SALINAS
Behind a double-double performance from Nicole Mello, the Anzar High girls basketball team moved one step closer of repeating as Coastal Athletic League champions after they easily downed Marina 58-24 Friday night at the Salinas Boys and Girls Club.
Mello had 14 points and 12 rebounds, both season highs, and paced the Hawks to the 34-point win.
Anzar is now 9-1 in the CAL, 11-10 overall.
“I was very proud of the girls’ efforts,” Anzar head coach Aaron Netzel said. “We just keep moving toward clinching league and playoffs and are very focused.”
With leading scorer Alyssa Rodriguez out with an illness, Netzel was pleased to see a balanced offensive attack, as four Hawks scored in double digits against Marina.
Kelsey Robledo had 11 points and six rebounds, Liliana Resendez had 10 points and five steals, and Sydnee Masuen scored 10 points, six rebounds, four steals and four assists.
Allison Baker chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds.
“We came out with another balanced affair,” Netzel said. “Nicole (Mello) had just a great all-around game.
“But the name of the game was the complete balance.”
Defensively, Anzar held the Mariners to single-digit point totals in each quarter, as the Hawks cruised to leads of 10-4 after the first quarter, 28-11 at halftime and 44-17 through three.
Anzar, which has two games remaining, maintains their one-game lead on Pacific Collegiate for CAL supremacy.
On Tuesday, the Hawks will play at York at 5:30 p.m., while a make-up game against Oakwood School from earlier this season has yet to have been rescheduled.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
ANZ 10 18 16 14 58
MAR 4 7 6 7 24
Anzar (58): N. Mello 4 0 6-13 14, C. Johnson 1 0 0-3 2, L. Resendez 3 1 1-2 10, S. Masuen 2 0 6-7 10, K. Robledo 5 0 1-2 11, A. Baker 4 0 0-2 8, S. Sorensen 0 0 3-4 3.
