Two of this week’s best in the state are Ben Kone of San Jose Archbishop Mitty and Amber Melgoza of Santa Barbara. Photos: Ronnie Flores & sbhsathletics.org.
It’s a 50-point party for Marin Academy’s Kyle Roach and Santa Barbara’s Amber Melgoza. We’ve got some huge grid-hooper standouts as well, led by Sheldon Croney from Ridgeview of Bakersfield, plus one team with a quadruple-double and triple-double in the same game.
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, Mark Tennis and CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett for contributing items this week. This honor roll is for games played from Feb. 24 to Feb. 28 with some performances from this week also included.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Kyle Roach (Marin Academy, San Rafael)
All the water in the lake couldn’t stop Kyle from setting the nets on fire in Marin Academy’s CIF NCS Division V playoff opener. He made his potentially final home game one to remember as he matched his career-high with 53 points during a 93-50 win over Clear Lake of Lakeport. Roach is averaging 35.8 points per game.
Quinton Adlesh (Mission Prep, San Luis Obispo)
Before he heads to play next season at Columbia, Quinton is making sure his final season of high school basketball is a memorable one. He first scored 44 points last week during a CIFSS Division 4AA quarterfinal 91-82 win over Harvard-Westlake. He then scored just 22 points but the Royals advanced to the championship game with a 77-75 win over Chaminade of West Hills, last year’s CIF Division III state champions.
David Rico (Kerman)
The CIF Central Section records kept up by historian Bob Barnett may be assaulted in the next few seasons by Rico. Just a sophomore, he makes our state stat stars honor roll once again with a career-high of 41 points (also third best in school history) but Kerman lost to McFarland 85-77 in the CIF Central Section playoffs.
Bennie Boatwright is pouring in buckets by the bushels for his team. Photo: Ronnie Flores.
Jordan Ogundiran (Chaminade, West Hills)
Outscoring fellow state stat star Quinton Adlesh 41-22, his big night wasn’t enough to prevent a 77-75 loss to Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo in the CIFSS Division 4AA semifinals.
Lynard Steward (San Ysidro)
Some of this senior captain’s biggest offensive performances this season, including 50 points last month against La Costa Canyon of Carlsbad, have come in losses. That was once again the case last week when he scored 38 points but the Cougars suffered the 80-68 loss to Cathedral Catholic of San Diego.
Kilon Bradford (Granite Hills, Porterville)
Already chosen as one of our Cal-Hi Sports Players of the Week, he scored 37 points during a 76-57 home win over Corcoran in the CIF Central Section Division IV playoffs. Bradford is averaging 28.0 points per game.
Colin Slater (Immanuel, Reedley)
The standout junior joined the 1,000-point club for his prep career after he netted 37 points in a 97-48 win over McFarland in the CIF Central Section D4 playoffs.
Michael Alvarez (Oak Park)
While it didn’t top the 42-point performances from earlier this season, this senior guard did score a second-best on the season 36 points but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 93-89 loss to Millikan of Long Beach in the CIFSS Division IAA playoffs.
Justin Canzoneri (Orangewood Academy, Garden Grove)
The senior point guard helped the Spartans advance to the CIFSS Division 6 semifinals with a 83-41 win over Antelope Valley Christian he scored a game-high 33 points.
Clayton Ladine (Burton, San Francisco)
The junior captain for the Pumas is leading the state in scoring for those that report their stats to MaxPreps at 37.8 points per game so even when he fails to hit his average like he did during a 101-61 win over San Francisco International, his 32 points still gets him written up here in our weekly state stat stars.
Jose Frias (Sierra Pacific, Hanford)
He scored a career high of 32 points, with 22 points coming in the second half, in an exciting 88-79 win over Firebaugh in the CIF Central Section D5 playoffs.
Sheldon Croney (Ridgeview, Bakersfield)
Picking a fine time for a career-high scoring performance, he showed he is not just a football player with 30 points during a 77-67 win over Sunnyside of Fresno in the CIF Central Section Division II quarterfinals. Croney is headed to Iowa State to play football after rushing for 2,270 yards and 31 touchdowns during football season. He was a second team all-state overall selection.
