State Stat Stars of the Week

This is the cover illustration from the seventh edition of the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book.

McDonald’s All-Americans Isaac Hamilton and Kelsey Plum enjoy big outings during a big week, but the biggest news comes from Reseda’s Ahlisha Henderson, who has moved past Cheryl Miller to No. 2 on the all-time single-season state rebounding list.

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By Mark Tennis & Paul Muyskens with contribution by Bob Barnett.

We collect these highlights in support of the Cal-Hi Sports state record book, which is the exclusive home for state records and has been published seven times since 1980.
These highlights are for games played mostly from Feb. 12 to Feb. 16 with some performances from this week.
To send in a stat star of your own, email highlights to markjtennis@gmail.com.
For game reports, please go to our twitter page @CalHiSports and for other updates please visit our Facebook page.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Justin Beskeen (Bear River, Lake of the Pines)
Despite the Bruins dropping a 52-43 contest to Center of Antelope, Beskeen was more than seen as an offensive force. He finished with a game-high 30 points.

Corbin Covey (Camarillo)
A sure-fire candidate for our annual Cal-Hi Sports All-State Grid-Hoop Team, Covey had 10 points and 13 assists to help the Scorpions beat Eastside of Lancaster 77-62 in the CIF Southern Section Division II-AA playoffs. Last fall, the senior guard was a prolific senior receiver who had 143 catches for 1,377 yards.

Isaac Hamilton (St. John Bosco, Bellflower)
It was a huge week for Isaac. The highlight, of course, was getting named to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game. The senior also had a big outing on the court with 35 points (including eight 3-pointers) when the Braves beat Burroughs of Ridgecrest 91-46 in the CIFSS Division III-A playoffs.

Max Heidegger (Crespi, Encino)
Max was mad with 32 points, including 23 in the first half, which sparked the Celts to their big 70-67 victory earlier this week over Price of Los Angeles. The game matched two of the state’s top D4 teams. Heidegger also is a name to watch for the future for much bigger accolades since he is just a freshman.

Matt Howard (Fresno Christian)
The senior center scored a career high of 32 points and pulled down a whopping 22 rebounds as the Eagles beat Fowler 53-40.

Jamere Jones (Bishop’s, La Jolla)
The senior guard pumped in 37 points to help the Knights blow past Calvary Christian of Vista 72-59. He also had 26 points last week in a loss to Division IV state-ranked Army-Navy of Carlsbad.

Jimbo Lull (Rolling Hills Prep, San Pedro)
There wasn’t much of a lull for statkeepers trying to keep up with Lull during Rolling Hills Prep’s 70-37 romp past Riverside Christian in the CIFSS Division V-AA playoffs. He notched a triple-double with 10 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocks.

Ja’mel McMahan (Rancho Christian, Temecula)
A sophomore for the Eagles, he scored 24, 26 and 30 points in his last three games of the season against Cathedral (Los Angeles), Temecula Prep and Desert Christian Academy (Bermuda Dunes). respectively. McMahan also shot 65 percent during the three games and jumped up his final scoring average, which was sitting at 14.6 per game beforehand.

Mamadou N’diaye (Brethren Christian, Huntington Beach)
Playing in high school competition is over for the 7-foot-5 senior center after Brethren Christian was beaten 75-51 by Buckley of Sherman Oaks earlier this week in the CIFSS Division V-AA playoffs. N’diaye had 34 points, 17 rebounds and six blocks and finished with a 27.1 points per game scoring average.

Andre Nikita (El Cajon Valley, El Cajon)
In a matchup with Mt. Miguel of Spring Valley and its state scoring leader, Izzy Wagner, it was Nikita who shined the most with 41 points in leading the Braves to a 69-61 victory. He earlier had 31 points in a win against Santana of Santee.

J.D. Slajchert (Oak Park, Agoura Hills)
With a teammate like Ron Lee Jr., it’s tough to make it as a state stat star but J.D. got the job done in last week’s CIFSS Division III-A playoff win over Pacifica of Oxnard with 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Kendall Small (Ocean View, Huntington Beach)
Promising sophomore had two strong outings in a row to get the Sea Hawks off to a strong start in the CIFSS Division III-A playoffs. He first had 26 points and seven rebounds in a 78-53 win against Laguna Hills, then came back with 28 points and 10 rebounds in a 88-68 triumph over Barstow.

Eric Stuteville (Casa Roble, Orangevale)
The 6-foot-10 senior who has signed with Sacramento State had a solid outing with 29 points to lead the Rams past Del Campo of Fair Oaks 75-69 in their regular season finale. He is averaging 21.7 points per game.

Max Thurman (Sunny Hills, Fullerton)
Although Sunny Hills was eliminated from the CIFSS Division II-AA playoffs earlier this week, Thurman makes the honor roll for scoring 32 points (with seven 3-pointers) in the previous round. He led Sunny Hills past Lynwood 70-45.

Curtis Tran (Bethel Baptist, Santa Ana)
Tran was the man with 22 points and 22 rebounds for Bethel Baptist when it beat Delphi Academy 54-37 in the CIFSS Division VI playoffs.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Kennedy Burke (Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth)
Yes, it was one of those ridiculous routs as Sierra Canyon topped Pilibos 85-9 in the CIFSS Division V-AA playoffs. Still, Burke gets a stat star mention for posting a triple-double with 20 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. She also had eight steals.

