Spartans hold on for win
EL CENTRO — The Central Union High girls’ basketball team to hold off an eager Southwest High squad in the fourth quarter to earn a 31-22 victory over its cross-town at Spartan Arena here Tuesday night.
The win evens the Spartans’ Imperial Valley League record to 1-1 and gave the team a much-needed boost after suffering a pair of losses last week.
Central opened the game with a short 4-0 lead before Southwest tied the game with help from Jannelle Sanchez and Andrea Aguilar.
Aguilar’s sister, Yolanda, then hit one of two free throws to help Southwest go up 5-4 with 2:48 left in the first quarter.
The one-point advantage would be the only lead for the Eagles in the game, as the Spartans came back to close the first quarter of action with an 8-6 advantage.
“We’re slowly coming around and figuring out who we are,” said Spartan head coach Jason McClain. “I know we’re nearing toward the end here, but better late than never.”
The second half was not as close as the first given Central’s physical defense, which helped the Spartans capitalize on turnovers.
Central outscored Southwest 6-2 in the second quarter to go up 14-6 at the half.
The third quarter proved to be the strongest for the Spartans as they put up 15 points to Southwest’s two. Central was led by Raquel Perez’s six points in the third quarter followed by Aly Luna’s four points.
Perez was the Spartan’s leading scorer with 10 points, three rebounds and four assists, followed by Alexis Elizondo and Samantha Herrejon, who both tallied six points.
“(Perez) is definitely our best player and we need her to bring it every night for us,” McClain said.
Elizondo and Herrejon also turned in strong performances, particularly in the paint, combining for 12 rebounds.
The Spartans’ strong third quarter proved to be crucial as the Eagles sparked a comeback in the fourth with an opening 9-0 run.
A few McClain timeouts, however, settled down the Spartans to preserve the win.
With the results, Central improves to 2-12 overall and 1-1 in IVL, while Southwest drops to 4-10 overall and 0-2.
Both teams return to action at 7 p.m. Friday night with Central traveling to play Imperial and Southwest traveling to face Palo Verde.
The Spartans will also have their annual alumni game at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.