put Kennedy within nine but a mix of missed open shots and some ill-advised passes cost the Cougars a chance to even the season series with the Highlanders, who already beat Kennedy earlier in the season.

The Cougars were led by junior forward Abbigail Gomez with 18 points, five rebounds, four steals and a pair of blocks.

The Highlanders remain unbeaten in the Gold Division of the Reason for the Season tourney hosted by Trinity Classical Academy. Granada will get Sunday off before returning to the Newhall Church court for a Monday showdown against Saugus. Kennedy also returns to the court on Monday with an early 9 a.m. matchup with Maranatha.

A win over the Centurions could put the Highlanders in the Gold Division championship game on Tuesday of Trinity’s tournament that has doubled in size in just its second year.

For now, Colston is hoping to see his team win some games but also develop more self-belief as Granada strives to return to the top of the West Valley League and City Section.

“I think for us, it’s just believing in ourselves, believing that we can do whatever we want to do with this season,” Colston said. “I think that’s what it really comes down to. The coaches will direct them and help them learn and grow throughout the season. But I think that the number one thing if you want to make deep runs and have successful seasons, winning league, winning your section, winning the state, you just got to believe it first. I think you’ll be able to do anything if you just start there.”

OTHER SATURDAY TOURNAMENT RESULTS

Calabasas beats Maranatha 54-50. Jayda Guyton leads Coyotes with 19 points

Burbank blasts Agoura 66-35. Manina Tuputupu tallies 23 points for the Bulldogs.

Verdugo Hills edges Hart 39-38. Kayla Pimental scores 19 for Verdugo.

West Ranch 62 Palmdale Academy Charter 13

Trinity Classical 50 El Camino 21

FRIDAY SCORES

Notre Dame 59, Kennedy 46

Hart 40, El Camino Real 39

West Ranch 58, Milken 38

Burbank 55, Moorpark 39