Katie Campbell (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village)
It takes a thief often on defense and this freshman certainly knows how to come up with steals. She had 12 of them to go along with 17 points and seven assists in a 84-26 win last week over Nipomo in the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA playoffs. Campbell also raised her season steal total to 115 and broke a school record previously held by current USC player Brianna Barrett.

Morgan Green (Pacific Collegiate, Santa Cruz)
She would rank as the state’s most prolific scorer of the week. Green first had 37 points in a 58-42 win by her team over Santa Catalina of Monterey. Up next came a 49-point night as Pacific Collegiate defeated King City 70-67.

Tiarra Griffis (Serra, San Diego)
In a 75-50 victory over San Diego that gave the Conquistadors their first-ever Eastern League crown, Griffis shined with a near triple-double of 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks.

Ahlisha Henderson (Reseda)
She’s been a rebounding machine all season and the big news after she yanked down a reported 42 in last week’s 76-44 victory over Bell is that she moved her season total to 673. That is one more than the No. 2 total on the single-season all-time state list of 672 that was recorded by the legendary Cheryl Miller at Riverside Poly in 1982. Henderson, who also had 37 points against Bell, still has a ways to go to reach the state record of 816 set in 1987 by Terri Mann of San Diego Point Loma. Her team, though, could win the CIF L.A. City Division III title so she could get the necessary games.

McKenna Hill (St. Bonaventure, Ventura)
In a 58-36 victory by the Seraphs over Ontario Christian in the CIF Southern Section Division IV-A playoffs, Hill pumped in a season-high 32 and grabbed 14 rebounds.

Ashley Kelsick (Highland, Palmdale)
The rage of the Antelope Valley maintained her torrid scoring wth 42 points and had nine rebounds in a 52-45 win over West Ranch of Valencia in the opening round of the CIFSS Division I-AA playoffs.

Erika Larsen (Sutter)
According to CIF Northern Section historian/expert Kevin Askeland, Larsen is moving up two all-time state career lists. At the close of last week, Larsen had 1,896 rebounds and 634 blocks. Last week she had 20 points, 20 rebounds and eight blocks to lead Sutter in a 59-45 loss to Winters.

Taylor Long (Valley View, Moreno Valley)
The junior guard knocked down 33 points in leading Valley View to a 72-54 victory over Gahr of Cerritos in the CIFSS Division II-A playoffs.

Jordan Mottershaw (San Marcos)
She had a sterling all-around outing with 33 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals as San Marcos beat arch-rival Mission Hills 68-55. Mottershaw averaged 22.6 ppg for the regular season.

Katie Nunnelley (Anderson)
Top-level sophomore from the CIF Northern Section had 29 points and 19 rebounds when the Cubs beat Corning 67-55. She also had 22 points and 18 rebounds in a 72-32 romp past Yreka.

Nakia Page (Stockdale, Bakersfield)
She scored a career high of 31 points in a 86-26 blowout win over Frontier of Bakersfield. Later in the week, she helped the Mustangs beat Bakersfield 68-40 to give coach Glen Hager 444 career wins and break the CIF Central Section record of 443 wins by Karen Wood.  Coach Hager also has won 11 league championships and four section titles in his 21 years at Stockdale and will retire from coaching after this season.

Kelsey Plum (La Jolla Country Day)
Since she was the 2012 State Junior of the Year, Plum’s selection to the 2013 McDonald’s All-America Game wasn’t a surprise but once she got the call it’s still hard to beat. During the same week, Plum had another top outing with 32 points for LJCD in a 72-66 victory over Bishop’s of La Jolla.

Idalis Rubalcava (Sierra Pacific, Hanford)
The sophomore standout had a nice game as she scored a career high of 33 points, to go along with four assists, five rebounds and six steals as the Golden Bears beat Corcoran 54-43.

Katie Lou Samuelson (Mater Dei, Santa Ana)
In her first playoff game for the Monarchs, the big-time sophomore racked up 31 points, made seven 3-pointers and led an 89-31 win against Wilson of Long Beach.

Latecia Smith (Narbonne, Harbor City)
As soon as Smith as her team starting playing back in the L.A. City Section, the win-loss record went well above .500. She had a near triple-double last week in a 64-7 win over Fremont of Los Angeles in the first round of the playoffs with 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine steals.

Kali Vittalo (Canyon, Canyon Country)
She was one of the best in Cali for last week as she made seven 3-pointers and ended with 30 points to lead the Cowgirls past Channel Islands of Oxnard 75-44 in the CIFSS Division II-AA playoffs.

Kayla Washington (Cajon, San Bernardino)
If this freshman keeps up her rebounding pace, we may be talking about her in a few years moving past Cheryl Miller and others on the all-time state list. Washington had 20 points and 30 rebounds in Cajon’s 71-30 win over Villa Park in the CIFSS Division II-AA playoffs and raised her season total with 519. Obviously, with three seasons left, she could move well past 2,000 for her prep career.

Kianna Williams (Lakeside, Elsinore)
In a 80-46 win against Yorba Linda in the CIFSS playoffs, Williams was sensational with 38 points. She also yanked down 11 rebounds.