GIRLS’ BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : A Strong Finish for Fallbrook

In the first round of the San Diego Section Division I girls’ basketball playoffs, Fallbrook had an outstanding fourth quarter to pull out the 51-46 victory against San Marcos.

San Marcos led, 38-34, going into the fourth quarter, in which Fallbrook outscored the Knights, 17-8. Erin Nicholas scored seven of her 10 points in the fourth quarter for fifth-seeded Fallbrook (15-9). Marcia Jeffries led the Warriors with 25 points.

Tammy Hinrichs (21 points) and Leah Zague (10) led San Marcos (14-11). Jennifer Parker had eight rebounds for Fallbrook.

In other Division I games:

Mt. Carmel 68, Vista 45--Kris Grazzini scored a school record 33 points for second-seeded Mt. Carmel (18-4). Sophomore guard DeAngela Minter led Vista (7-19) with 25 points and nine rebounds.

Bonita Vista 54, Granite Hills 44--No. 4 Bonita Vista’s 10-point halftime lead was trimmed to 44-42 early in the fourth quarter, but Granite Hills scored just two points the rest of the game. Mary Johank had a 15 points to lead Bonita Vista (22-3), which will play host to Fallbrook in Saturday’s quarterfinals. Brandy Wray had a game-high for Granite Hills (11-16).

Southwest 44, Mira Mesa 42--Mira Mesa (14-12) trailed by as many as 18 points, and could have won it at the buzzer if a three-pointer by Linda Collins (11 points) had taken a kinder bounce. Collins played only in the second half. Melissa Wickman scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Nancy Belinger had 10 rebounds and 10 points. Mira Mesa made just four of 16 free throws attempts. Southwest is 12-9.

Division II

University City 72, Torrey Pines 45--Third-seeded University City (22-3) shot out to a 22-6 lead from which Torrey Pines (10-16) could never recover. Charlene Legaux scored 21 points and teammate Jenny Gross added 13, including two three-pointers in the first quarter, for UC.

For Torrey Pines, Denise Myres scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Pilar McLellan scored 10 points and added 11 rebounds. UC led at the half, 36-17.

El Cajon Valley 69, Serra 45--Heather Holm scored a game-high 31 points and had 10 assists, Rico Edwards had 22 points and seven steals and Chris Reardon added 10 points for fourth-seeded El Cajon Valley (21-4). Nicole Howard had 13 points and Lynn Riordon added 10 for Serra (13-12).

Mission Bay 47, Castle Park 34--No. 5 Mission Bay (19-5) will play at No. 4 El Cajon Valley in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

Escondido 44, Santana 42--Truc Hyunh made two free throws in the last 34 seconds to lead Escondido (12-12) to an upset. Michelle Bellinger had 14 points to lead Escondido and Cindy Vanderwoude added 12. Autumm Friesner led sixth-seeded Santana (19-7) with 14.