State Stat Stars of the Week

Two of the state’s best on this week’s honor roll are Bennie Boatwright from Village Christian and Dijonai Carrington of Horizon Christian. Photos: Ronnie Flores & Harold Abend.

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.

Note: All boys and girls basketball state records are in the process of being added to this web site. Some of them already have been added. They will be part of our Gold Club membership. To join our Gold Club today, please CLICK HERE.

Thanks to Paul Muyskens, Harold Abend, Mark Tennis and CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett for contributing items this week. This honor roll is for games played from Jan. 27 to Jan. 31 with some performances from this week also included.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Seth Guillory (Jordan, Long Beach)
It was a high scoring shootout and he led the way with 48 points during a 87-78 win over Lakewood. Guillory, a 5-foot-7 point guard who is the leading scorer in the Moore League, pumped in 35 of his points in second half.

Will Christmas (Oceanside)
It’s been a holiday every time Christmas hits the court. In a 68-63 win last week over Mission Vista of Oceanside, the 6-foot-5 senior poured in 44 points and pulled down 19 rebounds. Later in the week, in a 62-57 loss to Orange Glen, he had 31 points and 15 boards.

Bennie Boatwright (Village Christian, Sun Valley)
All of the USC-bound standout’s 43 points was needed last Saturday night when the Crusaders defeated Quartz Hill 91-87. Boatwright, who goes by Bennie Buckets, is averaging 25.6 points and more than 11 rebounds per game this season.

Jalen Busby (Elsie Allen, Santa Rosa)
Making the most of his trips to the free throw line, he knocked down 18 of his 22 free throw attempts and finished with 42 points and 10 rebounds during a 81-65 win over Piner of Santa Rosa. For his efforts, Busby was chosen as the NorCal boys Player of the Week.

Gligor Rakocevic from Cantwell Sacred Heart is in the midst of a standout senior season. Photo: Ronnie Flores.

David Rico (Kerman)
Just a sophomore, Rico scored a career high of 37 points in a 70-67 losing effort in overtime by the Lions against Liberty of Madera Ranchos.

LiAngelo & Lonzo Ball (Chino Hills)
It’s too hard to separate them when they both fill up the stat sheet on a nightly basis. LiAngelo had 36 points while Lonzo had 15 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists during a 76-61 win over Maranatha and fellow state stat star Tyler Dorsey.

Kilon Bradford (Granite Hills, Porterville)
The standout senior continues to scorch the nets by scoring 30 points in a 68-29 win over Woodlake and 34 points in a heart-breaking 72-69 loss to Corcoran. Kilon also joined the 1,000 point-club for his career and leads the CIF Central Section in scoring with a 27.3 per game average.

Rogers Printup (Lutheran, Orange)
Making sure his name will go down in the school record books, this UC Davis-bound senior made a school record eight 3-pointers and finished with 32 points during the Lancers’ 75-63 win over JSerra Catholic of San Juan Capistrano.

Ben Warmerdam (Mt. Whitney, Visalia)
In a 72-70 loss to Golden West of Visalia, Warmerdam scored a career high of 32 points for the Pioneers.

Tyler Dorsey (Maranatha, Pasadena)
With his team facing a 22-2 deficit after one quarter of play, Dorsey did all he could to get the Minutemen back in the game as he scored 25 of his 31 points in the second half but it wasn’t enough to come back against state-ranked Chino Hills in a 76-61 loss.

Donnell Payne (Mount Miguel, Spring Valley)
Southwest of El Centro felt the pain trying to stop Payne from scoring as he scored 31 points for the Matadors during a 76-54 win over the Eagles.

Vance Jackson (St. John Bosco, Bellflower)
Full of action against Servite of Anaheim, the 6-foot-8 junior who is one of the nation’s top-ranked Class of 2016 prospects scored 31 points when the Braves defeated the Friars 88-65.

Gligorije Rakocevic (Cantwell-Sacred Heart, Montebello)
Making sure the public address announcer got plenty of practice saying his name, he scored 27 points and grabbed 17 rebounds during a 63-49 loss to Damien of La Verne and last week’s SoCal Boys Basketball Player of the Week, Jeremy Hemsley of Damien, who finished with 27 points.

Jose Frias (Sierra Pacific, Hanford)
According to CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett, the 5-foot-10 senior scored a career high of 30 points in a 60-43 win over Lindsay and now has scored over 800 points in his career.

Miye Oni (Viewpoint, Calabasas)
It was a big-time double-double performance for Oni as he scored 23 points and grabbed 21 rebounds during a 66-54 win over Crossroads of Santa Monica.

Lindsey Drew (Fairfax, Los Angeles)
While Donald Gipson led the offense with 17 points in the unbeaten Lions’ 91-38 win over Hamilton of Los Angeles, Drew wasn’t far behind. The son of Cleveland Cavaliers’ assistant coach Larry Drew had a triple-double with 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Sayeed Pridgett (El Cerrito)
Watch out for Pridgett and the Gauchos in the upcoming NCS Division II playoffs. Yes, they’re D2 after petitioning to move up from D3 (a smart move since state No. 1 Bishop O’Dowd is in D3). Pridgett came up big in a 85-60 win against Grant of Sacramento with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. He also had 20 points and 22 points in two other El Cerrito triumphs.

Joshua Patton (Sierra, Manteca)
Not only did Patton score 16 points and grab 21 rebounds but his sixth block of the game prevented a tying score as the Timberwolves defeated Weston Ranch of Stockton 53-51.

Trey Armstrong (Golden Valley, Bakersfield)
Falling three rebounds shy of a triple-double, he had 23 points and 10 assists during a 77-67 win over Tehachapi.