Anoop Grewal (Selma)
Helping his team advance to the CIF Central Section Division III semifinals, he scored 30 points during a 70-62 win over Chavez of Delano.
Dalton Gallis (Kern Valley, Lake Isabella)
One night after his sister, Rebecca, had a big-time performance, Dalton had a nice night of his own with 30 points during a 72-57 CIF Central Section Division V playoff win over Tranquillity.
Ben Kone (Archbishop Mitty, San Jose)
After being named the West Catholic Athletic League player of the year, the junior center showed why as he scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Monarchs past Palma of Salinas 63-55 in the CCS Open Division quarterfinals.
Ronne Readus (El Cajon Valley, El Cajon)
Showing he was more than ready for the Braves’ game against Montgomery of San Diego, Readus had a triple-double during their 68-43 win. He scored 10 points, blocked 10 shots and grabbed a school-record 30 rebounds. El Cajon Valley is playing Valhalla of El Cajon this weekend for the CIF San Diego Section D3 title.
Adrease Jackson & Nick Pallas (Tesoro, Las Flores)
Getting to host top-seeded Thousand Oaks in the quarterfinals of the CIFSS Division 2AA playoffs, this pair led the way in the 67-62 win. The sophomore Jackson had 29 points and nine rebounds while the senior Pallas had 15 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists. Earlier in the week, Jackson had 32 points and Pallas was one point shy from a triple-double with nine points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists during a 87-74 win over West Ranch of Valencia
Max Hazzard (Loyola, Los Angeles)
Our SoCal Boys Player of the Week last week scored 29 points as the Cubs advanced to the CIFSS 1A semifinals with a 93-78 win over Walnut.
Chad Holloway (Grant, Van Nuys)
Yet another football standout that came up big during the playoffs on the basketball court, Holloway scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Lancers defeated top-seed King-Drew of Los Angeles 64-55 in the L.A. City Section Division II semifinals.
Bennie Boatwright (Village Christian, Sun Valley)
A big-time double-double with 22 points and 23 rebounds by Bennie Buckets helped the Crusaders win the battle to sail on to the next round of the CIFSS Division IAA playoffs with a 56-45 win over Calabasas.
Kezie Okpala (Esperanza, Anaheim)
Normally you would need something more than just 23 points to be listed here, but this sophomore’s final four points of his performance against Servite of Anaheim will be one he will likely never forget. Okpala stunned the fanatic student section known as the Asylum when he hit a three-pointer while being fouled with 1.8 seconds remaining and then made the free throw to complete the four-point play to give the Aztecs the 62-61 road win in the CIFSS Division 3A quarterfinals.
Nick Anderson (Canyon, Anaheim)
Nearly recording a quadruple-double, Anderson had 15 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and nine steals as the Comanches defeated Ayala of Chino Hills 60-51 in the CIFSS Division 2AA quarterfinals.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Amber Melgoza (Santa Barbara)
One of our players of the week earlier this season, her 35 points during a 60-52 win over Chino was her just warming up last week. Melgoza later scored 50 points during a 89-76 win against Summit of Fontana as the Dons advanced to the CIFSS Division 2AA semifinals. Along with her 50 points, Melgoza also grabbed 15 rebounds. She broke her previous single-game scoring record, which was 48 points in a game back in December.
Ali Engelhardt (Mt. Carmel, San Diego)
She has had some big games this season for the Sundevils and that has continued during the playoffs. Engelhardt scored 45 points and grabbed 12 rebounds during a 67-65 win over Bishop’s of La Jolla in the CIF San Diego Section Open Division quarterfinals.
Rebecca Gallis (Kern Valley, Lake Isabella)
One of several players to have season-best performances in the playoffs, the state stat star regular scored 44 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and had seven steals as the Broncs in overtime defeated Minarets of O’Neals 68-61 in the CIF Central Section Division V playoffs. Her dad, Bill, is the team’s head coach while her brother, Dalton, is also making an appearance this week in our state stat stars for the first time this season.
Terrin Sullivan (Douglass, Los Angeles)
Averaging 24 points per game this season for the Lions, this 5-foot-8 junior followed up her season-high performances of 41 points the week before with 38 points and 15 rebounds last week during a 60-20 win over Animo Robinson of Los Angeles in the CIF L.A. City Section Division V playoffs.
