Aztecs, Sea Lions keep winning on the court – elcajon newson Elcajon News only

San Diego State’s women’s basketball team split a pair of games at home last week to finish nonconference play with its most wins in four decades, while both the men’s and women’s basketball teams at Point Loma Nazarene are tied for the PacWest Conference lead after four games.

And in the JC ranks, both MiraCosta College and San Diego City College men opened Pacific Coast Athletic Conference play with a pair of pre-Christmas wins. The Grossmont College women are off to an 11-2 start.

The Aztecs women rallied to defeat Hawaii 54-52 Saturday after losing 89-80 to Stephen F. Austin in two overtimes Thursday to finish nonconference play with an 11-2 record.

Freshman guard Naomi Panganiban (La Jolla Country Day) scored 42 points in the two games and now leads the Aztecs with 10.9 points per game. Senior forward Adryana Quezada is averaging 10.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while senior forward Cali Clark is averaging 8.9 rebounds a game.

Junior point guard Veronica Sheffey and freshman guard Nat Martinez are each averaging 8.8 points per gmae. Sheffey leads the Aztecs with 41 assists.

The Aztecs open Mountain West Conference Sunday at 1 p.m. against Boise State at Viejas Arena.

Elsewhere:

• PLNU’s women’s basketball team is 4-0 in conference play, while the men are 3-1. The women’s team (9-3) defeated Concordia 51-47 and Westcliff 87-47 last week. Senior guard Tavia Rowell leads the Sea Lions in scoring with 15.4 points per game. Forward Alli McDonald is averaging 14 points and a team-leading 8.8 points per game. Junior guard Kaylee Byon is averaging 12.5 points per game.

The Sea Lions men are 10-4 overall after losing to Concordia 68-65 and Westcliff 81-75. Senior guards Zackry Paulsen and Luke Haupt (St. Augustine High SChool) lead PLNU in scoring with 14.2 and 14.1 points per game,

Both PLNU teams are off until Jan. 2.

•  USD’s women’s program (4-7) opened West Coast Conference play with a pair of home losses – to Washington State (65-42) last Thursday and Gonzaga (66-59) Saturday. The Toreros are on the road after Christmas for WCC games at Saint Mary’s and Pepperdine.

• UC San Diego’s women are 4-9 after losing 58-50 to Northern Kentucky on Thursday and defeating La Salle 69-53 on Saturday. All five starters scored 10 or more points in the win over La Salle, with local products Kayanna Spriggs (Mater Dei Catholic High Sschool) and Sumayah Sugapong (La Jolla Country Day) putting up 17 apiece.

• MiraCosta College (9-4) opened PCAC play with wins over Mesa (64-63) and Cuyamaca (62-59) before their nine-game winning streak ended Sunday in a 100-95, double-overtime loss to Moorpark.

•  San Diego City scored lopsided wins at home over Grossmont (89-56) and Mesa (77-49) last week. Sophomore guard Cameron Marshall (Patrick Henry High School) came off the bench to score 22 points in 16 minutes against Mesa. The Knights, ranked seventh in the most recent state community college poll, are off until Jan. 4.

• Palomar College (7-5, 1-0) defeated Southwestern (7-6, 1-1) 74-62 in its PCAC opener.

• Three San Diego women’s basketball teams are ranked in the most recent 3C2A poll for California community colleges. Grossmont College is ranked No. 24, but has won six straight games and is 11-2 overall after defeating Pasadena (57-40) and Los Angeles Trade Tech (74-56) last week in the Grossmont Holiday Classic. Freshman guard Anayla Anderson scored 34 points in the two games and leads the Griffins with 15.8 points per game.

Mesa is 9-3 and ranked 10th. Palomar is 7-5 and 14th.

• Sophomore forward Yasmine Sharpe-Shropshire (Lincoln High School) scored 27 points in back-to-back nonconference wins over Southwestern as the Cuyamaca College women improved to 6-2. Sharpe-Shropshire leads the Coyotes with 19.3 points and 13.8 rebounds per game.