There were actually two things in the Righetti gym colder then the temperatures. Both Lompoc’s and Paso Robles’ offenses were ice cold, especially in the first half, as the Braves defeated the Bearcats 36-24 in day two action of the Harold Oliveira Classic girls basketball tournament on Saturday.

With the ceiling fans blowing ice cold air into the gym, Lompoc was 3-of-30 from the floor in the first half — yet it led going into the half-time break.

“It’s funny because when I went in at half-time, I had to chuckle,” Lompoc coach Claudia Terrones said. “Because we were still winning — how can that be?”

Lompoc did not score its first point until 4:29 remained in the first quarter, on a free throw by Stephanie Soza. The first basket did not come until the 2:29 mark. Paso did not fare much better but led 5-3 after one.

After hitting just 1-of-5 free throws in the first, the Braves were 4-of-6 in the second quarter at the charity stripe and outscored the Bearcats 10-6 to lead 13-11.

The Braves were getting the shots that Terrones wanted them to have. They were just missing the mark.

“We had a good shot selection, we took a lot of good shots,” she said. “Our problem was not using the backboard in the first half. If you use the backboard it can be your best friend.

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“The offense struggled in the first half, but in the second half, finally the cellophane came off the rim. We ran our offense and we got our break opportunities, we just couldn’t make our layups.”

Lompoc’s defense played very well. Terrones mixed up the defensive sets, and it seemed to keep Paso Robles off-balance.

“Our blocking out and rebounding were really good today,” Terrones said. “That is what kept us in the game as well as going to our 1-2-2 defense, then going man-to- man and being able to change.

“We used three different defenses today. When they adjusted to one, we were able to change it up. And any time you can successfully run three types of defenses in a game, you are doing something right.”

Cameron Lizarraga had another big game on the boards for the Braves. She pulled down 14 rebounds as Lompoc outrebounded Paso Robles 39-26. Lizarraga scored all of her six points in the decisive second half. Ashley Cromp and Celina Calderon led the Braves with seven points each. Cromp grabbed seven rebounds in the game, right ahead of Lauren Lopes who had six while also adding six points.

Leading 26-19 after three quarters, Lompoc held Paso Robles off the board until just 1:35 remained when Nicole Anderson hit a 3-pointer.

Another big difference in the game was free throws. The Braves made 10 to just one for the Bearcats, but the Braves were only 10-of-18.

Even though the Braves struggled, they did get the victory.

“We will take the win,” Terrones said. “Now we just have to keep working hard because league is just around the corner.”

As the pre-season is wrapping up, Terrones is looking ahead to Los Padres League play which begins after the new year.

“Yesterday we talked about strengths and weaknesses,” Terrones said. “Right now we are just trying to focus on the weaknesses and work at correcting them.

“Next week we will have a full week of practices, then our first game is on the 7th against Templeton. Then we don’t play again until the 12th — so we will have a lot of practice time, which is a good thing.”

Lompoc wraps up the pre-season with one final game in the Oliveira Classic on Monday at 5 p.m. against Dos Pueblos.

Surf & Slam Tournament

Kelsie English led three St. Joseph players in double figures with 16 points as the Knights (9-1) defeated Bellevue of Washington 59-43 to reach the semi-finals of this tournament in San Diego.

Ane McPike scored 15 points for the Knights. Aly Beebe had 10. St. Joseph plays Garfield of Washington at 10:45 a.m. Monday in the semis.

Boys Basketball

Bob Steinbach Tournament

Pioneer Valley dropped to 6-6 with a 66-46 loss in a game at the Salinas-based tournament.

The Panthers outscored Alisal 20-14 the last quarter but couldn’t come close to recovering from a 46-19 halftime deficit.

Marcell Braddock led Pioneer Valley with 10 points. The Panthers play the Aptos-North Salinas loser at 3:30 p.m. Monday.

Max Preps-Torrey Pines Trny.

St. Joseph fell to 2-11 with a 64-56 loss to Folsom-based Vista del Lago. The tournament is taking place at Westview High School in San Diego.

Ryan Smalley led St. Joseph with 15 points. Rodmer Lomboy put in 13 points. Nolan Adlesh added 12. The Knights play another tournament game against Westview at 11:05 a.m. Monday.

Girls Wrestling

Triton Invitational

Pioneer Valley finished second in this tourney at Oxnard Pacifica High School.

Panthers Angelica Gonzalez (98 pounds), Alyssa Jeffres (126), Cheyenne Abad (154) and Ashley Spencer (189) all finished second in their weight classes.

Rachel Alnas finished third at 154 pounds. Cynthia Sanchez (132 pounds), Jasmine Williams (146) and Reyna Mendez (heavyweight) all placed fourth.

The Panthers will wrestle at the South Hills Invitational in West Covina next Saturday.

Boys Soccer

Mustang Invitational

MISSION VIEJO — Arroyo Grande played three games over the past two days at this tournament at Trabuco Hills High.

On Friday The Eagles fell to Saddleback 5-1, getting a goal from Tyler Slocum in the 30th minute. Goal keeper Bryan Rivas made six saves.

In the second game of the day, Los Altos won 1-0, scoring a goal in the 63rd minute. Rivas had eight saves.

In Saturday’s action, Cerritos shut out Arroyo Grande 1-0 despite being outshot 10-7. Rivas made six saves.

The Eagles will open PAC-7 League play against Atascadero on Wednesday, Jan. 7.

December 28, 2008