With the holidays behind them and league play starting up, a number of local scholastic boys’ and girls’ basketball teams are pounding the hardwood in search of victories.
On the girls’ side, La Jolla High School, under head coach Dave Westhem, was 10-7 in January after playing an extremely tough early schedule. The team has had key wins over University City High, Rancho Buena Vista (2013 CIF Division I finalist) and Del Norte.
According to Westhem, the team’s leading scorers are senior captains Sierra Westhem and Sophia Sowers, along with sophomore center Madeleine Gates. Sierra Westhem tallied 23 points in a recent win over Lincoln, Sowers notched 13 in the victory over University City and Gates recorded 19 points and 14 points in a loss at Our Lady of Peace.
As for key Western League games upcoming, the Lady Vikings will meet UC in a rematch Feb. 4, then host Cathedral on Feb. 13. La Jolla also meets Olympian in the President’s Day Shoot Out Feb. 15 at Mater Dei.
“We’re really excited about our opportunity to compete for a CIF championship this year,” Dave Westhem added.
At La Jolla Country Day School, the Lady Torreys were at 7-5 last month following a decisive 78-34 win over Santa Fe Christian. Meanwhile, The Bishop’s School was a stout 16-1 in January.
The Lady Knights rolled to a 65-33 victory over neighboring La Jolla High, with Destiny Littleton and Imani Littleton tallying 29 and 21 points, respectively.
On the boys’ side, La Jolla Country Day School recently sat with an 8-6 record, including a recent 68-64 win over Patrick Henry.
In the win over Henry, LJCD junior Christian Hayes led all scorers with 26 points.
At La Jolla High, the Vikings were 8-8 last month.
Among the top scorers to date for La Jolla are Ladd Castellano and Reed Farley.
At The Bishop’s School, the Knights were at 8-4 mid-January following a 65-32 victory over Christian, with Justin Woodley tallying 15 points to lead Bishop’s.