State Stat Stars of the Week

Among this week’s state honor roll of top stat-stuffing performances are Destiny Littleton from Bishop’s of La Jolla and T.J. Leaf of Foothills Christian. Photos: Harold Abend & Ronnie Flores.

As has been customary for many years, we collect the state stat stars in support of the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book & Almanac. The book has been published seven times (the most recent, though, was 2009) and is as official as a state record book can be since no other exists. To report a State Stat Star of the Week of your own, please email details to markjtennis@gmail.com.

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BOYS BASKETBALL

Daryl Edwards (Fresno)
A 6-4 senior by way of Houston has led the Fresno High team to its best start since 1980 (13-1 record). Edwards scored 30 points against Caruthers (54-51) in the opening of the Jesse Lujan Memorial Tournament in Selma, and 19 points against Highland (78-36), and 30 points against Centennial 62-61. MVP Edwards also scored a season high of 42 points with 11 rebounds and four assists in the championship game against Washington Union. Teammate J’Veon Jones also was chosen to the all-tournament team.

Marcus Tran (Yerba Buena, San Jose)
Tran was the man for the Warriors in their 69-67 win over James Lick of San Jose, just their second win of the season, as he scored 35 points and was named by the San Jose Mercury-News as its Santa Clara County Boys Athlete of the Week.

Tyler Cartaino (Newbury Park)
Outscoring fellow state stat star honoree Joe Colliatie by one point, Cartaino scored 35 points while his team, the Panthers, also picked up the 77-72 win over Simi Valley.

Joe Colliatie (Simi Valley)
His 34 points was good to lead his team in scoring but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 77-72 loss for the Pioneers to Tyler Cartaino and Newbury Park.

Max Heidegger (Crespi, Encino)
The Celts opened up Mission League play with a 79-72 win over Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood as this talented sophomore scored 33 points to put the dagger in the Wolverines’ hopes of getting a win.

Shakor Major (Washington Union, Fresno)
This senior has been the mainstay for the Panthers all season. He scored 33 points against Mendota (89-54), 20 points against Tulare (64-43), 19 points in a 66-30 win over South Bakersfield in the Jesse Lujan Memorial Tournament and 23 points in a losing effort against Fresno High. Major was chosen to the all-tournament team.

Khush Thind (Caruthers)
He pumped in 33 points in leading his team to a 66-59 win over Madera South in the Jesse Lujan Memorial Tournament.

Joey Malgesini (Los Altos)
Entering the week averaging just over 18 points per game, Malgesini’s average will be moving up after he scored 32 points during a 85-65 win over Milpitas.

Justin Moore (Mission Bay, San Diego)
It was a week that seemed to see many underclassmen step up to lead the way and this sophomore guard was one of them as he scored a game-high 31 points earlier this week as the Buccaneers moved to 2-0 in Western League play with a 80-51 win over Lincoln of San Diego.

Kyle Leufroy (St. Francis, La Canada)
League play has now gotten underway for most teams and Leufroy did all he could to get the Golden Knights a win but his 31 points wasn’t enough to prevent a 64-63 loss to Harvard-Westlake in a Mission League contest.

Josh Bongers (Oak Grove, San Jose)
Bongers went bonkers as he scored 30 points to lead the Eagles to a 79-65 win over Independence of San Jose.

Victor Joseph (Rancho Cucamonga)
Moving to 2-0 in Baseline League play earlier this week, Joseph scored 30 points as the Cougars moved to 16-2 on the season with a 77-72 win over Los Osos of Rancho Cucamonga.

T.J. Leaf (Foothills Christian, El Cajon)
A constant double-double machine this season, this 6-foot-9 sophomore scored 29 points during a 77-73 win over Valhalla of El Cajon in the team’s lone game last week.

Daniel Hamilton (St. John Bosco, Bellflower)
As the Braves basketball team looks to follow in the football team’s footsteps and capture a state title, they have had hit a tough patch with some players leaving the team but they still have plenty of talent. Hamilton scored 28 points and Bosco moved to 2-0 in Trinity League play with a 76-73 win over JSerra Catholic of San Juan Capistrano.

Chemizie Metu (Lawndale)
With a few more games like the one he had at the Cavalier Classic against Rolling Hills Prep he’s going to have teams afraid to attack the basket as he scored 26 points and blocked eight shots in a 69-65 victory.

