AZTECS DEFY ODDS, THEIR OWN HISTORY

Nothing could have prepared anyone for what Montgomery High School was able to do.

On Thursday, the fourth-seeded Aztecs defied history.

And they made a little history, too. For the first time in school history, Montgomery claimed a San Diego Section championship, winning the Division III girls basketball crown with a 57-40 victory over No. 2 Granite Hills at Mira Mesa High School.

“That was a long time coming,” said Montgomery coach Bracy Smith, still clutching the trophy. “This was big for us just to get here. Finally, we have a championship to talk about. This means everything to everyone who ever went to Montgomery. These girls will always be part of Montgomery history.”

The Aztecs survived a listless first quarter.

The score was tied 8-8 when the Aztecs (24-6) began their championship march with a 22-10 surge in the second quarter.

The 30-18 halftime lead was a sigThe

Montgomery 57, Granite Hills 40

nal to Granite Hills (23-6) that its quest for a second CIF title would be in vain.

Forcing 37 turnovers, the tough Montgomery defense never let the Eagles’ offense get started.

Senior Rayleen Moreno, a 5-foot-4 transfer guard from Castle Park, scored eight of her game-high 17 points in the third quarter. All of those points came after Granite Hills used a 10-6 start to cut the deficit to 36-28.

“We had first-quarter jitters,” Moreno said. “We locked in at halftime because we had to take it home.

“Because we’d never won, it was not just another game to me and that’s why it took us a while to get going.”

The 18th consecutive win, which gave the Aztecs a 15-3 record away from home, is the biggest in school history. Montgomery averaged 67.3 points per game on offense, but settled for a 24-for-65 night from the field while holding the Eagles to a 13-for-48 shooting performance.

Aztecs also got 10 points each from junior Jordan Whitehead and sophomore Cary Brown.

Junior Delaney Fry led Granite Hills with 12 points.

“Our defense got us over the top,’’ Moreno said. “I’m only 5-4, but I feel 6-4 today.”

Then she waved her CIF championship patch one more time.

Boys

Victory Christian 72, Ramona 67: Hitting 8 of 11 free throws down the stretch, the top-seeded Knights (24-8) outlasted No. 3 Ramona (21-10) and captured the title with a ninth straight win behind 27 points and seven rebounds from freshman Jayden Gray and 21 points from junior Derek Edmond.

Victory Christian led by as much as 17 in the second half before Ramona rallied behind Dalton Norvell, who scored 22 of his 23 points after halftime. Junior Chase Newman matched Norvell, who hit 14 of 17 free throws, with 23 points and nine rebounds.