Westminster goes charging into playoffs

WESTMINSTER – The Segerstrom girls basketball team entered Thursday’s game against Westminster looking to leave with a share of the Golden West League title.

Westminster had other plans in mind.

Behind the strong play of starter Maggie Dumphy and reserve Selena Iriarte, Westminster defeated Segerstrom, 53-38, at Westminster to extend its winning streak to 11 games and secure the Golden West League championship.

“Winning league means a lot,” Westminster assistant coach Jesse Vargas said. “We felt like last year we should of won it outright, you know, but we shared it, and we don’t mind that.

“But this year we came in to the season knowing that that wasn’t going to happen this year. You know we wanted to go 10-0, and we just wanted to prove to the county that we’re one of the teams to be reckon with.”

Dumphy (15 points, 16 rebounds) and Iriarte (15 points, 11 rebounds, three steals) led Westminster (23-3, 10-0), while Chyann Pendergrass added eight points and five assists.

Kayla Stephens led Segerstrom (21-5, 8-2) with a game-high 17 points, and Kassie Alvarado and Natalie Perales had 10 and eight points, respectively.

Westminster opened the game with an 8-3 run and outscored Segerstrom, 11-4, in the first quarter. The Lions' full-court press, led by Lisa Tran (three points two steals) and Iriarte for the most part, forced the Jaguars in to seven early turnovers that led to easy buckets.

The second quarter was much of the same for the Lions, including a 65-foot basket by Pendergrass that touched nothing but net as the game clock expired, giving Westminster a 28-16 lead at halftime.

Westminster limited Segerstrom to 7-of-28 shooting (25 percent) in the second half, and led by 15 points at the end of the third.

The Lions also won the battle on the glass, 38-24.