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LAKESIDE — It was a throwback to the early 2000s, when El Capitan battled Santana battled for girls basketball supremacy in the East County.
El Cap’s opponent on Friday night was Grossmont, not Santana. But the stakes were just as high as when Darin Curtis and Wade Vickery battled decades ago.
Grossmont opened a seven-point advantage at the start of the fourth quarter, saw that lead evaporate, then went on a 7-0 run to beat El Capitan 44-38 in a Grossmont Hills League game played in the Vaqueros’ nearly full gym.
“What a great atmosphere for a big game,” said Grossmont coach Grace Campbell Perkins. “This has been a rivalry game for at least the last eight years, so we expected to be tested.”
In a back-and-forth game that saw the lead change hands 11 times and the score tied seven times, Grossmont (17-3, 3-0) seemed to take command. The Foothillers led 35-28 at the end of the third quarter.
El Capitan (19-4, 3-1), ranked No. 9 in the county, went on an 8-0 run and wrestled the lead back with 4:15 to play and led again 38-37 with 2:35 to go on a basket by Lilly Williams.
That’s when Grossmont sophomore Aakash Price took over, scoring five of her game-high 27 points as the Foothillers ended the game on a 7-0 run. Price added 17 rebounds and seven steals.
“Aakash can score 30 points and grab 20 rebounds, but she never wants the spotlight,” Campbell Perkins said.
Arionna Simpson backed Price with nine points, Jaliyah Fleming added six points and Esther Agoh had seven rebounds as Grossmont played without starter Addison Clark.
“We’re sick. We’re beaten up. We’re shorthanded,” Campbell Perkins said. “But what makes this team so special is that the girls work so hard. They battled every possession. We only have nine players when we’re healthy. So we’re tired and drained.
“We’re not an elite team, talent-wise. But we have elite hearts.”
The Foothillers could have withered when El Capitan took the lead in the fourth quarter.
“I told the girls to relax and play basketball,” Campbell Perkins said. “I told them to enjoy the atmosphere. And if we lost, we’d get a chance to play them again.”
The Vaqueros play at Grossmont on Feb. 14 in the teams’ regular-season finale. The league title will most likely be on the line.
Page Worthem led El Capitan with 16 points and seven rebounds. Keira Heinricy added 10 points and seven rebounds. Williams finished with five points and six rebounds.
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