Dijonai Carrington (Horizon Christian Academy, San Diego)
It may be the postseason, but the big-time junior has not slowed down on putting the basketball in the hoop. Carrington scored 32 points during a 76-28 win over Vista and then had 43 points during a 78-58 win over Serra of San Diego.
Aarion McDonald & Ariana Vaughn (Brookside Christian, Stockton)
One of these two had a quadruple-double while the other just triple-doubled. It was the back story of a 102-58 win by the Bruins over Livingston in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs. The Washington-bound McDonald had the quadruple-double as she scored 35 points and had 13 steals, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. Vaughn recorded a triple-double with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. It probably had Brookside head coach Pico Wilburn reminded of that great duo he had at Oakland Tech – Devanai Hampton and Alexis Gray-Lawson.
Janelle Sumilong (Hanford)
The sophomore standout started the week on an high by scoring a career high of 38 points against visiting Liberty of Bakersfield in a 54-36 win, but she closed out the season on a low with just seven points in a 67-21 losing effort against Clovis West of Fresno.
Regina Sankey (Branham, San Jose)
Coming up clutch in the final two minutes, she finished with 34 points as the Bruins advanced to the CCS Division III semifinals with a 48-45 win over Saratoga after trailing by eight points in the fourth quarter.
Katie Lou Samuelson (Mater Dei, Santa Ana)
The Monarchs won their 25th game in a row last Friday night and advanced to the CIFSS Open Division championship game behind their UConn-bound standout. She scored 30 points during a 59-37 win over Alemany of Mission Hills. Earlier in the week, she scored 33 points during a 77-50 win over Brea Olinda.
Lauren Piner (Forest Lake Christian, Auburn)
Since her freshman year, she has been on the varsity team and averaging double digit point totals but this season has seen her have a big increase on offense. Piner averages more than 23 points a game after scoring 32 during a 75-40 win over Delta Charter of Tracy. This 5-foot-10 senior went over 1,500 career points earlier this season and she will be headed to play next year at Menlo College.
Destiny Littleton (Bishop’s, La Jolla)
It was a big-time battle between two San Diego area state stat star regulars as her 32 points and12 rebounds wasn’t enough to prevent a 67-65 loss to Ali Engelhardt and Mt. Carmel of San Diego in the San Diego Section Open Division playoffs.
Katrina Lusky (Calvin Christian, Escondido)
She twice scored 31 points last week. Lusky did it during a 55-31 win over St. Joseph Academy of San Marcos and then again during a 68-46 win over Mission Vista of Oceanside.
Natalie Diaz (Soquel)
Leading the Knights’ attack, she scored a game-high 31 points during a 62-40 win over Sacred Heart Prep in the CCS Division IV quarterfinals. Earlier this week, the senior also was named as one of our SoCal/NorCal players of the week.
Chelsey Gipson (Palisades, Pacific Palisades)
Also named as one of our Players of the Week, she may be just a sophomore but with her team down by 16 entering the fourth quarter she came up big over the final eight minutes to lead Pali past Fairax of Los Angeles 66-59 in the L.A. City Section Open Division semifinals. Gipson scored 11 of her 30 points in the final quarter during the huge fourth quarter comeback.
Sydney Sharp (Foothill, Tustin)
Sharp-shooting by this junior guard saw her make five 3-pointers and finish with 30 points during a 69-47 win over Valley View of Moreno Valley in the CIFSS Division IA quarterfinals.
Katie Campbell (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village)
Playing for the second game without the starting center and at defending D1 state champion Canyon Springs of Moreno Valley, Campbell had 26 points plus seven rebounds, six blocks and four assists in a 59-48 triumph over the Cougars in the CIFSS Open Division playoffs.
Ariyanna Cashen (Patterson)
Cashing in on her chances when she got the ball in the paint, this 5foot-11 senior had 26 points and 18 rebounds during a 66-51 win over Weston Ranch of Stockton in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division III quarterfinals.
Paul Muyskens is the Stockton office assistant editor for CalHiSports.com. 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