Riley Adams (Canyon Crest Academy, San Diego)
According to the San Diego Union Tribune, the 31 rebounds this 6-foot-5 senior grabbed during a 56-36 win over Valley Center tied him for ninth all-time in San Diego Section history for rebounds in a game. The section record is 39 which was set by Aaron Wilhite back in 1989.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Kayla Brown (Wilton Christian, Wilton)
While looking up to see how many times she’s scored at least 30 points per game this season, we saw that earlier this week Brown scored a season-high of 44 points while grabbing 12 rebounds on Tuesday during a 64-39 win over Sacramento Country Day. She scored 30 points during a 53-36 win over Faith Christian of Yuba City last week and is averaging 26.8 points per game.

Sabrina Ionescu (Miramonte, Orinda)
Missing from last week’s lengthy list was this sophomore point guard’s performance during a 84-63 win over Campbell County of Gilette, Wyoming in the Energy Classic Tournament. Ionescu finished with a tourney record for points in a game with 40. For the game, she was 14 for 20 from the floor while knocking down three 3-pointers and going a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line.

Christina Castro (Lindsay)
She set two new school records and tied one by scoring 39 points (new), hitting eight three-pointers (tied) and now has scored 1,826 career points (new) in a 64-59 losing effort against Sierra of Tollhouse.

Kamira Sanders (Enterprise, Redding)
While it was a season to remember for the Hornets football team, the girls basketball team is also looking to make it a memorable one as they improved to 15-1 on the season earlier this week with a 64-45 win over Pleasant Valley of Chico. Sanders, a talented sophomore, scored 33 points.

Carol Schroeder (Bonita Vista, Chula Vista)
One of the top rebounders in the CIF San Diego Section, this 5-foot-10 sophomore failed to break double-digits in rebounds for just the third time all season as she grabbed nine rebounds during a 68-22 win over Mar Vista but she more then made up for it on the offensive end as she scored a season-high 38 points. She followed that performance with a 32-point and 12-rebound performance earlier this week during a 71-44 win over Point Loma.

Courteney Roberts (Joshua Springs, Yucca Valley)
Her performance was more then excellent during a 57-36 win over Academy for Academic Excellence of Apple Valley as she scored 35 points and had eight steals and seven rebounds.

Geraldynn Leaupepe (Camarillo)
Putting up impressive back-to-back double-double performances, Geraldynn scored 34 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had six steals during a 71-15 win over Hueneme and then had 31 points and 13 rebounds during a 61-48 win over Chaminade. The Chaminade win may help the Scorpions get a bump in next week’s state rankings.

Leah Purvis (Buckley, Sherman Oaks)
Was two steals short of a triple-double for the Griffins during their 44-33 win over Glendale Adventist, she scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to go along with eight steals. Buckley also moved to 2-0 in the Liberty League.

Judith Espinoza (Eagle Rock, Los Angeles)
Matching the offensive output by the entire Birmingham team, she scored 33 points to go along with six steals, five rebounds and five assists during the Eagles’ 50-33 win over the Patriots. She also has outscored Roybal of Los Angeles in the next game this week with 36 points, 10 steals and eight assists during an 86-7 romp.

Jessica Degree (San Clemente)
She set her season-high for points and rebounds during a 70-66 win over Aliso Niguel as she scored 33 points and grabbed 22 rebounds. Her previous season-high was set the game before when she scored 27 points and grabbed 19 rebounds during a 66-57 win over Edison of Huntington Beach.

Jessica Mitz (Valley Christian, San Jose)
Scoring half of her points from behind the three-point line, she knocked down five three-pointers and finished with 30 points as the Warriors defeated Presentation of San Jose 58-42.

Destiny Littleton (Bishop’s, La Jolla)
It will be fun to see what her destiny holds for in basketball as she is just a freshman. Littleton nearly outscored La Jolla on her own during a 68-33 win as she scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. On the year, she is averaging 20.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

Asha Thomas (Bishop O’Dowd, Oakland)
With a chance to clinch the game, the junior point guard knocked down a pair of free throws and finished with 26 points in a 60-56 win last week against Salesian of Richmond. In the game between state top 10 teams and also involving standout senior point guard Mariya Moore, Thomas added four rebounds and four assists.

Jessica Curl (Mercy, Red Bluff)
With a good chance to end the season averaging over 20 points and 20 rebounds a game, this CIF Northern Section standout scored 24 points and grabbed 18 rebounds but it wasn’t enough to keep the Warriors from losing for just the third time this season 64-47 to University Prep of Redding. Through 16 games, Curl is averaging 21.6 points and 18.1 rebounds per game.

Paul Muyskens is the Stockton office assistant editor for Cal-Hi Sports and can be seen around town also working for the Stockton Ports and University of the Pacific. Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Paul and Mark on Twitter: @CalHiSports