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Two surging girls basketball teams faced off Saturday afternoon in the fifth annual El Cajon Valley Martin Luther King Jr. Shootout.
Rancho Bernardo ultimately stayed that way, jumping out to a 10-0 lead over the first 3:09 and cruising to a 46-23 victory over Otay Ranch. The win was the 11th in 13 games for the seventh-ranked Broncos, who defeated Fallbrook 46-39 on Friday. Otay Ranch had won eight of its last 10 before Saturday.
“Feels good. Otay Ranch is a good team,” Broncos head coach Kyle Williamson said. “It kind of showed our toughness and our ability to defend. So, to build off yesterday and our momentum with two physical games, I’m happy with what we were able to do and how we were able to go about accomplishing that.”
The Broncos (17-3, 1-1 Palomar League) outscored the Mustangs 13-2 in the third quarter to double the 11-point halftime lead to 22 going into the final eight minutes. They outscored Otay Ranch 21-2 run from the end of the second quarter to the beginning of the fourth.
“We definitely needed to build momentum coming out from the half,” said Broncos junior Lindsay Biddle, who scored 10 points. “We were ahead, but it was like an iffy lead. We needed to make sure we kept our momentum strong and came out together as a team.”
Twin sisters Reese and Keira Tokushige combined to score half of RB’s 46 points.
“To have Keira come out and knock down some big shots early, it loosened it up right from the game,” Willamson said. “Reese had some huge baskets there in the third quarter, driving to the bucket and finishing.
“We were very pleased to get some scoring that we haven’t been getting consistently tonight, and that helped the pressure even more.”
Defensively, Rancho Bernardo limited the Mustangs (14-4, 0-0 South Bay League) to single digits in each of the first three quarters and just one three-pointer.
Biddle said her team had stop Mustangs senior Maleah Porch, who averages 11 points per game, while limiting transition opportunities. Porch was held to four points.
“(Porch) is a really good player and also being to help on their drives and their shooters,” Biddle said. “So, making sure that we sprinted back as quick as we can, because they like to push the ball up the court, was important.”
Otay Ranch was led by senior Mackenzie Daffron, who scored eight points.
Up next: The Mustangs face Escondido Charter on Monday before South Bay League action kicks off. Rancho Bernardo resumes Palomar League play on Tuesday with a game at Poway.
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