Eric Shih (Lodi Academy)
While it’s not the biggest of schools, Shih did have a big time performance during a 67-42 win over Tioga. He recorded a triple-double with 22 points, 11 steals and 10 rebounds.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Rebecca Gallis (Kern Valley, Lake Isabella)
Earning herself one of our weekly player of the week honors, she had 43 points, 12 rebounds and seven steals during a 61-60 loss to Rosamond. She also outscored a team on her own later in the week with 26 points and 15 rebounds during a 55-23 win over California City.

Dijonai Carrington (Horizon Christian Academy, San Diego)
Putting up rebounding totals that make you want to see it to believe it, this junior guard had 28 points and 25 rebounds in a 57-46 loss to Redondo Union of Redondo Beach before scoring 27 points and grabbing a reported 37 rebounds during a 56-52 win over Santa Fe Christian of Solana Beach. Averaging 25.5 points and 19.6 rebounds per game, the 37-rebound performance was actually Carrington’s second best this season. She went for 43 in a game last month that gets her into the state record book but still as she has a reported 43 rebound game last month which would get her in the state record book but still trails the state record of 54 rebounds in a game set in 1995 by Andrea Keehne of La Verne Calvary Baptist.

Tamera Trigg (Arroyo Valley, San Bernardino)
Averaging a triple-double this season, she had 41 points, a season-best 19 assists and 15 steals during a 98-20 win over Rim of the World of Lake Arrowhead. She has been the top player for the team that created national headlines with its 161-2 victory earlier this season.

Precious Nwaba and team at University of Los Angeles may be in the CIF L.A. City Section’s first-ever Open Division playoffs. Photo: Facebook.com.

Ali Engelhardt (Mt. Carmel, San Diego)
For the third time this season, Engelhardt scored at least 40 points in a game when she finished with exactly 40 points and had 12 rebounds during a 75-62 win over Rancho Bernardo of San Diego. Her performance included going a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line.

Antuanisha Wright (Emery, Emeryville)
She scored a season-high 40 points during a 56-46 win over College Prep of Oakland and the next day she had 34 points during a 74-62 win over Burton of San Francisco.

Amber Melgoza (Santa Barbara)
Almost a guarantee to be here every week, Melgoza scored 37 points and grabbed 11 rebounds during a 81-61 win over Buena of Ventura. It was a game later last week, however, that was her best when she scored 41 points and had another 11 rebounds during a narrow 54-49 win over Harvard-Westlake. She’s currently averaging a reported state-best 34.4 points per game.

Aarion McDonald (Brookside Christian, Stockton)
Recording not just one but two triple-doubles last week, she had 16 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and eight steals during a 77-59 win over Cosumnes Oaks of Elk Grove. McDonald then had 36 points, 14 rebounds and 11 steals as the Knights defeated Grant of Sacramento 78-51.

Jannon Otto (Oak Hills, Hesperia)
Our SoCal Girls Basketball Player of the Week went over 1,000 career points last week and she scored 36 points to go along with 10 rebounds and seven steals during a 72-7 win over Apple Valley.

Delacy Brown (Poly, Riverside)
After scoring a total of 35 points over the last three Bears’ games, all losses, Brown exploded for 36 points and 11 rebounds in a a 69-31 win over Arlington of Riverside.

Margurite Effa (Fairfax, Los Angeles)
Despite her 35 points and 16 rebounds, the Lion’ winning streak came to an end last Wednesday when they were defeated by a 67-51 final score against Palisades of Pacific Palisades. Effa has signed with USC.

Leah Purvis (Buckley, Sherman Oaks)
She scored 32 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to help the Griffins defeat Bishop Diego of Santa Barbara 52-31. The 16 rebounds tied her season-high set two weeks prior during a win against Beverly Hills.

Rodjanae Wade (Edison, Fresno)
The standout junior scored a career high of 32 points to keep the Tigers in first place in the County Metro League as they ran past Madera 69-40.

Destiny Littleton (Bishop’s, La Jolla)
Another almost weekly regular is this sophomore. Littleton scored 32 points and had 10 rebounds during a 60-49 win last Friday over La Jolla Country Day. Both teams figure to be in the upcoming CIF San Diego Section Open Division playoffs.

Kayla Washington (Cajon, San Bernardino)
Averaging 28 points and 15 rebounds per game, she’s one of the several we make sure to check every week for likely state stat star worthy performances and once again she had one last week. Washington scored 29 points and grabbed 20 rebounds during a 77-49 win over Carter of Rialto.

Cydnee Kinslow (Freedom, Oakley)
Narrowly missing out on two triple-doubles last week, this junior who is one of the leading shot blockers in the nation had 16 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocks during a 53-50 loss to Liberty of Brentwood before blocking 13 shots in a game for the third time this season to go along with 12 points and nine rebounds during a 58-48 loss to Deer Valley of Antioch.

Katrina Lusky (Calvin Christian, Escondido)
Not only did Lusky outscore Tri-City Christian of Vista on her own but she did it while recording a triple-double. In the game, Lusky scored 28 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and for the second time this season she had 10 steals during the 46-19 win for Crusaders.

Sierra Houston (High Tech CV, Chula Vista)
While it wasn’t quite the 17-block performance from earlier this season that will get her a spot in the state record book, Houston did block 12 shots while scoring eight points and grabbing 17 rebounds during a 35-22 win over Health Sciences of San Diego. With a reported average of 10 blocks per game, Houston’s average not only leads the state but the nation for those that report their stats to MaxPreps.

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports