Strathmore High gets offensive in 78-20 Southern Section Div. 5-AA victory

The Strathmore High School girls basketball team does not revolve entirely around senior guard Jazmine Soto, the all-time scoring leader in Valley history.

Sure, the Spartans accepted her 35 points – including 27 in the first half – in a resounding 78-20 win over visiting Calvary Chapel on Tuesday night in the opening round of the Southern Section Division 5-AA playoffs.

But, Strathmore coach Richard Miranda was smiling after the win because of the scoring production from juniors Sherri Chapa and Erika Muñoz.

Chapa scored a career-high 17 points, most of them battling inside. She went into the game averaging 3.1 points a game.

Muñoz, displaying a deadly set shot, scored all 15 of her points on 3-pointers. She was averaging 6 points a game this season.

“It’s finally showing the time that she’s been putting in,” said Miranda about Chapa.

Muñoz, he said, is the go-to shooter when the opponents go into a zone.

“We try to utilize her and we just got to work on her consistency because she’ll have a game like tonight when she scored 15,” said Miranda.

Chapa, whose point totals included converting 3 of 4 free throws, said the team will have to play harder in the playoffs.

“Soto is one of our biggest scorers, but we do have other people that can put up points,” said Chapa.

Soto, who picked up her third foul with 4:39 left in the third quarter, sat out most of the second half after racking up 27 points in the first half. She spent time cheering on Chapa, Muñoz and her teammates.

Her mind is set on Strathmore, now 19-6, to keep winning and grab the team’s third goal for the season: A state title.

“A lot of teams are satisfied with winning Valley, and once they go into the state playoffs they lose,” said Soto. “We’re not satisfied with just winning Valley. We want to win state.”

Strathmore found itself trailing 1-0 in the opening minute of play when Calvary Chapel’s Chloe Zazueta converted one of two free throws.

Then Strathmore’s stifling defense resulted in turnovers for easy layups, and Soto took command with 16 points in the first quarter.

Strathmore went on a 24-0 run to put the game out of reach.

The Spartans, seeded second, will host Taft High of Woodland Hills on Thursday (June 17) in the section semifinals.